Laughing Matter

It has occurred to me that a person's laugh is an important factor in a friendship or the formation of one. If, for example, someone has a laugh that does not complement your own, it's very possible to be thrown off by it or even weirded out. If a person laughs too loudly, too often, not enough, or too abruptly, these are all factors that can throw us off.

Another interesting aspect of laughing is the mimicking aspect of it. It seems that the longer we're around people, the more we form a type of common laughter. It could possibly be as a way of showing a sense of ease between two individuals or it's more an indication of a common bond to make both people feel more comfortable. Whatever it is, it appears to be a natural process which most people adapt to. Certainly there are small differences in the way and the frequency in which people will laugh depending on the individual(s) surrounding them.

While I haven't actually tested this out, I think that people with a very weird, unique laugh either have a very easy time making friends, or a very tough time. The uniqueness of the laughter can also attract people, but I think that, in the end, it doesn't allow a very tight bond to be formed and there's still a bit of unease.