It has long been said that a man with a good sense of humour can laugh a woman in to bed, despite his looks.

Now researchers believe the opposite may also be true - that we also find attractive members of the opposite sex more amusing。

Psychologists at the University of Stirling have discovered that good-looking people were perceived as funnier when the people listening to them could see what they looked like - i.e. whether they were attractive or not。

In the study, undergraduate psychology students were videoed while being asked which two items they would take to a desert island, and why. They could pick from either chocolate, hairspray or a plastic bag。

While the students weren't told that the study was about humour, the vast majority gave the appearance of trying to be funny in their answers。

Other students were then asked to rate the desert-island comments for wit, as well as how attractive each of the commenters might be for a short-term or long-term relationship。

The researchers found that attractive individuals were rated as funnier in video clips than their less dashing counterparts。

Funnier men were also considered most attractive for a fling, the researchers found。

This might be because wit may give off the impression of not being serious or willing to commit to a long-term relationship。

Being recorded on video also made a real difference. Men who were videoed were generally considered more amusing than those who only had their voices recorded and provided a photo of themselves。

One theory is that men, in particular, use humour as a mating signal, to show-off their intelligence and good genes to women。

Another is that we use wit to indicate we are sexually attracted to people。

一直以来，人们都认为，一个幽默的男人能让女人开心，把女人哄上床，不论他相貌如何。

现在研究人员认为，也许反过来说也是对的——研究发现，长得帅的男人更风趣。

英国斯特灵大学的心理学家发现，当人们可以看到讲话者的面容(好看与否)时，长得好看的讲话者给人感觉更幽默。

在这一研究中，研究人员让一些心理学专业本科在读的学生回答将把哪两种东西带到荒岛上，并说出理由。他们可以从巧克力、发胶或塑料袋里面选，整个问答过程都录成了视频。

虽然研究人员没有告诉学生这一研究和幽默有关，但绝大部分学生看起来都努力想让自己的答案显得有趣。

其他一部分学生被要求给这些荒岛题回答的幽默感，以及各个应答者在短期或长期恋爱关系中的魅力指数打分。

研究人员发现，长得好看的人在视频中的表现被认为比长相平凡的人更有趣。

研究人员还发现，风趣的男人被认为在短暂恋情中最有魅力。

这也许是因为风趣的外表会给人对待感情不认真或不愿意对长期感情关系负责的印象。

问答过程被录成视频也对结果产生了很大影响。一般来说，那些被录像的男人比那些只录下声音、提供个人照片的男人给人感觉更幽默。

研究人员提出的一个理论是，男人尤其喜欢把幽默作为一个交配信号来向女人展示自己的才智和优良基因。

另一个理论是，男人用风趣的谈吐来表明自己被异性吸引。

该研究发表在《个性与个体差异》杂志上。