Come on, come on, now touch me…

Research conducted in France suggests touch plays a pivotal role in successful courtship. Professor Nicolas Gueguen led a series of experiments to determine if touch impacted response to a request for advancing a potential relationship. In the first study, male research assistants asked women to dance at a nightclub. When the male confederate touched the woman’s arm over 65% of the women agreed to dance compared to only 43% of those who were asked without a touch. In two subsequent studies male researchers asked women for their phone numbers after striking up a conversation on the street. In both studies a much higher proportion of women provided their number when the request was accompanied with a touch.

The author argues that women perceive men who touch them as more dominant, which he furthers argues to be an attractive trait to most women. He also points out that this research was conducted in France, which is a relatively tactile culture, and that results may differ in non-contact cultures. I tend to buy his argument about this being a culturally sensitive issue, I am less convinced by his argument it relates to dominance being attractive. Touch elicits a whole range of physiological and emotional reactions this study did not consider.

Further Reading:

Guegen, N. (2007). Courtship compliance: The effect of touch on women’s behaviour. Social Influence, 2, 81-97.