Is humour an attracting force in a relationship?

Love And Romance

oi-Staff

By Super

Tuesday, May 22, 2012, 14:04

Is humour an attracting force itself? Do men and women find this quality an intrinsic essential in their image of the perfect mate? This question is as subjective as the concept of humour itself. History attests that comediennes, although high on popularity lists in social gatherings, shows, continuously sought after in their career sphere, are sometimes the loneliest and saddest people. ShaadiTimes caught up with those who had a viewpoint on the issue and with some celebs, who were married to 'funny' men to find out where humour stands on their totem pole for a successful relationship.

A recent survey in the U.S. notched humor at 32% followed by thoughtfulness 24%, supportiveness 23%, stability and security at 23%, similar interest at 16% and finally romance at a lowly 15%, as the important criteria when searching for an ideal partner. Businesswoman Priya Haider says, "You need Humour in a relationshipsomebody you can laugh with, but I feel sometimes the funniest people are covering deeper issues."

Haider ranks humor as the least important ingredient with loyalty, power, money, character, looks rounding out the top five. She cautions, "Humour can work both ways it can make you not be taken seriously, thus lowering the respect." She continues, "I am basically a happy person, and I enjoy intelligent humour in films such as Sanjeev Kumar's 'Angoor', which was a comedy of errors, and just released Hollywood film, 'Wedding Crashers'.

Humour gives relief
Contrary to this, actor Madhvi Kumar, wife of Rajesh "Roshesh" Kumar says, "Humour is one of the most important ingredients in a relationship. But at times it gets annoying when we are in a serious conversation and he cracks a joke, and it happens most of the time when I start a serious talk. Later it may seem funny, but at that moment it really makes you lose your cool. I am more of an emotional person and he definitely has a better sense of humour and it keeps the relationship balanced, especially when we are having a heated argument; he is the one who cools down the temperatures and never lets the situation reach a boiling point." Rajesh too agrees with his wife, "Humour gives you a relief... it helps avoid serious arguments and clams the situation down before it reaches a war-like stage!"

Psychologist Geoffrey Miller at the University of New Mexico, in a recently released article states, "Women prefer funny men because their wit reveals an active and healthy brain - and a fine set of underlying genes. It's a very powerful and reliable way to show creativity and intelligence," Miller says. "Women were not lying when they said that they like funny men. This does not in any way prove that they actually are better mates for any objective reason."