Make 'em laugh

If I had to venture a guess at what the most common answer to the question, "What do you look for in a man/woman?" is, I'd definitely say sense of humor. I mean, who doesn't like to laugh? I think a guy who's witty is instantly more attractive than a guy who isn't (in the same way tall guys have an automatic advantage over shorter guys in my book). I consider myself funny, and therefore I look for someone who shares my sense of humor, or at least complements it. I also think that all of my girlfriends would agree with me here.

In the words of Donald O'Connor, "Make 'em laugh."

So I wonder if men place the same value on finding a partner with a sense of humor as women do. One of my guy friends once told me that he doesn't think women are funny. I protested, and he revised his previous statement, saying "OK, I don't think women are as funny as men." While I'm not totally convinced this is true, The Seattle Times' Nicole Tsong suggests that it's just a different kind of funny:

Boys and girls are socialized early with distinct approaches to humor, said humor expert Morreall. Boys are encouraged to entertain and act out, while girls learn to appreciate a joke, not put on the show.

That dynamic is prevalent in dating. To put it bluntly, men want someone who laughs at their punch lines, while women look for someone who makes them giggle.

There are exceptions, of course, with the rise of female comics who have appropriated male humor, like the brash Sarah Silverman. Others have succeeded with a more feminine style, like funny but gentle Ellen DeGeneres. But in general, men are expected to be the funny ones.

She continues:

In a study published in the academic journal "Evolution and Human Behavior," psychologists Eric Bressler and Sigal Balshine tested graduate students with pictures attached to funny and nonfunny statements and evaluated the way it affected how men and women viewed each other.

They found that humor makes men more desirable to women but does not affect men's view of women.

So my question here is for the guys. How important is it to you that a woman you're dating be funny? And how do you define funny? Is it that she can crack a joke with the best of 'em, or that she appreciates and laughs at yours? And on the flip side -- Girls: Is a sense of humor among one of your top requirements?