A group of researchers analyzed the poverty and relative wealth of 13 countries - including Colombia - and compared them with the number and frequency of kisses that its inhabitants give each other. A study so curious that it won an Ig Nobel, a parody of the Nobel Prizes.

Methods: 

The survey was distributed in the last months of 2016 throughout the world and, in the end, 2,988 responses were analyzed from people in 13 countries (Australia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, India, Italy, Nigeria, Poland, United Kingdom and United States). During the following year the team of scientists was in charge of data collection, which was divided into three questionnaires. One about their attitudes towards kissing on the mouth, another in which they indicated their satisfaction with the number of kisses, hugs and sexual intercourse at different stages of a relationship and, finally, a scale of seven factors to determine what makes someone is considered a "good kisser"

Results:

The results, published in 2019 in Scientific Reports, from the Nature group, showed that the scientists were mainly right in one of their predictions: people living in countries with a high rate of inequality tend to kiss their partners more often. “In places where there is competition for resources or great inequity, people tend to kiss more. And that, it is hoped, is a mechanism to strengthen that bond with the couple. In the most inequitable countries, like Colombia, people kiss each other more,” says Leongómez.

Discussion:

The research, led by psychologist Christopher D. Watkins, began with the premise that kissing on the mouth is a widespread custom between countries, however, it is not a universal behavior. “The initial question would be why kissing is so widespread in so many cultures. From this there are two common hypotheses in the literature. One that has to do with the evaluation of the couple -kisses would help people to 'evaluate' the quality and health of their partner according to the environment, for example-. The other is the couple's bond – they strengthen and maintain a bond”, says Leongómez. He clarifies that the study analyzed seven predictions from these two hypotheses

Conclution:

Such as seems in the analyses, the researchers believe the income inequality of a country predicts the frequency of kissing in romantic relationships. They also concluded that people had preferred two components to qualify a good kiss. One that includes technique, contact and arousal, and another sensory factors, such as breath, a more important component for women. They also found that in poorer nations, people hug more. A trend that is repeated in the healthiest countries, where there is a risk of contagion from a pathogen or minor infection, people tend to hug each other more. In the study, Poland was the place that recorded the most hugs, followed by Colombia.