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If you want to impress a man, don't try to be funny.  Research shows that men aren't hugely attracted to witty women Given the choice of a female who makes him laugh, or one that laughs at his jokes, he will choose the latter.

Luckily, women aren't too worried about their jokes being appreciated. They, it seems, like men who make them smile.

Men prefer it if a woman laughs at their jokes, rather than witty women research suggests (stock image)
It is thought that women see the ability to make people laugh sign of intelligence – and men have evolved to show off how good they are with words.

The University of Miami researchers quizzed more than 80 men and women about how much importance they placed on having a partner who could make them laugh.

They were also asked how much it mattered to them whether their partner found them funny. The answers revealed that women like men make them laugh, while men want to go out with women who appreciate their humour.

In a second experiment, the volunteers were given hypothetical amounts of money to 'spend' on designing their ideal partner.

They were asked how much of the cash they'd be willing to spend on getting someone who made them laugh and how much they'd devote to getting someone who laughed at their jokes.

As the amount of 'money' on offer rose, the sexes became less rigid in their choices, with the males starting to splash the cash on funny females the women showing more interest in males who found them witty.

Researcher Liana Hone said this suggests that in an ideal world, we value both traits in a partner.

However, in the real world, we tend to place more emphasis on one or the other.

She believes that women see the ability to make people laugh as a sign of intelligence – and of the sort of high quality genes that she'd want in her children.

Given that women tend to be more choosy, men are under pressure to make them laugh.

Miss Hone, who is close to completing her PhD, said: 'Given that humour requires high-level linguistic capacity, women are thought to use humour production as a sign that a man is a mentally-capable suitor.'

However, she said that funny women shouldn't despair. There is also hope for bachelors who never remember punch lines.

This is because her results were based on averages – and not everyone will have the same taste.