Why do men like kissing? Is this a man's instinct?

Kissing is a way to convey emotion and love. Kissing between couples interprets the true meaning of love. So why do men like kissing?

Is kissing an instinct?

An important question is whether kissing is learned or instinctive. Some say it is a learned behavior and that our ancestors knew how to kiss. At that time, mothers chewed food and then put it into their babies' mouths. Even if the child knocked a tooth, the mother would still kiss the child on the lips to comfort him.

Supporting the assertion that "kissing is learned rather than instinctive" is the fact that not all people kiss. Anthropologists say that tribes in many parts of the world do not actually kiss. Statistics show that 90% of people kiss, while 10% do not kiss at all.

Animals kiss too

Others believe that kissing is instinctive and point to kiss-like behavior in animals as evidence: most animals rub noses together to show affection, while others use their mouths to express affection, just as humans do.

Bonobos, for example, exchange saliva to express deep apologies, do this after combat, to comfort each other, and to develop social relationships, sometimes kissing for no apparent reason, just like humans do.

Today, the most recognized reason for human kissing is that it helps us find the right mate. When a man and a woman's faces are close together, pheromones convey biological information about whether the two people will produce strong offspring. For example, women prefer men who have genes for immune system proteins that are different from their own, and this mating method may allow them to produce offspring with stronger immune systems and a greater chance of survival.

Lips and tongue are very sensitive

Most people are content with the explanation that humans kiss because it feels good. Our lips and tongues are full of nerve endings that help us enhance the wonderful feeling of love when we kiss. Although kissing is wonderful, it does not usually prompt us to consider the question of why we kiss, but only to find ways to kiss more.

The Chemistry of Kissing: The Hormone Oxytocin

So why do people want to kiss? Scientists have recently discovered that kissing can change the body's chemical composition. Rubbing lips together and exchanging saliva changes the level of oxytocin released from the brain into the blood. Oxytocin is a hormone that can make people feel more intimate.

Interestingly, oxytocin is also released during childbirth and is thought to be the hormone that helps newborns bond with their mothers. Scientists have also found that during the kissing contest, women release less oxytocin, while men release more. Scientists are not sure why this difference occurs between men and women.

Kissing brings happiness

In addition to changes in oxytocin levels, scientists also found that kissing a loved one during the 15-minute kissing contest reduced the release of the stress hormone cortisol, which can increase lovers' feelings of happiness. "There are very few people who have studied kissing," said Wendy Heilshan, a professor of neuroscience at Lafayette College in Pennsylvania.

Kissing to understand each other's living habits

Helen Fisher, an anthropologist at Rutgers University in New Jersey, says kissing can stimulate any of the three main brain systems involved in mating and reproduction: sexual desire, romantic love, and long-term attachment: "Sexual desire is the key to sexual attraction."

Desire motivates you to seek a series of partners; romantic love motivates you to focus your mating energies on one person at a time; and attachment motivates you to maintain a partnership long enough for both partners to be together through the infancy of the child.