What First Kisses Can Tell Us: My Change Nation Interview with Helen Fisher, Ph.D.

Kissing someone for the first time can tell you a lot more about a person than you might think. "In saliva is testosterone and also indications of what your immune system is like," explains Rutgers University anthropologist, Helen Fisher, Ph.D., author of four books, including Why We Love: The Nature and Chemistry of Romantic Love. "As you're kissing somebody, you're smelling them, and unconsciously, your brain is responding to their immune system."
 
According to Fisher, when you think someone is a bad kisser, it probably means that their immune system is wrong for you. "We're actually attracted to people with quite a different immune system than our own," she notes, offering the scientific explanation, "the closer your immune system is to the other person's…the more likely it is [that the female] might reject the fetus."
 
A first kiss can offer clues about other aspects of a person as well, including his or her sexuality, intentions, patience and health. Most importantly, it can tell you whether the relationship will continue. "Over 50% of both men and women have reported that they were, really, enormously attracted to somebody," says Fisher, "until they kissed them!"
 
Listen to my entire Change Nation interview with Helen Fisher, Ph.D.