The right way to kiss: directionality bias in head-turning during kissing

A K M Rezaul Karim, Michael J Proulx, Alexandra A de Sousa, Chhanda Karmaker, Arifa Rahman, Fahria Karim, Naima Nigar

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

16 Citations (SciVal)

Abstract

Humans have a bias for turning to the right in a number of settings. Here we document a bias in head-turning to the right in adult humans, as tested in the act of kissing. We investigated head-turning bias in both kiss initiators and kiss recipients for lip kissing, and took into consideration differences due to sex and handedness, in 48 Bangladeshi heterosexual married couples. We report a significant male bias in the initiation of kissing and a significant bias in head-turning to the right in both kiss initiators and kiss recipients, with a tendency among kiss recipients to match their partners' head-turning direction. These interesting outcomes are explained by the influences of societal learning or cultural norms and the potential neurophysiological underpinnings which together offer novel insights about the mechanisms underlying behavioral laterality in humans.

Original languageEnglish
Article number5398
Pages (from-to)1-11
Number of pages11
JournalScientific Reports
Volume7
Early online date14 Jul 2017
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 14 Jul 2017

Keywords

  • Journal Article

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