Do people naturally turn their head to the right when kissing?
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Kissing behaviour was observed between kissing couples: about 80% turned their heads to the right to kiss. To remove the influence of one kissing partner upon the other, kissing behaviour was also observed between participants and a symmetrical doll’s face: about 77% turned their heads to the right to kiss. There was no significant difference in handedness between right- and left-kissers: both groups were predominantly right-kissers. It is thought that motor bias rather than emotive bias influences kissing behaviour.
Source: “Kissing laterality and handedness” from Laterality: Asymmetries of Body, Brain and Cognition, Volume 11, Issue 6 November 2006 , pages 573 – 579
And:
A head-turning bias to the right side is one of the earliest functional asymmetries in human development and is already present during the final weeks of gestation. To test whether head-turning preference is related to other lateral preferences in adults, kissing behaviour of participants towards a symmetrical doll was observed to assess their spontaneous head-turning preference. Additionally, participants’ individual handedness, footedness, and eye preference were determined using questionnaires. A significant difference in handedness and footedness, but not eye preference, was found between left- and right-kissers, with right-kissers showing a stronger right-sided bias than left-kissers. These results support the assumption that the head-turning bias in humans may be able to induce or enhance other asymmetries of perception and action.
Source: “Head-turning asymmetries during kissing and their association with lateral preference” from Laterality: Asymmetries of Body, Brain and Cognition, Volume 14, Issue 1 January 2009 , pages 79 – 85
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