How well can we communicate emotions purely through touch?

Romantic couples outperformed pairs of strangers

Whether it's a raised eyebrow or curl of the lip, we usually think of emotions as conveyed through facial expressions and body language. Science too has focused on these forms of emotional communication, finding that there's a high degree of consistency across cultures. It's only in the last few years that psychologists have looked at whether and how the emotions can be communicated purely through touch.

A 2006 study by Matthew Hertenstein demonstrated that strangers could accurately communicate the 'universal' emotions of anger, fear, disgust, love, gratitude, and sympathy, purely through touches to the forearm, but not the 'prosocial' emotions of surprise, happiness and sadness, nor the 'self-focused' emotions of embarrassment, envy and pride. Now Erin Thompson and James Hampton have added to this nascent literature by comparing the accuracy of touch-based emotional communication between strangers and between those who are romantically involved.

Thirty romantic couples (the vast majority were heterosexual) based in London took part. One partner in each romantic pair attempted to communicate 12 different emotions, one at a time, to their partner. They sat at opposite sides of a table divided by a curtained screen. The emotional 'decoder' slid their forearm through the curtain for the 'encoder' to touch, after which the 'decoder' attempted to identify which of the 12 emotions had been communicated. The participants were filmed throughout.

After this, the romantic couples were split up and participants paired up with a stranger to repeat the exercise (encoders and decoders kept whichever role they'd had first time around). Strangers were usually formed into same-sex pairs, to avoid the social awkwardness of touching an opposite-sex partner. This created an unfortunate confound, acknowledged by the researchers, which is that most romantic couples were opposite-sex whereas most stranger pairs were same-sex. However, focusing only on results from same-sex pairs versus opposite-sex pairs suggested gender was not an important factor.

The key finding is that although strangers performed well for most emotions, romantic couples tended to be superior, especially for the self-focused emotions of embarrassment, envy and pride. Thompson and Hampton calculated that chance performance (i.e. merely guessing) would produce an accuracy rate of 25 per cent. Although there were 12 emotions to select from, the rationale here is that some are far more similar to each other than others, so even a guesser would perform better than 1/12 accuracy. Romantic partners communicated universal emotions, prosocial and self-focused emotions with an accuracy of 53 per cent, 60 per cent and 39 per cent, respectively - in each case, far better than chance performance. In contrast, strangers achieved accuracy rates of 39 per cent, 56 per cent and 17 per cent, for universal, prosocial, and self-focused emotions respectively, with the last considered as no better than chance performance.

How did the romantic couples achieve their greater accuracy? They touched for longer, but this wasn't correlated with accuracy. Using footage of the experiment, the researchers coded the types of touch used (a wide range of discrete touch types were identified, from trembling and scratching to slapping and squeezing), and for each emotion it was clear that strangers were using similar kinds of touch as were romantic couples. This means that there were either subtle differences in the touching used by romantic couples, which the experimenters had failed to detect, or the 'decoders' were interpreting the same touch cues differently when they were delivered by an intimate partner.

This topic is ripe for further investigation - for example, does the touch advantage shown by romantic couples extend to non-emotional communication? Would other long-term, but non-sexual, relationship partners such as siblings, show a similar advantage? And would romantic partners still display an advantage if they didn't know who was doing the touching? 'Our findings extend the literature on the communication of emotion,' the researchers said. 'The nature of particular relationships appears to have the ability to diminish the ambiguity of emotional expression via touch.'
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Thompson, E., and Hampton, J. (2011). The effect of relationship status on communicating emotions through touch. Cognition and Emotion, 25 (2), 295-306 DOI: 10.1080/02699931.2010.492957

The Special Issue Spotter

We trawl the world's journals so you don't have to:

The senses in language and culture (The Senses and Society).

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy in the Schools (Psychology in the Schools).

Clinical Speech and Language Studies in Honour of Susan Edwards (Journal of Neurolinguistics).

Attachment Processes in Early Head Start Families (Attachment and Human Development).

Psychology and Law (Current Directions in Psychological Science).

Memory Services (Aging and Mental Health).

Eating Disorders and Mindfulness (Eating Disorders).

Psychiatrists Views on the Place of Religion in Psychiatry (Mental Health, Religion and Culture).

Forensic Research in Offenders with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, Part 1 and Part 2 (Psychology, Crime and Law).

Another City Another Journey

It was one of those spontaneous trip again which I used to love so much and still do but rarely has time for these days.

When I was staying and studying in the UK, I took full advantage of my placing there to travel around Europe, a shoestring travel.

Took me two months and a very empty bank and wallet before I hauled my butt back to England to await my graduation.


Living in Malaysia has allowed me to fully utilise my time here to explore the region I've been missing out during when I was a child.

This is a trip made quite a while back which I've been really determined to blog about. Between me, my mom and my friend/half-god-brother-which-my-mom-so-determinedly-declared; we wondered through the city as three very odd backpackers. Yes, what an odd combination.




It was one night we took to a nearby skybar and had a drink in our flip-flops and sneakers, seemingly totally out of place among the posh and trendy locals and expats.




We could all but afford a drink, what with our petty income back then could afford on a budget trip such as this. And we talked about everything under the stars, our future, our career, where life might lead us or if life would take away or give what we desired.




How life has moved on since. How each of us have grown and advanced.

We no longer could all but afford a drink, no longer wear flip-flops and sneakers, or maybe we still do, at times, but out of pleasure.

With age comes responsibilities, and we can no longer carry out spontaneous trips like how we used to be able to at a drop of a hat. And even though sneakers changed into better boots and high-heels, flip-flops replaced with sneakers and Hush Puppy men shoes; and a glass of cheapest option became an endless supply of orders into the night...

How I adore those nights, seemingly so out of place among the posh and trendy, in a foreign city in a foreign country, dream-talking about our future under the stars in my worn out sneakers.






Come with me, back to one and a half year ago, to when I first visited Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam.

The Stuff You Use

"I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world." -- John 16:33

Delays, flat tires, sick pets, sick kids, fender benders, leaky roofs, missed appointments .... the list goes on and on. Beth Moore calls these things the thistles of life. But we know that God uses everything to develop our character, to conquer our frustrations, to break off our impatience, and to polish out the rough edges. So, of course it was fitting to wake up to this song:

Francesca Battistelli, This Is The Stuff

I lost my keys in the great unknown

And call me please 'Cuz I can't find my phone

This is the stuff that drives me crazy

This is the stuff that's getting to me lately

In the middle of my little mess

I forget how big I'm blessed

This is the stuff that gets under my skin

But I gotta trust You know exactly what You're doing

It might not be what I would choose

But this is the stuff You use

45 in a 35

Sirens and fines while I'm running behind

Whoa

This is the stuff that drives me crazy

This is the stuff that's getting to me lately

In the middle of my little mess

I forget how big I'm blessed

This is the stuff that gets under my skin

But I gotta trust You know exactly what You're doing

It might not be what I would choose

But this is the stuff You use

So break me of impatience

Conquer my frustrations

I've got a new appreciation

It's not the end of the world

Oh Oh Oh

This is the stuff that drives me crazy

This is the stuff

Someone save me

In the middle of my little mess

I forget how big I'm blessed

This is the stuff that gets under my skin

And I've gotta trust You know exactly what You're doing

It might not be what I would choose

But this is the stuff You use

Oh Oh Oh Oh

This is the stuff You use

Stroke cures man of life-long stammer

The cerebellum is coloured green in this model

Thanks to the success of the King's Speech movie, most of us are familiar with the 'developmental' kind of stammering that begins in childhood. However, more rarely, stammering can also have a sudden onset, triggered by illness or injury to the brain. Far rarer still are cases where a person with a pre-existing, developmental stammer suffers from brain injury or disease and is subsequently cured. In fact, a team led by Magid Bakheit at Mosley Hall Hospital in Birmingham, who have newly reported such a patient, are aware of just two prior adult cases in the literature.

Bakheit's patient, a 54-year-old bilingual man, suffered a stroke that caused damage to the left side of his brain stem and both hemispheres of his cerebellum - that's the cauliflower-shaped structure, associated with motor control and other functions, which hangs off the back of the brain. The man's brain damage left him unsteady on his feet, gave him difficulty with swallowing and his speech was slightly slurred. But remarkably, his life-long stammer, characterised by repetitions of sounds, and which caused him social anxiety and avoidance, was entirely gone - an account corroborated by his wife. By the time of his discharge from hospital, the slowing of his speech was much improved and yet thankfully his stammer remained absent.

The researchers can't be sure, but they think the remission of the man's stammer is likely related to his cerebellum damage, which may have had the effect of inhibiting excessive neural activation in that structure. This would be consistent with previous research showing that people who stammer have exaggerated activation in the cerebellum compared with controls, and with the finding that successful speech therapy is associated with reductions to cerebellum activation compared with pre-treatment. A second, related possibility is that, pre-stroke, the man's cerebellum was somehow having a detrimental effect on his basal ganglia (a group of sub-cortical structures involved in motor control and other functions) and that this adverse effect was ameliorated by the stroke-induced damage. This would be consistent with reports of stammers developing in patients with diseases, such as Parkinson's, that affect the basal ganglia.

A third and final possibility, the researchers said, is simply that the slowing of the man's speech somehow aided his stammer. Indeed, reducing the rate of speech is a therapeutic approach. However, this certainly wasn't a conscious strategy employed by the patient, and as we've seen, his stammer remained in remission even as his speech rate improved.

'The complete remission of stammering following a posterior circulation stroke in our patient suggests that the cerebellum and/or its connections with brain structures has an important role in maintaining developmental stammering,' the researchers concluded.
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Bakheit AM, Frost J, and Ackroyd E (2011). Remission of life-long stammering after posterior circulation stroke. Neurocase : case studies in neuropsychology, neuropsychiatry, and behavioural neurology, 17 (1), 41-5 PMID: 20799135

Let The Waters Rise

"When the enemy comes in like a flood, The Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him." -- Isaiah 59:19

I went to bed last night praying for a situation that seems unfair to my natural mind. And although it seems like the flood waters are rising and about to overtake, I was reminded that God uses everything. All through scripture, God used good (and evil) rulers to accomplish His will. And so I drifted off to sleep saying, "God, I don't like this situation and it would be my preference if "x-y-z" happened, but I trust you no matter what. I woke this morning to the song, "Let The Waters Rise" and I had to smile. That's our God. Always faithful; always speaking; always calming the hearts of His children.

Let The Waters Rise (lyrics by Mikeschair):

Don't know where to begin
It's like my world's caving in
And I tried but I can't control my fear
Where do I go from here

Sometimes it's so hard to pray
You feel so far away
I am willing to go where You want me to
God I trust You

[Chorus]
There's a raging sea
Right in front of me
Wants to pull me in
Bring me to my knees
So let the waters rise
If you want them to
I will follow You
I will follow You
I will follow You

I will swim in the deep
Cuz You'll be next to me
You're in the eye of the storm and the calm of the sea
You're never out of reach

God You know where I've been
You were there with me then
You were faithful before
You'll be faithful again
I'm holding Your hand

[Chorus]

God Your love is enough
You will pull me through
I'm holding on to You

God your love is enough
I will follow You
I will follow You

[Chorus]

A Quirky Wedding

While at Club Med Bali, I managed to witness a wedding between two GOs working in the club resort.

It was one morning that I woke up and I saw banting banner of the two lovebirds having their ceremony together in Club Med Bali, where they first met and fell in love.

Of course it all made sense. And kinda sweet.


We went about our daily routine, which was doing nothing and chilling by the beach all day long, when by afternoon we were asked to join in the grand ceremony of this holy matrimony. All the GOs have asked the GMs (aka. guests) to be witnesses to the wedding. A stage was built and seats were arranged.




Soon the groom was walking out, accompanied by his best men. All GOs from the club.










Then bride followed, with music and all, tailing behind all her bridesmaids. .







Now they stood next to each other facing their witnesses.




At first I found the dress a little too big for her, and a little bit old-fashion but then figured maybe it's not easy to find a gown on an island such as Bali. What do I know right?




Then suddenly, a lady in black (as if dressed for mourning) walked towards the aisle screaming and sobbing in her handkerchief. Pointed at the guy and cried: "You promised to marry me! You said you would marry me?!"




Cursed at the bride and then hugged the groom.




Haha. This was what you get when you have funny friends. I thought.

So the wedding proceeded, with the 'pastor' saying the verses from a little handbook he had.

Then another disturbance came along from behind. I turned to find a guy dressed in woman's clothing walking 'her' child, which was also a guy, kneel-walking towards the aisle.




Hahaha. This was getting a bit too much.

This time it's a pregnant woman with another child, walking up the aisle while scolding the groom. Poor groom. *giggles*




This time one of the best men dragged 'her' off the stage after making a fuss.

The wedding was getting interesting, though in my opinion, if this were my wedding, I would be getting pretty annoyed. Though that's just me.


The wedding has to go on.

Though I knew I would hear the end of it yet.




And I was right. No sooner has the 'pastor' started his preach, I heard a distant slurry voice came from behind.




HAHA! A drunken man! OH MAN I was laughing so hard now.

"You said you would marry me!" said he.

And as he dragged onto the stage, while everyone thought he was going for the bride, he turned sideways and seemingly heading to punch the groom.




Instead...




he hugged the groom!!!

He's the groom's lover!! OMG what kind of groom is this? LOLOL. Everyone was toppling over at this moment.

Eventually the best man had to drag the drunken lover out of the way.

Then suddenly the best man made a speech, and declared his love for the bride.




*drama continues*

Before I could react, he snatched the bride and carried her off away from the stage. WTF LOL.

Leaving the groom at the wedding bride-less.




After a brief awkward silence, the ever serious 'pastor' took out his mobile phone and made a call.

To the rent-a-bride company.

HAHAHA!


"Hello, can I have a bride delivered to Club Med Bali now. Thank you."


Not more than a minute, a roaring sound came buzzing through from the other side of the club, rounding the swimming pool and right onto the aisle.




A local Balinese bride!

She went up to the stage and gave the groom the "hollywood kiss".




By she, I meant HE.




And they were declared man and wife and married off happily ever after with the groom screaming: "where's my bride, where's my bride?!"




Seriously, poor groom. LOL

The wedding ended with a cake and a champagne glass fountain.





this cake looks familiar.... ermm.. *hint* birthday cake


Here's the said best man and the bride.




Actually they made a pretty neat couple.

Everyone joined in for the toast, brides and grooms and guests.




Someone from the guests even cried during the wedding.

There's news for that lady.


The wedding's a fake!!!

So we found out at the end of the wedding.

A stunt show to entertain guests at Club Med Bali.


OMG were all of us fooled.

To be honest, I sorta have my doubts after the bride was stolen and carried off like that. NO WAY IN ANYONE's right mind would they allow a proper wedding to be carried out that way.

Hah! You can't fool me!


But we still enjoyed the whole show. And the cake. And the sparkling juice.




Here's a photo of the big happy family.




And another one for the road. The two lovely brides.




Yes very lovely brides.