What's in a kiss? A
study by Oxford University
researchers suggests kissing
helps us size up potential
partners and, once in a
relationship, may be a way of
getting a partner to stick
around.
'Kissing in human sexual
relationships is incredibly
prevalent in various forms
across just about every society
and culture,' says Rafael
Wlodarski, the DPhil student
who carried out the research
in the Department of
Experimental Psychology at
Oxford University.
'Kissing is seen in our closest
primate relatives, chimps and
bonobos, but it is much less
intense and less commonly
used.
'So here's a human courtship
behaviour which is incredibly
widespread and common and,
in extent, is quite unique. And
we are still not exactly sure
why it is so widespread or
what purpose it serves.'
How the research was done
To understand more, Rafael
Wlodarski and Professor Robin
Dunbar set up an online
questionnaire in which over
900 adults answered questions
about the importance of
kissing in both short-term and
long-term relationships.
Rafael Wlodarski explains:
'There are three main theories
about the role that kissing
plays in sexual relationships:
that it somehow helps assess
the genetic quality of potential
mates; that it is used to
increase arousal (to initiate sex
for example); and that it is
useful in keeping relationships
together. We wanted to see
which of these theories held
up under closer scrutiny.'
The researchers report their
findings in two papers, one in
the journal Archives of Sexual
Behavior and the second in the
journal Human Nature. They
were funded by the European
Research Council.
The survey responses showed
that women rated kissing as
generally more important in
relationships than men.
Furthermore, men and women
who rated themselves as being
attractive, or who tended to
have more short-term
relationships and casual
encounters, also rated kissing
as being more important.
Women more selective
In humans, as in all mammals,
females must invest more time
than men in having offspring -
pregnancy takes nine months
and breast-feeding may take
up to several years. Previous
studies have shown women
tend to be more selective when
initially choosing a partner.
Men and women who are more
attractive, or have more casual
sex partners, have also been
found to be more selective in
choosing potential mates. As it
is these groups which tended
to value kissing more in their
survey responses, it suggests
that kissing helps in assessing
potential mates.
It has been suggested
previously that kissing may
allow people to subconsciously
assess a potential partner
through taste or smell, picking
up on biological cues for
compatibility, genetic fitness or
general health.
'Mate choice and courtship in
humans is complex,' says
Professor Robin Dunbar. 'It
involves a series of periods of
assessments where people ask
themselves "shall I carry on
deeper into this relationship?"
Initial attraction may include
facial, body and social cues.
Then assessments become
more and more intimate as we
go deeper into the courtship
stages, and this is where
kissing comes in.'
He adds: 'In choosing partners,
we have to deal with the "Jane
Austen problem": How long do
you wait for Mr Darcy to come
along when you can't wait
forever and there may be lots
of you waiting just for him? At
what point do you have to
compromise for the curate?
'What Jane Austen realised is
that people are extremely good
at assessing where they are in
the "mating market" and pitch
their demands accordingly. It
depends what kind of poker
hand you've been dealt. If you
have a strong bidding hand,
you can afford to be much
more demanding and choosy
when it comes to prospective
mates.
'We see some of that coming
out in the results of our survey,
suggesting that kissing plays a
role in assessing a potential
partner,' Professor Dunbar
explains.
The importance of kissing
Past research has also found
that women place greater value
on activities that strengthen
long-term relationships (since
raising offspring is made
easier with two parents
present).
In the current study, the team
found that kissing's
importance changed for people
according to whether it was
being done in long-term or
short-term relationships.
Particularly, it was rated by
women as more important in
long-term relationships,
suggesting that kissing also
plays an important role in
mediating affection and
attachment among established
couples.
While high levels of arou