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Why Kissing Matters More to Your Relationship Than You Realize

Research suggests kissing helps us assess compatibility, build attachment, and maintain intimacy long after the first date.

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Everyone has had a kiss that made them think, “Oh, no.” Maybe you liked the person five seconds earlier. Maybe you were fully prepared to keep making out. Then your faces met and something in you went…nope.

Researchers have actually looked at why that happens. Romantic kissing appears in over 90% of human cultures, and a study by Wlodarski and Dunbar found that kissing can help people assess a potential partner, build attachment, and increase arousal.

That first job helps explain why one bad kiss can absolutely kill attraction. You’re taking in scent, taste, touch, timing, and how........

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