Just Seconds of Laughter Reveals Relationship Status – Laughter with Romantic Partners Sounds More Vulnerable and Less Spontaneous Than Laughter with Friends

The dual pathway model posits that spontaneous and volitional laughter are differentiated via perceptual and acoustic cues. We extend this work by showing (1) raters can accurately determine if laughter is directed at friends versus romantic partners and (2) these laughs differ in perceived relational vulnerability and laughter spontaneity.