The Power of Touch: Cultural Connections

Do humans need touch to survive? Do any of us get enough touch throughout our lives? And why doesn’t Angela want to hug anyone for eight seconds?

• SOURCES:
  • Ophelia Deroy, chair of the department of philosophy of mind and cognitive neuroscience at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich.
  • Kory Floyd, professor of communications at the University of Arizona.
  • Harry Harlow, 20th-century American psychologist.
  • Sirin Kale, associate editor at Vice.
  • Christy Kane, clinical mental health counselor.
  • Carmen Rasmusen Herbert, country music artist and columnist.
  • Virginia Satir, 20th-century clinical social worker and family therapist.

• RESOURCES:
  • "A Systematic Review and Multivariate Meta-Analysis of the Physical and Mental Health Benefits of Touch Interventions," by Julian Packheiser, Helena Hartmann, Kelly Fredriksen, Valeria Gazzola, Christian Keysers, and Frédéric Michon (Nature Human Behaviour, 2024).
  • "WHO Advises Immediate Skin to Skin Care for Survival of Small and Preterm Babies," by the World Health Organization (2022).
  • "Affective Interpersonal Touch in Close Relationships: A Cross-Cultural Perspective," by Agnieszka Sorokowska, Supreet Saluja, Ilona Croy, et al. (Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 2021).
  • "Results Revealed for The Touch Test: The World’s Largest Study of Touch," (BBC Media Centre, 2020).
  • "How 8-Second Hugs Can Counteract the Negative Side Effects From Electronics," by Carmen Rasmusen Herbert (Deseret News, 2018).
  • "Confidence is Higher in Touch Than in Vision in Cases of Perceptual Ambiguity," by Merle T. Fairhurst, Eoin Travers, Vincent Hayward, and Ophelia Deroy (Nature: Scientific Reports, 2018).
  • "The Life of the Skin-Hungry: Can You Go Crazy from a Lack Of Touch?" by Sirin Kale (Vice, 2016).
  • "Warm Partner Contact Is Related to Lower Cardiovascular Reactivity," by Karen M. Grewen, Bobbi J. Anderson, Susan S. Girdler, and Kathleen C. Light (Behavioral Medicine, 2010).
  • "The Nature of Love," by Harry Harlow (American Psychologist, 1958).

• EXTRAS:
  • "Did Covid-19 Kill the Handshake?" by No Stupid Questions (2020).