Doctor Cites NASA Interviews to Explain Why Some People Are More Likable: Laughter and Emotional Mirroring

An American clinician who bills herself as the "small talk doc" told viewers that the key to likability is not looks or connections but the way people laugh — and she traced the idea to observations of interpersonal dynamics in NASA astronaut interviews.

Dr. Connie Wang said in a recent online clip that researchers reviewing old NASA interview tapes found differences in how astronauts interacted that correlated with later success and mental health in the program. "Basically, laughter is one of the most, if not the most, direct form of communication between two people," she told viewers, adding that because laughter is largely involuntary it signals a natural impulse to connect.

Wang said the important variable was not the mere presence of laughter but the intensity and the ability to match another person’s level of amusement. In her telling, those who "matched the interviewer's level of laughing" displayed higher emotional intelligence, while mismatched responses could make others feel uncomfortable or rejected.

She cautioned that matching does not mean feigning emotion. "It doesn't mean you're supposed to fake [it] because we can clock that too," Wang said. Instead, she urged awareness of another person's energy, tone and mood and recommended mirroring or acknowledging those cues as a way to create closer social bonds.

Wang attributed the anecdote about NASA to material discussed in Charles Duhigg's book Supercommunicators, which she cited in the clip's caption. In that caption she wrote: "How to tell if someone is popular/likable in one second - the NASA astronaut test." She framed the message as an explanation for why some people seem "effortlessly likable" and presented mirroring laughter as one tool in the broader arts of empathy and communication.

The account Wang shared links basic social psychology — the role of nonverbal synchrony and emotional attunement in interpersonal rapport — with a historical example from a high-stress occupational group. Researchers in social and affective science have long studied phenomena such as emotional contagion, mimicry and synchrony as mechanisms that can promote social cohesion, though methods and interpretations vary across studies.

Wang's comments were presented as an interpretation of prior interviews and published commentary rather than as new empirical findings she conducted. She emphasized practical application, advising people to notice others' vocal energy and to respond in kind without forcing a false reaction.

Observers and communicators who adopt mirroring techniques typically advocate authenticity: using sensitivity to tone and affect to guide genuine responses, not to manipulate. Wang framed her guidance in those terms, urging viewers to focus on empathy and connection rather than performative behavior.

The clip follows a broader public interest in the science of communication and emotional intelligence, with recent popular and academic work examining how nonverbal cues shape relationships in work, social and extreme environments such as space programs. Wang’s summary connects that literature to a simple behavioral cue — laughter intensity — and suggests a practical, if informal, test for perceived likability.