It depends on our brain’s inability to manage stimuli of different nature at the same time. A study has shown this…
Some time ago we debunked the myth of the romantic kiss by revealing its unexpected origins, which have little to do with love and a lot to do with cleanliness. Today we debunk another one by revealing it to you the reason why we kiss (usually) with our eyes closed.
Even in this case, romanticism doesn’t have much to do with it, but the true reason must be sought in the brain which, unable to concentrate on two different stimuli at the same time, leads us to close our eyelids.
This was discovered by a study published in Journal of Experimental Psychology, conducted by some psychologists of Royal Holloway University of London.
In reality, the study in question did not focus on kissing, but the conclusions it reached seem to perfectly explain why we close our eyes.
The researchers in fact analyzed 16 volunteers using special devices connected to their hands, while they carried out a series of visual tasks. When they were engaged in such activities, the sensitivity towards tactile stimulations, transmitted by the devices on both the right and left hands, decreased. It happens because the visual field is more demanding than the tactile field, the researchers explained, and therefore reduces people’s reactivity to tactile sensations.
Ultimately, the brain is unable to process visual inputs and sensory stimuli of other kinds at the same time, but if this was already known in the context of auditory stimuli, little had been said about tactile ones.
It turns out that, to concentrate on a tactile sensation such as a kiss, people could instinctively close their eyes, in order to avoid any distractions, as one of the authors of the research also highlighted. And the same thing, it seems, can apply to other situations that involve touching, such as dancing or making love.
Ultimately, it is likely that thethe brain’s inability to adequately handle multiple stimuli at the same time leads to this behavior. In any case, further research will be needed to confirm the veracity of the hypothesis.
SOURCES: Journal of Experimental Psychology/Iflscience
