Researchers at the State University of New York at Albany, the City University of New York, and Albright College in Pennsylvania teamed up to survey 1,041 college students aged 18 to 25.
The study found that for women, kissing is an important way for women to gauge whether a potential partner can get along with them. A “feel-good kiss” can help a woman confirm that her boyfriend is worthy of her commitment and life, while if the kiss doesn’t feel good, then the boyfriend will be rejected by her.
In the long run, women see kissing as an important way to promote intimacy and as a way to help her gauge whether her partner is loyal and cares about her.
The study also found that for men kissing is much less meaningful. Men tend to see kissing as a prelude to sex.
Researcher Dr. Gordon Gallup said, “The message a kiss sends can have a profound effect on a relationship, and can even be a major deciding factor in ending a relationship. While there are many forces that unite a couple, kissing, especially the first kiss, can be a one-two punch.”
Kissing can convey information about each other’s health Research also shows that information about a person’s health can be conveyed through kissing. This information is received and understood consciously and unconsciously by the kissing partners, but researchers say this information is more important for women because women are more interested in long-term relationships than men.
During the kiss, women paid more attention to the breath the couple breathed, the taste of their mouths and the state of their teeth. “Women put a higher priority on kissing when conducting partner assessments.”
The study also found that less than half of the women in the study were not satisfied with the kiss and were able to have sex with a man, and that women generally did not like to have a “wet kiss” on the first date.
In contrast, men seemed to be less concerned about the effects of kissing, and were willing to continue the relationship without kissing or with poor kissing results.