Austin Fontaine 
Megan Novelli Hey guys! So, I enjoyed delving into biological and evolutionary psychology on Friday, especially the watching of the ted.com video. It reminded me of a Discovery Channel special on human mating trends, more specifically: kissing. I did some web browsing and found some interesting theories that I’ve pasted links to at the end of my post. Basically, in some circles scientists postulate kissing evolved from an exchange of food from mother to babe or as a means to detect suitable pheremones for potential mates. Cool, right? I also enjoyed the comment made in class (sorry can’t remember who said it) pointing out how much of these “theories” for the origin of behaviors is conjecture or guessing. I believe the comment was in response to the video on smiling and its disarming effects. Healthy skepticism keeps a theory in check; I mean, isn’t the research processes a lot of guess and check? Informed guessing with experimental checks, but still…
Brace yourself for speculative thinking:
http://laurafreberg.com/blog/?p=187
http://www.helium.com/items/839279-why-we-kiss-the-science-of-kissing
Michelle Nix
12:00 am, 10.04.10
It is very interesting to think about the theories about why we smile or why we kiss. I kind of see the point of theories being a “guess and check.” I have heard the statement “sometimes it is better to be lucky than good” used many times. The idea of theories being a guess and check reminds of that statement. Maybe it sometimes is better guess and get lucky. I personally don’t know if I agree with that idea, but I do find it a very interesting argument.
Jason Herrington
1:26 am, 10.04.10
This is a very interesting topic that you brought up. I have to say that I love having evidence and data to support theories. I tend to stray away from hypothetical evidence because it seems padded to help support what someone believes “might” have happened.
Rebekah Hernandez
10:40 am, 10.04.10
I found the idea of kissing being a product of evolution very interesting… as you know Earl (and soon to be others) I believe that God created the world through evolution. Although, I do not hold fast to that idea because I really don’t care how God did it… All I know is he did and we are here and we should do our best to love him and others and stop fretting about what we cannot know ( creation versus evolution) that has no bearing over our present state. But I digress… back to the point: the possible evolution of kissing. I do not like that idea and I think it is very funny that I do not. Up to this point, I have not been bothered by any way in which we have evolved, but the idea of kissing evolving disconcerts me. After some reflection upon this irrational and quite funny feeling, I think I know why kissing as an evolutionary product bothers me. It is because kissing is such a big deal to me. Kissing, to me, is one of the most wonderful (if not the most wonderful in my view) ways to express love. In fact, as a Latina kissing is a large part of my culture. I kiss all of my family members when I see them, for example. Furthermore, I would gladly kiss all of my friends when I say hello and goodbye. As a result, I suppose I did not like the idea of kissing, a principle way that I express affection, to be evolved and not a product of myself. Again, I think this is funny because I believe in evolution. Therefore, in my view, kissing did evolve, but I DON’T like the idea.
Anne Weaver
11:00 am, 10.04.10
Rebecka makes an interesting point. Is this research being done by a purely Western group or has it included the many varieties of kisses throughout the world? Kissing family members or kisses when greeting are not kisses on the lips. Did the kiss evolve? If we consider pheromones, can someone sense some pheromones from brushing against the side of another to kiss on the cheek while one can sense more pheromones from kissing on the lips. Does the latter imply that kissing helps someone “make sure” enough pheromones match up before mating? Is it really all evolutionary or is there a social aspect? Could kisses on the cheek be a less intimate but still a friendly way of showing affection? In the end it is all conjecture. Maybe well thought out conjecture, but nevertheless there is no proof.
Rachel Jinkerson
12:39 pm, 10.04.10
I found all of this very interesting, especially the part where it said that 10% of the world’s population does not kiss. Does that statistic mean that 10% do not kiss ever? Or is it more of 10% is not currently engaging in kissing because they do not have a partner or their family is not close in that way. I could not imagine my life or my relationships without it because it is such a huge part of my bonds with other people.
Furthermore, I agreed with the part about ending a potential relationship because of a bad first kiss. It makes me wonder if the reason it didn’t feel right was because we weren’t genetically compatible and therefore had no real ‘chemistry.’
Danielle Urias
1:34 pm, 10.04.10
This is a fun topic. I actually don’t mind the idea of looking at kissing as an evolutionary phenomenon, but like all other evolutionary theories, it all seems so perfect in hindsight. I enjoyed the information and theory discussed, but it always ends up overlapping so quickly. We could just as easily say that kissing was a social development and attempt to trace its history in that manner, could we not? Although we’ve learned some very important things because of evolutionary theory and it even still holds water, I would have to agree with anne in saying this is mostly conjecture. Although, it is fun to think about. Thanks Earl!