Kissing right? On the consistency of the head-turning bias in kissing.
The present study investigated the consistency of the head-turning bias in kissing. In particular we addressed what happens if a person who prefers to kiss with the head turned to the right kisses a person who prefers to kiss with the head turned to the left. To this end, participants (N=57) were required to kiss a life-sized doll's head rotated in different orientations that were either compatible or incompatible with the participants' head-turning preference. Additionally, participants handedness, footedness, and eye preference was assessed. Results showed that a higher percentage of participants preferred to kiss with their head turned to the right than to the left. In addition, the right-turners were more consistent in their kissing behaviour than left-turners. That is, with the doll's head rotated in an incompatible direction, right-turners were less likely to switch their head to their non-preferred side. Since no clear relationships between head-turning bias and the other lateral preferences (i.e., handedness, footedness, and eye preference) were discerned, the more consistent head-turning bias among right-turners could not be explained as deriving from a joint pattern of lateral preferences that is stronger among individuals with rightward as compared to individuals with leftward lateral preferences.
van der Kamp
John
J
VU University Amsterdam, The Netherlands. j_van_der_kamp@fbw.vu.nl
Canal-Bruland
Rouwen
R
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D015982:Bias; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology*; D006257:Head / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009068:Movement / Q000502:physiology*; D009949:Orientation / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult