Center for Social and Affective Neuroscience, Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Linköping University.
School of Engineering and Applied Science, University of Virginia.
Psychol Sci. 2022 Sep;33(9):1477-1494. doi: 10.1177/09567976211059801. Epub 2022 Aug 9.
Touch is a powerful communication tool, but we have a limited understanding of the role played by particular physical features of interpersonal touch communication. In this study, adults living in Sweden performed a task in which messages (attention, love, happiness, calming, sadness, and gratitude) were conveyed by a sender touching the forearm of a receiver, who interpreted the messages. Two experiments ( = 32, = 20) showed that within close relationships, receivers could identify the intuitive touch expressions of the senders, and we characterized the physical features of the touches associated with successful communication. Facial expressions measured with electromyography varied by message but were uncorrelated with communication performance. We developed standardized touch expressions and quantified the physical features with 3D hand tracking. In two further experiments ( = 20, = 16), these standardized expressions were conveyed by trained senders and were readily understood by strangers unacquainted with the senders. Thus, the possibility emerges of a standardized, intuitively understood language of social touch.
触摸是一种强大的交流工具，但我们对人际触摸交流中特定身体特征所起的作用了解有限。在这项研究中，居住在瑞典的成年人完成了一项任务，即发送者通过触摸接收者的前臂来传达信息（注意、爱、快乐、平静、悲伤和感激），而接收者则解释这些信息。两个实验（n=32，n=20）表明，在亲密关系中，接收者可以识别发送者直观的触摸表达，我们还描述了与成功沟通相关的触摸的物理特征。肌电图测量的面部表情因信息而变化，但与沟通表现无关。我们开发了标准化的触摸表达，并使用 3D 手部跟踪技术对其物理特征进行量化。在另外两个实验中（n=20，n=16），这些标准化的表达由经过训练的发送者传达，并且不熟悉发送者的陌生人也能轻易理解。因此，一种标准化的、直观的社交触摸语言的可能性出现了。
