Hands Touching Hands: Affective and Evaluative Effects of an Interpersonal Touch

Abstract

A 2 (touch-no touch) x 2 (sex of confederate) x 2 (sex of subject) between subjects design tested the affective and evaluative consequences of receiving an interpersonal touch in a Professional/Functional situation. It was found that the affective and evaluative response to touch was uniformly positive for females, who felt affectively more positive and evaluated the toucher and the environmental setting more favorably than in no touch conditions. The male response to touch was more ambivalent.