Laughing at Your Slipups Makes You More Likable

If you just waved enthusiastically at a total stranger, science has some advice: chuckle, don't cringe. A series of six experiments involving more than 3,000 people, published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, found that when someone responds to a harmless gaffe by laughing at themselves, observers see them as warmer, more competent, and more genuine than when they blush or look mortified. "Owning your mistake and laughing first can completely shift the room—you move from being judged to being relatable," says co-author Övül Sezer of Cornell University, who studies impression management and has a background in stand-up comedy.

Psychologists say self-directed humor signals self-acceptance and a sense of proportion; embarrassment, by contrast, can read as insecurity or excessive self-focus, reports Time. There is a limit. The likability boost only appears when no one is harmed. Laughing after, say, injuring a colleague or congratulating someone on a pregnancy that doesn't exist is seen as insensitive, not confident, and leads people to question your morality and competence. "The key thing is to match your reaction to the seriousness of the moment," says Sezer—and remembering that most everyday blunders matter far less to others than they do to you.