Pucker up! First kisses can define your relationship

A KISS is just a kiss, nightclub pianist Sam famously sang in Casablanca. But a new psychological study suggests he may have been wrong.

Researchers have discovered that the first kiss between partners can define an entire relationship if it triggers ‘magical’ feelings or turns the moment into a romantic blur.

They conclude that where such intense feelings are triggered by a ‘good kisser’, it can lead to a better love match.

The study of around 450 subjects used a set of 14 questions to assess what the academics called ‘idealised first kiss beliefs’ among current partners – and whether the big moment lived up to their expectations.

The questions included: to what extent did you feel the whole world blur around you during your first kiss; to what extent should your first kiss give you ‘butterflies’; and to what extent was your first kiss magical?

The results reveal that the more partners cherish their first time they pucker up, the more romantic the resulting relationship. One theory is that they become more optimistic about their future together, strengthening the feeling that they have found true love.

‘These results indicate that idealised first kiss expectations with one’s current romantic partner are important predictors of love,’ said researchers at the University of Minnesota .

Their study, published in the journal Frontiers of Psychology, acknowledges a risk of ‘recall bias’, with couples likely to romanticise the memory of their first kiss.

Participants ‘far past the courtship phase’ were likely to have forgotten what expectations they had before that moment.

However, couples who find themselves under the mistletoe this week could benefit from having high expectations of that first snog, as it could improve their whole experience of romantic love, the study suggests.