Communicating Praise and Comfort via Touch: An Imagination Study with High Resolution Touch-Tracking

Abstract Whereas prior research has predominantly investigated the reception of emotional touch, the extent to which the emotional meaning of a message shapes its tactile expression remains underexplored. Participants ( n = 131, mean age = 36 years, 68% female) were asked to imagine two social situations involving the intention to comfort or praise a child via touching its forearm; a non-affective touch condition was also included. Participants’ stroking behavior (velocity and pressure) across the three conditions was recorded using a pressure-sensitive, multi-touch input device. They additionally rated the valence of the touch for themselves and for the imagined child. Questionnaires assessed touch-related attitudes, experiences and self-efficacy. Conveying praise was associated with higher stroking velocity and greater finger pressure compared to comforting touch. Both touch parameters were positively correlated across the three conditions. Participants rated their own touch experience as less pleasant than the pleasantness they attributed to the child. Self-report measures, with the exception of self-efficacy, were not associated with the variance in emotional touch delivery. The study identified emotion-related touch signatures in terms of velocity and pressure, but also individual touch styles that were independent of the conveyed emotional message.