The study, published in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin journal, also confirmed that women who aren't attracted to you (in other words they want you to leave them alone) won't even crack a smile at anything you say, even if you're funnier than Kevin Hart.
"Both sexes were more likely to initiate humour and to respond more positively and consider the other person to be funny when initially attracted to that person," researchers say.
Just the thought of approaching a woman is enough to make some men quiver in fear, let alone having the pressure to crack a joke and attempt to make them laugh.
But what makes it such a successful technique is that you can gauge attraction in seconds and don't have to spend a cent.