News article:

Kissing may have evolved to help people pick a compatible mate -- and to keep the love going in long-term relationships. 
  
 You've got to kiss a lot of frogs to find your prince, as the saying goes. New research suggests the cliché is true on an evolutionary level. 
  
 Kissing might have evolved as a way to assess the quality of potential mates, according to two new studies. Women, who tend to be pickier about romantic entanglements than men, also care more about kissing in the first phases of a relationship, suggesting that make-outs may weed out duds. What's more, women are especially attuned to the importance of kissing during fertile phases of the menstrual cycle. 
  
 Kissing exists in virtually every culture on Earth, said study researcher Rafael Wlodarski, a doctoral candidate at the University of Oxford. Some of the oldest records left by humanity, including the Hindu Veda and ancient Egyptian wall murals, depict kissing. 
  
 "Because it's so common," Wlodarski told LiveScience, "it might serve a purpose." 
  
 The evolution of make-outs 
  
 Theories about why kissing matters fall into three categories. Some believe kissing evolved to help people assess potential mates, perhaps by transmitting pheromones, or chemical signals that could carry information about health or immune compatibility. [50 Sultry Facts About Sex] 
  
 "It's just an excuse to get two people who are interested in each other close enough to have a sniff," Wlodarski said. 
  
 No particular compound has been proven to be a human pheromone, but there is evidence that scent carries information. One study published in April 2013 found that women prefer the scent of men who have high levels of the masculine hormone testosterone. 
  
 Kissing also may have evolved to keep romantic pairs bonded, or to increase arousal prior to sex. To test these theories, Wlodarski and his colleagues recruited 902 American and British adults to answer questions about their attitudes toward kissing. 
  
 The participants rated how important they considered kissing at various stages in relationships. The approximately half of participants who were in relationships also reported how much they and their partners kissed, and how satisfied they were in the relationship. 
  
 The results gave little support to the notion that kissing evolved to ease the way to sex (even if it may often be used that way). People in short-term relationships saw kissing as most important right before sex, but there was no other indication that people use kissing primarily as a sexual warm-up act. In fact, people in relationships closely associated the amount and quality of their kisses with relationship satisfaction. The more kissing, the happier they were. The amount of sex, on the other hand, wasn't related to relationship satisfaction at all. 
  
 Pucker up 
  
 The latter finding suggests kissing serves a pair-bonding purpose, helping couples show affection and commitment. But kissing also seems to help people gauge relationship potential. 
  
 If kissing is a way to assess mates, the pickiest people should place the highest importance on kissing. This appears to be the case: Women, who take on the risk of gestating, birthing and caring for a child when they have sex, are generally more choosy about mates than men. They're also more likely than men to rate kissing as important, and more likely to say that an initial kiss had changed their attraction to another person, Wlodarski and his colleagues found. [Busted! 6 Gender Myths in the Bedroom & Beyond] 
  
 People who rated themselves as attractive — and thus who likely can afford to be picky — were also the most interested in kissing and the most likely to say that a kiss could sway their perceptions of attraction. Wdolarski and his colleagues report these findings in an upcoming issue of the journal Archives of Sexual Behavior. 
  
 A second study by the researchers, this one published in the September issue of the journal Human Nature, examined only female attitudes toward kissing. If kissing communicates some information about health, fertility or genetic compatibility, the thinking went, women who are at risk of conceiving are more likely to think kissing is important — after all, they might end up with a baby if the romance goes well. 
  
 The researchers surveyed 84 American and British women, asking them to report the dates of their menstrual cycle and to answer questions about how important kissing is in various stages of a relationship. Fifty of the women were in the luteal, or less-fertile, phase of their cycle, and 34 were in the late follicular phase, the point at which fertility peaks. 
  
 The most fertile women were more likely than the least fertile women to say that kissing in the early stages of the relationship is important, lending credence to the idea that they might be subconsciously sniffing out the best genes for their potential offspring. Both groups were equally likely to say kissing later in a relationship is important, potentially pointing to kissing's bond-cementing role. 
  
 "At different times in the relationship, [kissing] is used for different things," Wlodarski said. He next plans to move beyond kissing into even murkier depths. 
  
 "I'm interested in doing more research on what love is in humans," he said. "What is it that makes us so intimately attracted to one specific person?" 
  
 Follow Stephanie Pappas on Twitter and Google+. Follow us @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Original article on LiveScience. ||||| Getty Images/OJO Images RF / Getty Images/OJO Images RF 
  
 What is the point, really, of kissing? Humans make such a big deal of it, but almost no other animals smooch. 
  
 A new study out of Oxford University suggests that kissing may actually have a purpose beyond the obvious — it’s a mating audition. Potential mates are doing a taste test. And that could explain why women and guys who think they’re good-looking enjoy it more than other people do. 
  
 Kissing, which is practiced in almost every human society in various forms, is something of a mystery to those who study mating behavior. Chimps and bonobos kiss, but not with the same intensity or high levels of mooniness before and after the act that Homo sapiens display. There are three working theories about why we, as opposed to other species, like to lock lips: kissing can arouse, it cements relationships together or it’s a trial run of a potential mate. 
  
 Two researchers from Oxford’s department of experimental psychology, Rafael Wlodarski and Robin Dunbar, provide evidence for the latter explanations in their latest investigation. They set up an online survey and asked about 900 adults (about two-thirds of whom were women) to answer questions about how important kissing was in both long and short relationships. Overall, women valued kissing more than men (no surprise), but guys who rated themselves as more attractive than others or who had lots of girlfriends also placed more emphasis on the smooch. 
  
 (MORE: How My Nut Allergy Made Me More Monogamous) 
  
 That makes sense, say the researchers, since both women and good-looking guys tend to be more picky about their mating partners. For women, bearing and raising children is a huge investment of their life and health, so they want to choose the right co-parent. As anthropologist Helen Fisher told U.S. News and World Report, “When you get a highly intelligent, pair-bonding species that requires years to raise a baby, you evolve more and more brain mechanisms to weed out the losers.” The hottie guys are picky because, well, they can be; they have a lot of choices, so they need a way to winnow them down. Kissing, says the Oxford team, may therefore be a way of trying on potential partners. 
  
 “Mate choice and courtship in humans is complex,” Dunbar said in a statement discussing the work. “It involves a series of periods of assessments where people ask themselves, ‘Shall I carry on deeper into this relationship?'” The early judgment calls are all based on facial, body and social cues. “Then assessments become more and more intimate as we go deeper into the courtship stages,” he said, “and this is where kissing comes in.” 
  
 How does a kiss determine mateworthiness? It’s not really clear, but some philematologists (those are the people who study kissing) believe that it has to do with smell. In her book The Science of Kissing, Sheril Kirshenbaum cites Claus Wedekind, who she says found that “women are most attracted to the scent of men who have a very different genetic code for their immune system in a region of DNA known as the major histocompatibility complex.” Having different DNA from the individual you are kissing heightens the chance of having healthy offspring should the kissing lead somewhere. And juxtaposing two orbicularis oris muscles in a state of contraction is usually more fun than having a genetic test. 
  
 Other scientists believe women send off a signal if they’re ovulating that can be subconsciously detected if a mate is close enough. As the authors of a study published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior put it, “It is unclear, for example, whether kissing aids in the process of mate assessment by facilitating the evaluation of pheromonal cues for overall health, genetic fitness, or menstrual-cycle phase and fertility, or alternatively by aiding gustatory assessment of skin oils and saliva compounds.” (Translation: it could be a subconscious thing, or it could be that mates are actually figuring out whether each other smells good.) 
  
 (MORE: The Truth About College Hookups) 
  
 Women in the study also ranked kissing as more important for longer relationships, suggesting it was a way of communicating and enhancing affection and attachment. In fact, more kissing was strongly correlated than more sex with a higher-quality relationship (although the people who had a lot of both had the highest relationship satisfaction). Moreover, the researchers suggest that although kissing does cause arousal, arousal doesn’t seem to be what is driving people to kiss. 
  
 Maybe the couples in this event could shed some light on the matter. ||||| 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 behavior 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." 
  
 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, both published by Springer. 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. 
  
 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 women 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. 
  
 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 arousal might be a consequence of kissing (particularly as a prelude to sex), the researchers say it does not appear to be a driving factor that explains why we kiss in romantic relationships. 
  
 Other findings included: 
  
 * In short relationships, survey participants said kissing was most important before sex, less so during sex, was less important again after sex and was least important at other times. In committed relationships, where forming and maintain a lasting bond is an important goal, kissing was equally important before sex and at times not-related to sex. 
  
 * More frequent kissing in a relationship was linked to the quality of a relationship, while this wasn't the case for having more sex. However, people's satisfaction with the amount of both kissing and sex did tally with the quality of that relationship. 
  
 * In a companion paper in the journal Human Nature, the researchers report that women's attitudes to romantic kissing also depend on where in their menstrual cycle and their relationship they are. Women valued kissing most at initial stages of a relationship when they were in the part of their cycle when they are most likely to conceive. Previous studies have shown that hormonal changes associated with the menstrual cycle can change a woman's preferences for a potential mate. When chances of conceiving are highest, women seem to prefer men who display supposed signals of underlying genetic fitness, such as masculinized faces, facial symmetry, social dominance, and genetic compatibility. It appears that kissing a romantic potential partner at this time helps women assess the genetic quality of a potential mate, the researchers say. |||||
What is a shorter version of the above article?
– A new scientific study delves into that most important of questions: Why do humans kiss? It's a practice carried out by almost no other animals, especially not with the same level of intensity, Time notes. But researchers found locking lips may actually serve an evolutionary purpose: It helps us assess potential mates and weed out the lesser options, LiveScience reports. That explains why women (who are pickier than men when it comes to mating) and people who rate themselves as attractive (who are also pickier) said they found kissing more enjoyable and important than their male and/or less attractive counterparts, Science Daily reports. It also explains why women find kissing especially important when they're at their most fertile. One theory: Kissing might transmit pheromones or chemical information—some of which can be transmitted through smell—about a partner's health, fertility, or genetic and immune compatibility. As one researcher says, "It's just an excuse to get two people who are interested in each other close enough to have a sniff." Says another, "Mate choice and courtship in humans ... involves a series of periods of assessments where people ask themselves, 'Shall I carry on deeper into this relationship?'" Kissing can help answer that question. (And once a partner is found, one writer suggests applying the principles of software code to the relationship.)
Nyhetsartikel: Kissing kan ha utvecklats för att hjälpa människor att välja en kompatibel partner -- och för att hålla kärleken igång i långsiktiga relationer. Man måste kyssa många grodor för att hitta sin prins. Ny forskning tyder på att klichén är sann på evolutionär nivå. Kissning kan ha utvecklats som ett sätt att bedöma kvaliteten på potentiella partner, enligt två nya studier. Kvinnor, som tenderar att vara kräsna om romantiska förvecklingar än män, bryr sig också mer om kyssar i de första faserna av ett förhållande, vilket antyder att hånglande kan rensa bort duds. Dessutom är kvinnor särskilt inställda på vikten av att kyssas under fertila faser av menstruationscykeln. Kissing finns i praktiskt taget varje kultur på jorden, sade studieforskaren Rafael Wlodarski, en doktorand vid University of Oxford. Några av de äldsta urkunder som mänskligheten lämnat efter sig, däribland Hindu Veda och forntida egyptiska väggmålningar, föreställer kyssar. "Eftersom det är så vanligt", sa Wlodarski till LiveScience, "kan det tjäna ett syfte." Utvecklingen av påhitt Teorier om varför kyssa saker och ting faller inom tre kategorier. Somliga tror att kyssar utvecklades för att hjälpa människor att bedöma potentiella partner, kanske genom att överföra feromoner, eller kemiska signaler som skulle kunna medföra information om hälsa eller immunkompatibilitet. [50 Sultry Facts About Sex] "Det är bara en ursäkt för att få två personer som är intresserade av varandra tillräckligt nära för att få en sniff", sade Wlodarski. Ingen särskild förening har bevisats vara en mänsklig feromon, men det finns bevis för att doft bär på information. En studie som publicerades i april 2013 visade att kvinnor föredrar doften av män som har höga halter av det maskulina hormonet testosteron. Kyssning kan också ha utvecklats för att hålla romantiska par sammanbundna, eller för att öka upphetsningen före sex. För att testa dessa teorier rekryterade Wlodarski och hans kollegor 902 amerikanska och brittiska vuxna för att svara på frågor om sin inställning till kyssar. Deltagarna bedömde hur viktigt det var att kyssas i olika skeden i relationer. Den ungefär hälften av deltagarna som var i relationer rapporterade också hur mycket de och deras partners kysstes, och hur nöjda de var i relationen. Resultaten gav föga stöd till föreställningen att kyssar utvecklades för att underlätta vägen till sex (även om det ofta kan användas på det sättet). Personer i kortvariga relationer såg kyssar som viktigast precis före sex, men det fanns inga andra indikationer på att människor använder kyssar främst som en sexuell uppvärmningsakt. I själva verket människor i relationer nära förknippade mängden och kvaliteten på sina kyssar med relationen tillfredsställelse. Ju fler kyssar, desto lyckligare var de. Mängden sex var däremot inte alls relaterat till relationsnöjdhet. Pucker upp Det senare fyndet föreslår kyssar tjänar ett par-band syfte, hjälpa par visa tillgivenhet och engagemang. Men kyssar verkar också hjälpa människor att bedöma relationspotentialen. Om kyssar är ett sätt att bedöma makar, bör de mest petiga människorna lägga största vikt vid kyssar. Så tycks vara fallet: Kvinnor, som tar på sig risken att gestatera, föda och ta hand om ett barn när de har sex, är i allmänhet mer kräsna när det gäller makar än män. De är också mer benägna än män att värdera kyssar som viktiga, och mer troligt att säga att en initial kyss hade förändrat deras dragning till en annan person, Wlodarski och hans kollegor hittade. [Busted! 6 Könsmyter i sovrummet & Bortom] Människor som bedömde sig som attraktiva – och därmed som sannolikt har råd att vara kräsna – var också mest intresserade av kyssar och de mest benägna att säga att en kyss kunde påverka deras uppfattningar om attraktion. Wdolarski och hans kollegor rapporterar dessa fynd i ett kommande nummer av tidskriften Archives of Sexual Behavior. En andra studie av forskarna, som publicerades i septembernumret av tidskriften Human Nature, undersökte endast kvinnliga attityder till kyssar. Om kyssar ger viss information om hälsa, fertilitet eller genetisk kompatibilitet, gick tänkandet, kvinnor som löper risk att bli fantasier är mer benägna att tro att kyssar är viktigt — när allt kommer omkring, de kan sluta med ett barn om romantiken går bra. Forskarna undersökte 84 amerikanska och brittiska kvinnor och bad dem att rapportera datumen för sin menstruationscykel och att svara på frågor om hur viktigt kyssar är i olika skeden av ett förhållande. Femtio av kvinnorna befann sig i den luteala, eller mindre fertila, fasen av sin cykel, och 34 var i den sena follikelfasen, den punkt då fertiliteten når sin höjdpunkt. De fertilaste kvinnorna var mer benägna än de minst fertila kvinnorna att säga att kyssar i de tidiga stadierna av relationen är viktigt, vilket ger trovärdighet till tanken att de kanske undermedvetet sniffa ut de bästa generna för sin potentiella avkomma. Båda grupperna var lika benägna att säga kyssar senare i ett förhållande är viktigt, potentiellt pekar på kyssars bindning-cementing roll. "Vid olika tidpunkter i förhållandet används [kyssning] för olika saker", sade Wlodarski. Han planerar därefter att gå längre än att kyssas in i ännu murkigare djup. "Jag är intresserad av att forska mer om vad kärlek är hos människor", sa han. "Vad är det som gör oss så intimt attraherade av en viss person?" Följ Stephanie Pappas på Twitter och Google+. Följ oss @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Originalartikel på LiveScience. Getty Images/OJO Images RF / Getty Images/OJO Images RF Vad är egentligen poängen med att kyssas? Människor gör en sådan stor sak av det, men nästan inga andra djur smooch. En ny studie från Oxford University tyder på att kyssar faktiskt kan ha ett syfte bortom det uppenbara — det är en parnings audition. Potentiella partner gör ett smakprov. Och det kan förklara varför kvinnor och killar som tycker att de ser bra ut njuter av det mer än andra människor gör. Kyssning, som utövas i nästan varje mänskligt samhälle i olika former, är något av ett mysterium för dem som studerar parningsbeteende. Chimps och bonobos kysser, men inte med samma intensitet eller höga nivåer av månhet före och efter handlingen som Homo sapiens visar. Det finns tre arbetsteorier om varför vi, i motsats till andra arter, gillar att låsa läppar: kyssar kan väcka, det cementerar relationer tillsammans eller det är en testkörning av en potentiell partner. Två forskare från Oxfords avdelning för experimentell psykologi, Rafael Wlodarski och Robin Dunbar, ger bevis för de senare förklaringarna i sin senaste undersökning. De satte upp en onlineundersökning och bad cirka 900 vuxna (varav cirka två tredjedelar var kvinnor) att svara på frågor om hur viktig kyssen var i både långa och korta relationer. Sammantaget värderade kvinnor kyssar mer än män (ingen överraskning), men killar som klassade sig som mer attraktiva än andra eller som hade massor av flickvänner lade också större vikt vid smoochen. (MORE: How My Nut Allergie Made Me More Monogamous) Det är logiskt, säger forskarna, eftersom både kvinnor och snygga killar tenderar att vara mer kräsna om sina parningspartners. För kvinnor är förlossning och uppfostran av barn en stor investering i deras liv och hälsa, så de vill välja rätt medförälder. Som antropologen Helen Fisher berättade för U.S. News and World Report, “När du får en mycket intelligent, parband art som kräver år för att uppfostra ett barn, du utvecklas mer och mer hjärnmekanismer för att rensa bort förlorarna.” De hetaste killar är kräsna eftersom, ja, de kan vara; de har en hel del val, så de behöver ett sätt att vinna nu dem ner. Kissing, säger Oxford-teamet, kan därför vara ett sätt att pröva potentiella partners. “Mate val och uppvaktning i människor är komplext,” Dunbar sade i ett uttalande diskuterar arbetet. – Det handlar om en rad perioder av bedömningar där människor frågar sig själva: Ska jag fortsätta djupare in i detta förhållande? De tidiga bedömningsanropen är baserade på ansikts-, kropps- och sociala signaler. ”Då blir bedömningarna mer och mer intima när vi går djupare in i uppvaktningsstadierna”, sade han, ”och det är här kyssar kommer in.” Hur avgör en kyss äktenskaplighet? Det är inte riktigt klart, men vissa filematologer (det är de människor som studerar kyssar) tror att det har att göra med lukt. I sin bok The Science of Kissing citerar Sheril Kirshenbaum Claus Wedekind, som hon säger fann att ”kvinnor är mest attraherade av doften av män som har en helt annan genetisk kod för sitt immunförsvar i en region av DNA som kallas den stora histokompatibilitetskomplex.” Med olika DNA från den individ du kysser ökar chansen att ha friska avkommor bör kyssarna leda någonstans. Och det är oftast roligare att ha två orbicularis oris muskler i ett tillstånd av sammandragning än att ha ett genetiskt test. Andra forskare tror att kvinnor sänder ut en signal om de har ägglossning som kan upptäckas undermedvetet om en partner är nära nog. Som författarna till en studie publicerad i The Archives of Sexual Behavior uttryckte det, ”Det är oklart till exempel om kysshjälpmedel i processen för parning bedömning genom att underlätta utvärderingen av feromonala ledtrådar för allmän hälsa, genetisk kondition, eller menstruationscykel fas och fertilitet, eller alternativt genom att hjälpa gustatory bedömning av hudoljor och salivföreningar.” (Översättning: det kan vara en undermedveten sak, eller det kan vara att par faktiskt räkna ut om varandra luktar bra.) (MORE: The Truth About College Hookups) Kvinnor i studien rankade också kyssar som viktigare för längre relationer, vilket tyder på att det var ett sätt att kommunicera och stärka tillgivenhet och fasthållande. I själva verket var mer kyssar starkt korrelerade än mer sex med en högre kvalitet relation (även om de människor som hade en hel del av båda hade den högsta relationen tillfredsställelse). Dessutom menar forskarna att även om kyssar orsakar upphetsning, verkar inte upphetsning vara det som driver människor att kyssas. Paren i den här händelsen kanske kan kasta lite ljus över saken. Vad är det i en kyss? En studie av Oxford University forskare föreslår kyssar hjälper oss att storleksanpassa potentiella partners och, när en relation, kan vara ett sätt att få en partner att stanna kvar. "Kyssning i mänskliga sexuella relationer är otroligt vanligt i olika former i nästan varje samhälle och kultur", säger Rafael Wlodarski, den DPhil-student som utförde forskningen vid Institutionen för experimentell psykologi vid Oxford University. "Kyssning ses hos våra närmaste primatsläktingar, schimpanser och bonoboer, men det är mycket mindre intensivt och mindre vanligt förekommande. "Så här är ett mänskligt uppvaktningsbeteende som är otroligt utbrett och vanligt och, i omfattning, är ganska unikt. Och vi är fortfarande inte helt säkra på varför det är så utbrett eller vilket syfte det tjänar." För att förstå mer satte Rafael Wlodarski och professor Robin Dunbar upp ett nätenkät där över 900 vuxna svarade på frågor om vikten av att kyssas i både kortsiktiga och långsiktiga relationer. Rafael Wlodarski förklarar: "Det finns tre huvudteorier om den roll som kyssar spelar i sexuella relationer: att det på något sätt hjälper till att bedöma den genetiska kvaliteten hos potentiella makar; att det används för att öka upphetsningen (att initiera sex till exempel); och att det är användbart att hålla ihop relationer. Vi ville se vilken av dessa teorier som höll upp under närmare granskning." Forskarna redovisar sina resultat i två uppsatser, en i tidskriften Archives of Sexual Behavior och den andra i tidskriften Human Nature, båda publicerade av Springer. De finansierades av Europeiska forskningsrådet. Av enkätsvaren framgick att kvinnor ansåg att kyssar i allmänhet var viktigare i relationer än män. Dessutom ansåg även män och kvinnor som bedömde sig vara attraktiva, eller som tenderade att ha mer kortvariga relationer och tillfälliga möten att kyssar var viktigare. Hos människor, som hos alla däggdjur, måste honor satsa mer tid än män på att få avkomma -- dräktigheten tar nio månader och amningen kan ta upp till flera år. Tidigare studier har visat att kvinnor tenderar att vara mer selektiva när de till en början väljer partner. Män och kvinnor som är mer attraktiva, eller har mer tillfälliga sexpartners, har också visat sig vara mer selektiva när det gäller att välja potentiella partner. Eftersom det är dessa grupper som tenderar att värdera kyssar mer i sina enkätsvar, antyder det att kyssar hjälper till att bedöma potentiella partner. Det har föreslagits tidigare att kyssar kan tillåta människor att undermedvetet bedöma en potentiell partner genom smak eller lukt, plocka upp biologiska ledtrådar för kompatibilitet, genetisk kondition eller allmän hälsa. "Mate val och uppvaktning hos människor är komplext", säger professor Robin Dunbar. "Det handlar om en rad perioder av bedömningar där människor frågar sig själva 'skall jag fortsätta djupare in i detta förhållande?' Till en början kan attraktionen omfatta ansikts-, kropps- och sociala ledtrådar. Då blir bedömningarna allt mer intima när vi går djupare in i uppvaktningsstadierna, och det är här kyssar kommer in." Han tillägger: "När vi väljer partners måste vi ta itu med 'Jane Austen-problemet': Hur länge väntar ni på att Mr Darcy ska följa med när ni inte kan vänta för evigt och det kan finnas massor av kvinnor som väntar bara på honom? När måste du kompromissa för kuraten? "Det Jane Austen insåg är att människor är extremt bra på att bedöma var de befinner sig på den 'matande marknaden' och ställer sina krav i enlighet därmed. Det beror på vilken typ av pokerhand du har fått. Om du har en stark budande hand, har du råd att vara mycket mer krävande och kräsen när det gäller blivande makar. "Vi ser en del av detta komma ut i resultaten av vår undersökning, vilket tyder på att kyssar spelar en roll i bedömningen av en potentiell partner", förklarar professor Dunbar. Tidigare forskning har också visat att kvinnor sätter större värde på aktiviteter som stärker långsiktiga relationer (eftersom uppfostran av barn underlättas med två föräldrar närvarande). I den aktuella studien fann teamet att kyssarnas betydelse förändrades för människor beroende på om det gjordes i långsiktiga eller kortsiktiga relationer. Särskilt ansågs den av kvinnor vara viktigare i långsiktiga relationer, vilket tyder på att kyssar också spelar en viktig roll för att medla om tillgivenhet och tillgivenhet bland etablerade par. Medan höga nivåer av upphetsning kan vara en följd av kyssar (särskilt som ett förspel till sex), säger forskarna att det inte verkar vara en drivande faktor som förklarar varför vi kysser i romantiska relationer. Andra fynd inkluderade: * I korta relationer sade undersökningsdeltagarna att kyssar var viktigast före sex, mindre så under sex, var mindre viktigt igen efter sex och var minst viktigt vid andra tillfällen. I engagerade relationer, där det är viktigt att skapa och upprätthålla ett varaktigt band, var kyssar lika viktiga före sex och ibland inte relaterade till sex. * Mer frekvent kyssar i ett förhållande var kopplat till kvaliteten på ett förhållande, medan detta inte var fallet för att ha mer sex. Människors tillfredsställelse med mängden både kyssar och sex stämde dock överens med kvaliteten på det förhållandet. * I en följeslagare i tidskriften Human Nature rapporterar forskarna att kvinnors inställning till romantiska kyssar också beror på var i sin menstruationscykel de befinner sig och deras relation. Kvinnor värderade kyssar mest i de inledande stadierna av ett förhållande när de var i den del av sin cykel när de är mest benägna att bli gravida. Tidigare studier har visat att hormonella förändringar i samband med menstruationscykeln kan förändra en kvinnas preferenser för en potentiell partner. När chanserna att bli gravid är störst, verkar kvinnor föredra män som visar förmodade signaler om underliggande genetisk lämplighet, såsom maskuliniserade ansikten, ansiktssymmetri, social dominans och genetisk kompatibilitet. Det verkar som om kyssar av en romantisk potentiell partner just nu hjälper kvinnor att bedöma den genetiska kvaliteten hos en potentiell partner, säger forskarna. Vad är en kortare version av ovanstående artikel?
News article: Kissing may have been developed to help people choose a compatible partner -- and to keep love going in long-term relationships. You have to kiss a lot of frogs to find your prince. New research suggests that the cliché is true at the evolutionary level. Kissing may have been developed as a means of assessing the quality of potential partners, according to two new studies. Women, who tend to be picky about romantic predispositions than men, also care more about kissing in the first phases of a relationship, suggesting that making out can clear out duds. In addition, women are particularly concerned about the importance of kissing during fertile phases of the menstrual cycle. Kissing is found in virtually every culture on earth, said study researcher Rafael Wlodarski, a graduate student at the University of Oxford. Some of the oldest records left behind by mankind, including Hindu Veda and ancient Egyptian murals, depict kisses. "Because it's so common," Wlodarski told LiveScience, "it could serve a purpose." The development of fiction Theories of why kissing things falls into three categories. Some believe that kissing was developed to help people assess potential partners, perhaps by transmitting pheromones, or chemical signals that could bring information about health or immune compatibility. [50 Sultry Facts About Sex] "It's just an excuse to get two people interested in each other close enough to get a sniff," Wlodarski said. No particular compound has been proven to be a human pheromone, but there is evidence that fragrance carries information. A study published in April 2013 showed that women prefer the smell of men having high levels of the masculine hormone testosterone. Kissing may also have been developed to keep romantic couples tied together, or to increase the excitement before sex. To test these theories, Wlodarski and his colleagues recruited 902 American and British adults to answer questions about their attitude to kissing. The participants assessed how important it was to kiss at different stages in relationships. The roughly half of the participants who were in relationships also reported how much they and their partners kissed, and how satisfied they were in the relationship. The results gave little support to the notion that kissing was developed to facilitate the way to sex (although it can often be used that way). People in short-term relationships saw kissing as most important right before sex, but there were no other indications that people use kissing primarily as a sexual act of warming. In fact, people in relationships closely associated the amount and quality of their kisses with the relationship satisfaction. The more kisses, the happier they were. The amount of sex, on the other hand, was not at all related to relationship satisfaction. Pucker up The latter find suggests kissing serves a pair-band purpose, helping couples show affection and commitment. But kissing also seems to help people assess the relationship potential. If kissing is a way of judging spouses, the most picky people should put the greatest emphasis on kissing. This seems to be the case: Women who take on the risk of giving birth and caring for a child when they have sex are generally more picky in terms of husbands than men. They are also more likely than men to value kissing as important, and more likely to say that an initial kiss had changed their attraction to another person, Wlodarski and his colleagues found. [Busted! 6 Gender myths in the bedroom & Beyond] People who deemed themselves attractive—and thus likely to afford to be picky—were also most interested in kissing and the most likely to say that a kiss could affect their perceptions of attraction. Wdolarski and his colleagues report these findings in an upcoming issue of the Archives of Sexual Behavior magazine. A second study by the researchers, published in the September issue of Human Nature magazine, examined only female attitudes toward kissing. If kisses provide some information about health, fertility or genetic compatibility, went thinking, women who are at risk of becoming fantasies are more likely to believe that kissing is important — after all, they can end up with a child if romance goes well. The researchers examined 84 American and British women and asked them to report the dates of their menstrual cycle and to answer questions about how important kissing is at different stages of a relationship. Fifty of the women were in the luteal, or less fertile, phase of their cycle, and 34 were in the late follicular phase, the point at which fertility reaches its peak. The most fertile women were more likely than the least fertile women to say that kissing in the early stages of the relationship is important, giving credibility to the idea that they might subconsciously sniff out the best genes for their potential offspring. Both groups were equally inclined to say kisses later in a relationship are important, potentially pointing to the binding-cementing role of kisses. "At different times in the relationship, [kissing] is used for different things," Wlodarski said. He then plans to go further than kissing into even murkyer depths. "I'm interested in researching more about what love is in people," he said. "What makes us so intimately attracted to a certain person?" Follow Stephanie Pappas on Twitter and Google+. Follow us @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Original article on LiveScience. Getty Images/OJO Images RF / Getty Images/OJO Images RF What is the point of kissing? People make such a big deal out of it, but almost no other animals smooch. A new study from Oxford University suggests that kissing can actually have a purpose beyond the obvious — it is a mating audition. Potential partners make a sample. And that might explain why women and guys who think they look good enjoy it more than other people do. Kissing, practiced in almost every human society in different forms, is something of a mystery to those studying mating behavior. Chimps and bonobos kiss, but not with the same intensity or high levels of moonness before and after the act as Homo sapiens shows. There are three working theories as to why we, unlike other species, like to lock lips: kisses can awaken, it cements relationships together or it is a test run by a potential partner. Two researchers from Oxford's Department of Experimental Psychology, Rafael Wlodarski and Robin Dunbar, provide evidence of the latter explanations in their latest survey. They set up an online survey and asked about 900 adults (about two thirds of whom were women) to answer questions about how important the kiss was in both long and short relationships. Overall, women valued kissing more than men (no surprise), but guys who rated themselves more attractive than others or who had lots of girlfriends also placed more emphasis on the smooch. (MORE: How My Nut Allergie Made Me More Monogamous) It makes sense, say the researchers, because both women and handsome guys tend to be more picky about their mating partners. For women, giving birth and raising children is a big investment in their lives and health, so they want to choose the right co-parent. As anthropologist Helen Fisher told U.S. News and World Report, “When you get a very intelligent, pair band species that takes years to raise a child, you develop more and more brain mechanisms to clear out the losers.” The hottest guys are picky because, well, they can be; they have a lot of choices, so they need a way to win them down now. Kissing, says the Oxford team, can therefore be a way to test potential partners. “Mate choice and courtship in people is complex,” Dunbar said in a statement discussing the work. “These are a series of periods of judgements where people ask themselves: Should I continue deeper into this relationship? The early assessment calls are based on facial, body, and social signals. “Then the assessments become more and more intimate as we go deeper into the courtship stages,” he said, “and this is where kisses come in.” How does a kiss determine maritality? It is not quite clear, but some filematologists (it is the people studying kisses) think it has to do with smell. In her book The Science of Kissing, Sheril quotes Kirshenbaum Claus Wedekind, who she says found that “women are most attracted to the scent of men who have a completely different genetic code for their immune system in a region of DNA called the great histocompatibility complex.” With different DNA from the individual you kiss, the chance of having healthy offspring increases the kisses should lead somewhere. And it is usually more fun to have two orbicularis oris muscles in a state of contraction than to have a genetic test. Other researchers believe that women send out a signal if they have ovulation that can be detected subconsciously if a partner is close enough. As the authors of a study published in The Archives of Sexual Behavior put it, “It is unclear, for example, about kissing aids in the process of mating assessment by facilitating the evaluation of pheromonic clues for general health, genetic fitness, or menstrual cycle phase and fertility, or alternatively by helping gustatory assessment of skin oils and saliva compounds.” (Translation: it may be a subconscious thing, or it may be that couples actually figure out if each other smells good.) (MORE: The Truth About College Hookups) Women in the study also ranked kissing as more important for longer relationships, suggesting it was a way to communicate and strengthen affection and attachment. In fact, more kisses were strongly correlated even more sex with a higher quality relationship (although those people who had a lot of both had the highest relationship satisfaction). In addition, researchers argue that while kissing causes excitement, excitement does not seem to be what drives people to kiss. The couples in this event may shed some light on the matter. What's in a kiss? A study by Oxford University researchers suggests kissing helps us to size potential partners and, when a relationship, can be a way to make a partner stay. "Kissing in human sexual relations is incredibly common in different forms in almost every society and culture," says Rafael Wlodarski, the DPhil student who conducted the research at the Department of Experimental Psychology at Oxford University. "Kissing is seen in our closest primate relatives, chimpanzees and bonobos, but it is much less intense and less common. "So here's a human courtship behavior that is incredibly widespread and common and, in scope, is quite unique. And we're still not entirely sure why it's so widespread or what purpose it serves." To understand more, Rafael Wlodarski and Professor Robin Dunbar set up a net survey 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 kisses play in sexual relations: that it somehow helps assess the genetic quality of potential spouses; that it is used to increase excitement (starting sex for example); and that it is useful to keep 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 other in the journal Human Nature, both published by Springer. They were funded by the European Research Council. The questionnaire replies showed that women felt that kissing was generally more important in relationships than men. In addition, men and women who deemed themselves attractive, or who tended to have more short-term relationships and casual encounters also considered kissing to be more important. In humans, as in all mammals, females have to invest more time than men in getting offspring -- pregnancy takes nine months and breastfeeding can take up to several years. Previous studies have shown that women tend to be more selective when initially choosing partners. Men and women who are more attractive, or have more casual sex partners, have also proven to be more selective in choosing potential partners. Since it is these groups that tend to value kissing more in their questionnaire responses, it suggests that kissing helps assess potential partners. It has been suggested in the past that kissing may allow people to subconsciously assess a potential partner by taste or smell, picking up biological clues for compatibility, genetic fitness or general health. "Mate choice and courtship in people is complex," says Professor Robin Dunbar. "These are a series of periods of judgements where people ask themselves 'shall I continue deeper into this relationship?' At first, the attraction may include facial, body, and social clues. Then the assessments become increasingly intimate as we go deeper into the courtship stages, and this is where kisses come in." He adds, "When we choose 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 can be lots of women waiting just for him? When do you have to compromise for the curate? "What Jane Austen realized is that people are extremely good at assessing where they are in the 'feeding market' and setting their demands accordingly. It depends on the type of poker hand you have received. If you have a strong bidding hand, you can afford to be much more demanding and discerning in the case of future spouses. "We see some of this coming out in the results of our investigation, suggesting that kissing plays a role in the assessment of a potential partner," explains Professor Dunbar. Previous research has also shown that women place greater value on activities that strengthen long-term relationships (as raising children is facilitated with two parents present). In the current study, the team found that the importance of kissing changed for people depending on whether it was done in long-term or short-term relationships. In particular, it was considered by women to be more important in long-term relationships, indicating that kissing also plays an important role in mediating affection and affection among established couples. While high levels of excitement may be a consequence of kissing (especially as a prelude to sex), researchers say that it does not seem to be a driving factor that explains why we kiss in romantic relationships. Other findings included: * In brief relationships, survey participants said kissing was most important before sex, less so during sex, was less important again after sex and was least important at other times. In committed relationships, where it is important to create and maintain a lasting bond, kissing was just as important before sex and sometimes not related to sex. * More frequent kissing in a relationship was linked to the quality of a relationship, whereas this was not the case for having more sex. However, people's satisfaction with the amount of both kisses and sex was consistent with the quality of that relationship. * In a companion in the journal Human Nature, researchers report that women’s attitude toward romantic kissing also depends on where in their menstrual cycle they are and their relationship. Women valued kissing most in the initial stages of a relationship when they were in the part of their cycle when they are most likely to become pregnant. Previous studies have shown that hormonal changes associated with the menstrual cycle can change a woman's preferences for a potential partner. When the chances of becoming pregnant are greatest, women seem to prefer men who show supposed signals of underlying genetic suitability, such as masculine faces, facial symmetry, social dominance and genetic compatibility. It seems that kissing a romantic potential partner is currently helping women assess the genetic quality of a potential partner, says researchers. What is a shorter version of the above article?
– En ny vetenskaplig studie fördjupar sig i de viktigaste frågorna: Varför kysser människor? Det är en övning som utförs av nästan inga andra djur, speciellt inte med samma intensitetsnivå, Tidsanteckningar. Men forskare som har funnit att läpparna är låsta kan faktiskt tjäna ett evolutionärt syfte: Det hjälper oss att bedöma potentiella partner och rensa bort de mindre alternativen, rapporterar LiveScience. Det förklarar varför kvinnor (som är mer kräsna än män när det gäller parning) och människor som klassar sig som attraktiva (som också är kräsna) sade att de fann kyssar roligare och viktigare än sina manliga och/eller mindre attraktiva motsvarigheter, Science Daily rapporterar. Det förklarar också varför kvinnor tycker att kyssar är särskilt viktiga när de är som fertila. En teori: Kissing kan överföra feromoner eller kemisk information, av vilka en del kan överföras genom lukt, om en partners hälsa, fertilitet, eller genetisk och immun kompatibilitet. Som en forskare säger, "Det är bara en ursäkt för att få två personer som är intresserade av varandra att ha en sniff." Säger en annan, "Mate val och uppvaktning i människor ... innebär en rad perioder av bedömningar där människor frågar sig själva, 'Skall jag fortsätta djupare in i detta förhållande?'" Att kyssas kan hjälpa till att besvara den frågan. (Och när en partner väl hittats föreslår en skribent att man tillämpar programvarukodens principer på relationen.)
“A new scientific study is immersing itself in the most important questions: Why do people kiss? It is an exercise carried out by almost no other animals, especially not with the same intensity level, Time Notes. But scientists who have found that the lips are locked can actually serve an evolutionary purpose: It helps us assess potential partners and clear out the smaller options, reports LiveScience. That explains why women (who are more picky than men in terms of mating) and people who rate themselves as attractive (who are also picky) said they found kisses more fun and more important than their male and/or less attractive counterparts, Science Daily reports. It also explains why women feel that kissing is especially important when they are fertile. A Theory: Kissing can transmit pheromones or chemical information, some of which can be transmitted by smell, about a partner's health, fertility, or genetic and immune compatibility. As a scientist says, "It's just an excuse to get two people interested in each other to have a sniff." Says another, "Mate choice and courtship in people...means a series of periods of assessments where people ask themselves, 'Shall I continue deeper into this relationship?'" Kissing can help answer that question. (And once a partner is found, a writer suggests applying the principles of the software code to the relationship.)