MalahatTwo7
07-15-2008, 02:14 PM
I HAD TO make this its own thread:
If you wanna know if he loves you so, it's in his kiss. College study finds men and women use sloppy lip-lock for different reasons
Jennifer Parks, For Canwest News Service Published: Tuesday, July 15, 2008
EDMONTON -- What made Spider-Man lock lips with a wet-T-shirt-clad Mary Jane Watson in their famous upside-down embrace?
Was it fireworks or just pheromones when Richard Gere's character puckered up for a down-on-her-luck hooker, played by Julia Roberts, in Pretty Woman?
Turns out there's more to a kiss than meets the eye, says a group of evolutionary psychologists who recently studied the sex differences in romantic kissing among college students.
What's in a kiss, it seems, depends on whether you've got an extra X or Y chromosome.
"We found that females place more importance on kissing to screen for potential mates, while men, especially with short-term partners, use kissing to increase their chances of having sex," says Susan Hughes, an assistant professor of psychology at Albright College in Pennsylvania who worked on the study.
The study surveyed the kissing behaviours of 1,041 college students who filled out questionnaires measuring their smooching styles and preferences in both short- and long-term relationships.
"Women use kissing more as a mate assessment device, while men use it more as a means to an end," says Hughes. "This suggests females are more discriminating and males are more opportunistic."
The study showed that in long-term relationships, however, men and women place a more equal value on kissing because they realize it's a form of bonding.
Ladies: ever kissed a guy you were attracted to, only to find it was a total deal-breaker?
A little mouth-to-mouth can tell us a lot, says Hughes.
At the moment of the kiss, an enormous amount of chemical and sensory information is available to us about a prospective mate, which can even help assess his level of commitment, she explains.
"We use smell, taste and pheromones to select a mate who'll be most likely to stick around afterwards and help raise the child. Of course, this is all happening on a subconscious level. We know great chemistry when we feel it, but we're not identifying what makes it such a good kiss," says Hughes.
Guys: ever wondered why you find tonsil-hockey such a turn-on?
Men consider a "good kiss" to be one where their partner lets them initiate tongue contact, the study says.
In a nutshell: the wetter the kiss, the more information guys can glean about a female's fertility. Since men are less sensitive to chemical and sensory cues, they need to swap more spit to detect if a potential mate is genetically compatible, says Hughes.
"Not to mention," she adds, "wetness is a sign of receptivity."
During an open-mouth kiss, the study theorizes males may even deposit hormones and proteins inside women's mouths to influence their mating psychology, and make them more sexually receptive.
Forget the red wine and oysters; Don Juan knew centuries ago that a sexy, wet kiss was the best aphrodisiac for turning a fair maiden into puddles.
A chat with my guy friend, Ted, reinforced many of Hughes comments.
"There's a difference between kissing to get laid and kissing someone you love," says my 35-year-old pal, who "played the field" through much of his mid-20s before falling in love with his future wife.
"I've dated people where I can tell a woman wants a soft, gentle and romantic kiss compared to when she's just interested in sex, and I would kiss them differently," admits Ted.
"Why would a girl kiss you? Just to feel your lips? It's a move to the next step. It signals a willingness to be close enough that you're probably willing to get naked and have sex."
Since women, overall, place more importance on kissing than men, the right lip-lock can make or break the moment, he contends.
"Women have more guilt around sex, so they expect one-night stand romance. That kiss is more important to them, so you create a mood to make you both feel better about what you're doing."
Whether it's deliberate manipulation, he says, depends on the stage of life the guy is in.
"If you really like a girl, you want to show patience, subtlety and compassion in a kiss; slow, not too fast, no tongues all over the place. You want her to think you're a nice guy she can be with, not some porn star."
© Times Colonist (Victoria) 2008
If you wanna know if he loves you so, it's in his kiss. College study finds men and women use sloppy lip-lock for different reasons
Jennifer Parks, For Canwest News Service Published: Tuesday, July 15, 2008
EDMONTON -- What made Spider-Man lock lips with a wet-T-shirt-clad Mary Jane Watson in their famous upside-down embrace?
Was it fireworks or just pheromones when Richard Gere's character puckered up for a down-on-her-luck hooker, played by Julia Roberts, in Pretty Woman?
Turns out there's more to a kiss than meets the eye, says a group of evolutionary psychologists who recently studied the sex differences in romantic kissing among college students.
What's in a kiss, it seems, depends on whether you've got an extra X or Y chromosome.
"We found that females place more importance on kissing to screen for potential mates, while men, especially with short-term partners, use kissing to increase their chances of having sex," says Susan Hughes, an assistant professor of psychology at Albright College in Pennsylvania who worked on the study.
The study surveyed the kissing behaviours of 1,041 college students who filled out questionnaires measuring their smooching styles and preferences in both short- and long-term relationships.
"Women use kissing more as a mate assessment device, while men use it more as a means to an end," says Hughes. "This suggests females are more discriminating and males are more opportunistic."
The study showed that in long-term relationships, however, men and women place a more equal value on kissing because they realize it's a form of bonding.
Ladies: ever kissed a guy you were attracted to, only to find it was a total deal-breaker?
A little mouth-to-mouth can tell us a lot, says Hughes.
At the moment of the kiss, an enormous amount of chemical and sensory information is available to us about a prospective mate, which can even help assess his level of commitment, she explains.
"We use smell, taste and pheromones to select a mate who'll be most likely to stick around afterwards and help raise the child. Of course, this is all happening on a subconscious level. We know great chemistry when we feel it, but we're not identifying what makes it such a good kiss," says Hughes.
Guys: ever wondered why you find tonsil-hockey such a turn-on?
Men consider a "good kiss" to be one where their partner lets them initiate tongue contact, the study says.
In a nutshell: the wetter the kiss, the more information guys can glean about a female's fertility. Since men are less sensitive to chemical and sensory cues, they need to swap more spit to detect if a potential mate is genetically compatible, says Hughes.
"Not to mention," she adds, "wetness is a sign of receptivity."
During an open-mouth kiss, the study theorizes males may even deposit hormones and proteins inside women's mouths to influence their mating psychology, and make them more sexually receptive.
Forget the red wine and oysters; Don Juan knew centuries ago that a sexy, wet kiss was the best aphrodisiac for turning a fair maiden into puddles.
A chat with my guy friend, Ted, reinforced many of Hughes comments.
"There's a difference between kissing to get laid and kissing someone you love," says my 35-year-old pal, who "played the field" through much of his mid-20s before falling in love with his future wife.
"I've dated people where I can tell a woman wants a soft, gentle and romantic kiss compared to when she's just interested in sex, and I would kiss them differently," admits Ted.
"Why would a girl kiss you? Just to feel your lips? It's a move to the next step. It signals a willingness to be close enough that you're probably willing to get naked and have sex."
Since women, overall, place more importance on kissing than men, the right lip-lock can make or break the moment, he contends.
"Women have more guilt around sex, so they expect one-night stand romance. That kiss is more important to them, so you create a mood to make you both feel better about what you're doing."
Whether it's deliberate manipulation, he says, depends on the stage of life the guy is in.
"If you really like a girl, you want to show patience, subtlety and compassion in a kiss; slow, not too fast, no tongues all over the place. You want her to think you're a nice guy she can be with, not some porn star."
© Times Colonist (Victoria) 2008