Examining the Possible Functions of Kissing in Romantic Relationships

Wlodarski, Rafael; Dunbar, Robin

doi:10.1007/s10508-013-0190-1

Cited by 56 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 56 publications

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“…It has also previously been found that romantic kissing is used in assessing a mating partner's desirability (Hughes et al 2007;Wlodarski and Dunbar 2013). The results of the current study synthesize these findings by showing that attitudes towards romantic kissing vary across the menstrual cycle and are significantly associated with the fluctuation of menstrual hormones.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 82%

“…Previous research has found that the cross-culturally prevalent custom of romantic kissing is one mate cue that can been exploited in the assessment of potential mating partners (Hughes et al 2007;Wlodarski and Dunbar 2013). This research also suggests that females are more reliant on kissing as a mate assessment device and are unwilling to have sexual intercourse with a partner without first kissing them; rate "bad kissers" as less attractive overall; and tend to base evaluations of kissing ability on chemical cues (such as breath and taste of mouth).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Menstrual Cycle Effects on Attitudes toward Romantic Kissing

Wlodarski

Dunbar

2013

Hum Nat

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Hormonal changes associated with the human menstrual cycle have been previously found to affect female mate preference, whereby women in the late follicular phase of their cycle (i.e., at higher risk of conception) prefer males displaying putative signals of underlying genetic fitness. Past research also suggests that romantic kissing is utilized in human mating contexts to assess potential mating partners. The current study examined whether women in their late follicular cycle phase place greater value on kissing at times when it might help serve mate assessment functions. Using an international online questionnaire, results showed that women in the follicular phase of their menstrual cycle felt that kissing was more important at initial stages of a relationship than women in the luteal phase of their cycle. Furthermore, it was found that estimated progesterone levels were a significant negative predictor for these ratings. KeywordsMenstrual cycle; Romantic kissing; Mate assessment; Relationships Hormonal changes associated with the human menstrual cycle have been found to have discernible effects on female sexual and mating behavior. While it has been known for some time that female sexual desire spikes in the days surrounding ovulation (Regan 1996), it has recently been discovered that preferences for certain types of mating partners also co-vary with phases of the menstrual cycle. For example, women in the late follicular phase of their cycle (in the days immediately preceding ovulation when risk of conception from a single act of intercourse is at its peak) report elevated levels of general attraction to men (GarverApgar et al. 2006) and show increased preferences for sexually dimorphic (i.e., "masculine") faces, masculine body shapes (Little et al. 2007;Penton-Voak et al. 1999), "typical male behavioral displays" (Gangestad et al. 2004), for the scents of symmetrical men (Gangestad and Thornhill 1998) and of men who have greater genetic (MHC) compatibility (Wedekind et al. 1995), as well as for men who are socially dominant (Havlicek et al. 2005) and high in creative intelligence (Haselton and Miller 2006). Women in this cycle phase have also been found to be more accurate at judging male sexual orientation (Rule et al. 2011) and to pay closer attention to cues signaling status (Lens et al. 2011 Many of the traits outlined above, including masculinity, dominance, and facial symmetry, are believed to be acting as signals of underlying genetic competence, which is in turn responsible for physical health, developmental stability and superior immune-responsivity (for reviews see Rhodes 2006;Roberts and Little 2008). Mating with a partner who possesses such a robust gene set increases the odds that resulting offspring will be endowed with similar genetic advantages. However, a negative relationship seems to exist between genetic fitness indicators such as these and behaviors associated with long-term parental investment. For example, higher testosterone levels in utero, responsible for the development o...

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 82%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Menstrual Cycle Effects on Attitudes toward Romantic Kissing

Wlodarski

Dunbar

2013

Hum Nat

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“…Prior research has found that kissing serves the purposes of relationship maintenance and assessment of potential romantic partners for sexual compatibility (Hughes et al, 2007; Wlodarski & Dunbar, 2013). Because of kissing’s distinct significance, sexual behaviors may have different meanings when kissing is present versus absent.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In order to understand the role of sexual behavior patterns in emotional health, it is necessary to assess additional sexual behaviors. Although oral and penetrative sex are important to study, kissing and touching are also key to understanding relational outcomes because of their associations with affection and relationship maintenance (Hughes, Harrison, & Gallup, 2007; Wlodarski & Dunbar, 2013). One person-oriented study of adolescent girls found variation in the likelihood of kissing and touching in different latent classes (Hipwell et al, 2011), but it is unknown how these behaviors factor into sexual repertoires for boys or beyond mid-adolescence.…”

Section: The Value Of a Person-oriented Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

Latent Classes of Sexual Behaviors: Prevalence, Predictors, and Consequences

2016

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Scholars of adolescent and emerging adult sexuality have recently begun to study how diverse patterns of sexual behaviors contribute to development and well-being. A person-oriented approach to studying sexual behaviors provides a nuanced understanding of sexual repertoires. The goals of this paper were to document patterns of sexual behaviors ranging from kissing to penetrative sex, and to examine how latent classes of behaviors, gender, and partner type (romantic vs. nonromantic) predict intra- and interpersonal consequences of sexual behaviors. Latent class analysis of a stratified random sample of U.S. college students revealed four classes of sexual behaviors: Kissing Only, Kissing and Touching, All Behaviors, and Oral and Penetrative Only. Compared to individuals in the All Behaviors class, individuals in the Kissing Only class were less likely to experience a positive or a negative intrapersonal consequence of sexual behaviors. Men were less likely to report a negative intrapersonal consequence than women were. Partner type predicted negative interpersonal consequences for the All Behaviors class. Implications are discussed in terms of normative sexual development, prevention, and sexual and relationship education.

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“…Kirshenbaum (2011) claimed that kissing is a near universal; however, this conclusion was based on a very broad definition of kissing, which included various non-romantic contexts and greatly differing levels of physical context. Kissing seems to have several potential beneficial functions, including assessing the genetic fitness (Thornhill & Gangestad, 1999) and compatibility (Wedekind, Seebeck, Bettens, and Paepke, 1995) of partners, strengthening preexisting relationships (Wlodarski & Dunbar, 2013), and exchanging commensal microbiota (MontielCastro, González-Cervantes, Bravo-Ruiseco, & Pacheco-López, 2013). Despite the purported benefits of kissing, all of its forms do not appear to be universal.…”

Section: Romantic Sexual Kissingmentioning

confidence: 99%