The Biology of Love: Women Prefer Funny Men

Whether it comes to big muscles or big brains, most women look for one thing in a partner: A funny bone. 

According to a recent study, scientists actually found that women's brains show greater activity in response to humor than men's do.

It's even thought that women use a man's ability to make them laugh as a way to judge his genetic fitness as a suitable partner. And maybe even a potential father.

"Our data for the first time disclose that sex differences in humor appreciation already exist in young children," the researchers wrote, according to the Daily Mail.

Researchers from the Stanford University School of Medicine found that by scanning the brains of 22 girls and boys, aged six to 13 who were watching funny videos, the females were more likely to show higher brain activity during viewing than the boys. Thus, in turn, women were more likely to take pleasure in the comedic activities. 

The researchers believe these findings could suggest that selecting a mate may be based on how well a woman find's her partner's jokes and overall humor. In particular, researchers believe this to be true for women "because the female brain, and particularly the reward circuit, is biologically better prepared to respond accordingly."  

What do you think? 

More information regarding this study can be found in the journal Social Neuroscience.