Study Reveals Link Between Income Inequality and French Kissing
upstart writes in with an IRC submission for Bytram:
Study reveals link between income inequality and French kissing:
Income inequality may be linked to how often people French kiss, according to a worldwide study by Abertay University.
The cross-cultural research involved 2,300 participants from 13 different countries across six continents.
Respondents answered a range of questions including how often they French kissed their partner, and how important they thought kissing was.
Their study revealed that people who lived in less equal nations said they kissed their partners more often.
This correlation did not extend to other forms of intimacy such as hugging and sexual intercourse.
[...] Lead researcher Dr. Christopher Watkins, from Abertay's Division of Psychology, said: "The results of this research suggest that the environment we live in is related to differences in this particular form of romantic intimacy.
"French kissing has been shown by others to be related to the quality of a romantic relationship, and our data suggests that we do this more in environments where we have less to fall back on, where a gesture which shows commitment to a relationship would be of greater value.
"Another interesting factor is that, across the nations surveyed, kissing was considered more important at the established phase of a relationship compared to the initial stages of romantic attraction."
The study also found differences in opinions between men and women on the importance of kissing, and about what makes a good kiss.
More information:
Christopher D. Watkins et al. National income inequality predicts cultural variation in mouth to mouth kissing, Scientific Reports (2019). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-43267-7
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