Claire Aguilar

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What's in a Kiss?
The Effect of Romantic Kissing on Mate Desirability
Rafael Wlodarski, Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford,
Oxford, UK. Robin I. M. Dunbar, Department of Experimental Psychology, University of
Oxford, Oxford, UK.

www.epjournal.net – 2014. 12(1): 178-199

rafael.wlodarski@psy.ox.ac.uk

Claire Aguilar

2
Abstract

Past research suggests that various courtship rituals, such as romantic kissing, may convey useful mate quality information. Two studies were carried out to examine how purported romantic kissing abilities, as a potential cue to some form of mate information, affect appraisals of potential mating partners. In Experiment 1, 724 participants were presented with vignette descriptions of potential mating partners and were asked to rate partner desirability for various mating-related situations. The primary result of this experiment was that purported kissing ability increased mate desirability in “casual sex” mating situations for women to a greater extent than for men. Experiment 2 repeated the same procedure with another 178 participants, this time including visual information alongside vignette descriptions containing kissing-related information to examine the relative effects of these two modalities. It was found that the presence of a picture alongside a descriptive vignette negated the effect of kissing-related information only when rating potential partners on attractiveness or desirability for further courtship, though not when evaluating partners for casual sex or long-term relationship scenarios. Visual information containing “attractive” photos of potential partners was also found to have a greater effect on men’s ratings of partner desirability than on women’s ratings of partner desirability. The results are discussed in light of romantic kissing’s potential function of conveying important mate quality and desirability information, and its relative role in the presence of additional visual mate cues.

Keywords: romantic kissing, courtship, attraction, mate choice

Claire Aguilar

3
Introduction

The first kiss is a powerful influence in the attraction of a potential new partner, especially, when the first kiss happens in early stages of any romantic relationships. Have you ever noticed how lovers in movies stare at their beloved the moment before the big kiss occurs? That is actually not part of the script, it's a necessary preparation that helps the brain receive information to stimulate the mood of kissing. During the actual kiss, we feel heat due to the expansion of our blood vessels. That is the same area that gets active during the rush of cocaine, and further when we kiss. Our brain is affected when we fall in love. Oxytocin - a love hormone - is crucial in promoting affection and attachment so that when dopamine declines oxytocin surges. This hormone is affecting our attachment towards people just by kissing, hugging or caressing. Women in particular are intuitively using the first kiss to evaluate the health of the male and if he has "good genes". So, if the first kiss felt right for both, the basic condition for a good working relationship is fulfilled.
The kiss also establishes one of the most vital and significant conditions for engaging in sexual contact — trust. This process is evolutionary...and right under our nose. First, the kiss starts by inspiring the libido, which causes us to desire sexual interaction. Then, the kiss works to ignite the fire of infatuation that motivates us to choose one of many partners. Finally, the kiss helps us sustain and reinforce the ongoing bond(s), which allow us to endure together to raise children into sexual maturity. In the new book The Science of Kissing: What Our Lips Are
Telling Us, author Sheril Kirshenbaum cites the work of Rutgers University anthropologist Helen
Fisher, who says kissing evolved to fulfill three essential needs: sex drive, romantic love and attachment. "Romantic kissing is a