Research indicates significant differences in touch behaviors across cultures, with notable low rates of touching in China leading to their exclusion from certain analyses to avoid skewing results. The study employed a survey asking participants to report on various types of touch experienced in the past week, ranging from interactions with romantic partners to strangers. Visual representations in the study, such as cartoons illustrating intimate gestures like hugging and kissing, highlight the importance of touch in human connection, yet underscore cultural variances that impact these behaviors.
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?
- 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).