Study finds out why it’s gross to kiss your sister
Researchers who wanted to find out why it is not only taboo to kiss your sister, but also disgusting, said on Wednesday they have discovered why in a discovery that challenges some basic tenets of Freudian theory.
The instinct evolved naturally and cannot be taught, John Tooby and Leda Cosmides of the University of California Santa Barbara wrote in their report in the journal Nature.
Spending time in the same household and watching your mother care for your brother or sister is all it takes. This is all subconscious, of course, reported the researchers, who worked with Debra Lieberman of the University of Hawaii.
“We went in search of a kin detection system because some of the most important theories in evolutionary biology said such a thing should exist,” Cosmides said in a telephone interview.
“It should regulate both altruism and incest disgust.”
Humans have an inbuilt system that does both, they found.
And does this stack up the same with identical twins of different genders?
Sorry, some people can be attracted to their siblings and may act on it. I do not believe that disgust for incest is a BUILT IN system. It is a learned trait by society.
Cursor_
I think they don’t realize how common incest between mutually consenting siblings is. Just take a look at how popular the “flowers in the attic” series of books was.
I agree with Cursor_.
I have a step sister who i grew up with. Just the thought makes me want to toss cookies. So i think its something that is learned.
The study didn’t go far enough. Why didn’t they delve in the reasons why incest is perfectly acceptable in Appalachia?
#1 “identical twins of different genders”
Maybe you need to think about that phrase a little more…………
To answer your question. If I was from the south, I guess I would.
#1 – Uhh… biology lesson for you… Identical twins can’t be of different genders. That’d make them fraternal twins.
Anyway… One word: HURL!
If it is something you get to “learn” from the environment but are by nature “prepared” to learn, then I guess, by a small degree, it explains why when a bf is “too accepted” by the family then it’s not “interesting anymore. It is not proven, far from being a theory, but it is interesting: You get to be treated like a son by her family and it triggers the brother effect.
How’s Woody Allen fit in?
Mostly nonsense, I think….
There probably is a biological (i.e., “built in”) imperative to avoid this due to potential genetic problems should reproduction happen, but I don’t think it’s all that strong.
Or we’ve managed to breed it out of ourselves….
However, we also live many years longer than our primitive ancestors, and don’t have the “gotta reproduce or else” imperatives that they had to deal with. This may imply any such “barrier” wearing off as we got older. (Sex for companionship and fun rather than potentially unfavorable reproduction. We do appear to be “wired” to avoid wasting resources on such things.)
Just IMHO…. I wouldn’t worry about it.
I think we do learn to “avoid” close siblings by close contact as children. Probably a “scent” or “totem group” thing. That may be built in, but the theory given here assumes that siblings born long after each other would share this aversion. I don’t think so…. That, I think, is society….
Regards,
Stu.
I wonder if it’s even possible to determine how common incest is, at least between brothers, sisters and cousins who grow up together. Kids are exploratory anyway, not innately moral or amoral (at east, not if they have all their wires – there’s evidence sociopaths have some missing “hot spots”). And they’re curious about everything. It’s something society winks at, maybe because there’s no other way to deal with it.
So #1 and #2 are probably right but I doubt there’s any accurate way to test it. The kids won’t tell and for the most part they probably grow out of it as they mature.
Of course adult-child incest is pathological and another matter entirely.
Wouldn’t it depend what your sister looked like? Scarlett Johansson vs Rosie O’Donnell
FTA “If you co-resided with them for a long time as a child, you’d treat them as you’d treat any full sibling. This seems to operate non-consciously,”
Sounds a lot like some married couples after years of marriage.
#11 – Bravo! It could weed out all the neocons in a single generation. Wonderful idea.
Of course the law of unintended consequences would then come into play. The shepherds in Utah might stop liking their sheep so much, for example.
Most of the nerds around here would be happy to kiss any sister, much less yours.
Hmmm – Pedro, my “bravo” earlier was meant for your post 12, not my own post. I need to learn to count, apparently.
#16 – If the theme you’ve identified is that this place is going to shit, you’re right.
#18, although I totally disagree with your assessment, I would suggest that it is indicative of your preferences if you think this place is shit yet continue to return.
Whatever turns you on James, whatever turns you on.
#19 *LOL*
19. “if you think this place is shit yet continue to return.”
James keeps coming back to this shit-hole because he’s in love with me. We’re like Sam and Diane, except instead of being a blonde waitress, he’s a grumpy humorless white guy who gets angry at anything he doesn’t understand, which apparently happens quite often.
Thing I could never understand is these guys with their HHHHHOOOOOOTTTTTTT sisters so casual about being around them. My sister was popular, but hell, she had a car, I could understand that.
It could be the next “in” thing.
Modernisation has given us new ways of looking at things. Love is passionate and passion is blind to reason. And since they say “nothing’s impossible”, so you may see this vision very oft in the near future. Brace yourself if you hate it the most.
I personally don’t think that sibling kissing is particularly uncommon amongst early teens. It certainly happened in our family! However, it is something you grow out of.