If three’s a crowd, it seems four is the ideal when it comes to conversation.
Professor Robin Dunbar, an anthropologist and evolutionary psychologist at the University of Oxford has spent decades studying how humans socialise. He is known for “Dunbar’s number”, a reference to his theory that most of us are only able to sustain about 150 social connections, but his work has also explored how people act in smaller groups.
He has found that when it comes to having an enjoyable chat, four is the sweet spot, in fact in groups of five or more, the chances of laughter plummets.
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