Influence of Touch and Preferences for Control on Visual Behavior

The present study investigated the effects of touch, as mediated by the preference for control (PC) of the recipient, upon visual behavior as well as evaluative and affective responses. Subjects were female students at Old Dominion University, selected on the basis of their scores on the Expressed Control subscale of the Fundamental Interpersonal Relations Orientation (FIRO-B) Inventory (Schutz, 1958). Based upon their scores on the subscale, 29 females scoring high and 30 females scoring low were randomly assigned to either touch or no touch conditions. Subjects in the touch condition were touched on the arm by a male confederate after two minutes of conversation, while those in the no touch condition were not touched. After two more minutes, the interview ended and the subject was administered the evaluative and affective measures. Results showed that high PC subjects evaluated the confederate more negatively and experienced less positive affect when touched than when not touched. High PC subjects also looked more while listening (lwl) when touched than did subjects in the other groups. This result was contrary to the hypothesis that high PC subjects would decrease lwl when touched in order to regain control.