exam 2

Question 1

The Science of Kissing

Answer 1

When it comes to humanity’s first kiss, or its predecessor in another species, we have no way of knowing exactly how and why it happened.

Kissing take place for lots of reasons:
Joy
Passion
Endearment
Commitment
Comfort
Sorro
Supplication

Question 2

Four Theories on the Evolution of Kissing

Answer 2

Genital echo hypothesis
nursing development pre mastication
hypothesis
sniff hypothesis

Question 3

Theory 1: Genital echo hypothesis

Answer 3

It all begins with our fixation on the color RED
Zoologists studying color’s effects on animal behavior
Baboon studies
Put boys on one half of room with glass divider
Puts a girl baboon on the other side
Independent Variables: Prosthetic butts to alter size and color
Dependent Variable: How many times the boy baboons masturbate

Question 4

Theory 1: Genital Echo Hypothesis

Answer 4

Humans appear to share this color preferences, but speculation is that it didn’t start with sex stuff
Back in the day (millions of years ago), locating food was tough and dangerous
Ability to see the color RED (mutation) may have occurred and provided an advantage in identifying the ripest fruits (even from a distance)
May have helped those who could see this color better live long enough to pass on genes to the next generation

Question 5

Theory 1: Genital Echo Hypothesis

Answer 5

“ RED equals reward”
Over generations, the color red may have become intrinsically linked with rewards in our ancestors brains
We appear to still carry this instinct
Seeing this color quickens our heart rate, makes us feel excited, and even “out of breath”
Berlin & Kay (1969) showed that across two early languages, we develop words for black and white first (probably to distinguish between night and day), but red comes third

Question 6

Theory 1: genital echo hypothesis

Answer 6

How does this relate to kissing?
Ramachandran & Histein (1999)
If our ancestors were primed for the color red , they were likely to go about exploring anything with that color
That includes female genitalia
red likely then evolved to be a flashy color that helped facilitate another essential behavior beyond eating: Sex.
Skin and hair coloring evolved AFTER vision.

Question 7

Theory 1: Genital Echo Hypothesis

Answer 7

The color red and genitalia
Labia become more red during estrous
Those with the most prominently red labia were likely most successful at attracting mates

Question 8

Theory 1: Genital Echo Hypothesis

Answer 8

However, as we transitioned to walking upright, we would have undergone something called “co-option”
A shifting in the location of prominent sexual signals
Females with red lips would have attracted the attention of males, leading to the same intersexual selection processes promoting plump, red lips

Question 9

Theory 1: Genital Echo Hypothesis

Answer 9

Hidden Estrous
Rather than relying on signaling estrous with their nether regions, women display fertility through a host of other, more readily visible signals
The lips are a prominent example, creating what’s called a “genital echo”
When men and women become excited, both lips and genitals swell and redden as they engorge with blood
Also become more sensitive

Question 10

Theory 1: Genital Echo Hypothesis

Answer 10

Morris (1967, 1997)
Showed men assorted women wearing a variety of lipstick colors
Asked the men to rate these women on attractiveness
Invariably picked the deep red shades as the most alluring
“These lipstick manufacturers did not create an enhanced mouth; they created a pair of super labia

Question 11

Theory 1: Genital Echo Hypothesis

Answer 11

The evolutionary reward for males
Men who paid attention to these cues were likely rewarded with more babies
red plump lips are a cue to fertility
They swell with puberty and estrogen, then thin as you age
Preference for full red lips found across cultures

Question 12

Theory 1: Genital Echo Hypothesis

Answer 12

Red lips and artifice
Women have been trying to exacerbate lip size and color for a LONG time (at least 5,000 years)
Greeks, Romans, Sumarians, Egyptians
Modern cosmetics and plastic surgery
Cunningham et al (1995)
Fake-looking lips are a turn-off
Blues and greens, etc, are also bad

Question 13

Theory 2:

Answer 13

Nursing
Development
hypothsesis

Question 14

Theory 2:

Answer 14

In utero development nursing devloment hypothesis
A fetus develops lips within the first trimester
A fetus can also begin to suck its thumb before birth

Upon delivery
Babies immediately begin to move their mouths as if to nurse
Mechanically, this is the same movement associated with kissing

Question 15

Theory 2:

Answer 15

Transition to two legs had other changes on the body
Women’s breasts began to change, becoming more pronounced and mimicking the shape of buttocks
Boobs
It also makes the nipples more pronounced
When newborns are held to their mothers’ breasts, they literally “engulf” the nipple
Pleasurable and soothing to a baby

Question 16

Theory 2:

Answer 16

Not surprising that evolution would shape the human nipple and lips so that they fit comfortably together.

Breast feeding also promotes a deep bond between a caregiving mother and completely dependent baby
Flood of neurotransmitter in the brain in both mother and child when breast-feeding

Question 17

Theory 2: nursing development hypothesis

Answer 17

Associative network and how it works
Our brains linking things/events/experiences with something else (e.g., pleasure, reward, danger, etc.)

      Nursing development hypothesis                                                             :  Throughout our lives we will associate lip pressure with the positive feelings experienced during breast-feeding  Later in life, the motions of nursing will provide pleasure with sexual partners, but also promote connection and  bonding between family members

Question 18

Theory 3: pre-mastication hypothesis

Answer 18

pre mastication : The pre-chewing of a meal for another individual.
This served as a means of delivering food to young, largely hapless toddlers, for thousands of years.
Most practical way (pre-modern times) to wean children off breast milk before they had a full set of teeth
pre mastication -is common amongst a host of cultures today

Question 19

Theory 3: pre-mastication hypothesis

Answer 19

Similar to the nursing development Hypothesis,
pre-mastication argues that the associative network may amplify pleasure derived from lip pressure and “kissing” behaviors later in life
Application to “non- pre-mastication ” groups?
Perhaps is simply more amplified with pre-masticators

Question 20

Theory 4 sniff hypothesis

Answer 20

Smell is important to us, as has been previously discussed
Some anthropologists believe our first “kisses” may have been more about our noses than anything
Could have been us trying to get a wiff of the scent on another’s cheek
Several cultures still engage in something more akin to sniffing than kissing
Polynesians