After small social blunders, laughing at yourself may land better than visible embarrassment, researchers say.

“Our findings suggest that people often overestimate how harshly others judge their minor social mistakes,” study co-author Övül Sezer of Cornell University said in a statement. “For minor, harmless ...

For thousands of years, versions of the saying “laughter is the best medicine” have emerged in religious, scientific and popular literature—and for good reason. Laughter helps our neurological, ...

Researchers find that for minor, harmless social mistakes, laughing at yourself makes you appear warmer, more competent, and more authentic than acting embarrassed.

When was the last time you laughed? I mean really laughed: a solid, hearty, belly-jiggling laugh. Chances are, many of us have a hard time remembering. That’s because as adults, we have a lot of ...

Victor Borge once wrote, “Laughter is the closest distance between two people.” Many of us would probably agree that laughter brings us closer to others, whether we’re joking with our spouse or ...

This story is from The Pulse, a weekly health and science podcast. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you get your podcasts. Fizza Ali has been one of my closest friends since we met ...

They laughed when I farted during my fourth-grade graduation, but, given that human methane is the only natural resource left on the planet, who’s laughing now? They laughed when I had an imaginary ...