Acquaintanceship, familiarity, and coordinated laughter in writing tutorials

This study compared the frequency, structure, and purposes of laughter in writing tutorials between 46 acquainted and unacquainted tutor–student pairs. Of particular interest were instances of shared, or coordinated laughter, which took the form of sequenced, simultaneous, and extended laughter. Familiarity, viewed as a continuum, was also investigated with reference to coordinated laughter. Results showed that coordinated laughter was indeed more frequent in acquainted-pair interactions, and in those interactions where both tutor and student moved beyond laughter as a way of mitigating face threat to a resource in developing familiarity. Implications are suggested for future research on acquaintanceship, familiarity, and laughter in educational settings.