Don't fit in - it will kill: a map of people's reaction to touch

Invasion of a person's personal space – risky business. At a minimum, it simply infuriates, and you can get it from the most zealous defenders of personal territory. Each person has his own concept of the boundaries of personal space, as well as the reaction to crossing this boundary. However, the person – a social being, and it is extremely difficult to hide from contacts, including physical ones. For example, when meeting a person, it is customary to shake hands; to comfort a friend or loved one, we hug him; to cheer – pat on the shoulder. However, the reaction to touch can be ambiguous, especially when it comes to not so close people. Today estet-portal.com will clearly demonstrate which parts of the body of a stranger or unfamiliar person should not be touched.

Touch response – joint study of Finns and British

Scientists from the University of Oxford (UK) and Aalto University (Finland) have published the results of an entertaining study on the response to touch in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The topic is quite interesting, since often friendly personalities, trying to demonstrate their best intentions, strive to touch a stranger. Some seriously believe that with the help of touch it will be easier to establish contact. Looking ahead, we note that the authors of the study concluded:

"When communicating with a stranger, limit yourself to shaking hands."

Touch Response Map: Level of Discomfort for Men and Women

To summarize the results of the study, the authors have compiled a map that clearly shows the reactions to touch on various areas of the body of men and women.

• areas marked in yellow and white, touching which does not cause any negative sensations;
• shades of red and black marked the areas, when touched, the subjects felt discomfort – the darker the color, the more unpleasant the feeling;
• zones highlighted in blue – the so-called "taboo zones", are a forbidden zone, the reaction to the touch of which can be quite harsh.

What conclusions can be drawn?

The gender of the person being touched and the person being touched, – significant factor. So, the reaction to the touch of an unfamiliar woman is less sharp both in the representatives of the stronger sex and in the women themselves. For the touches of beautiful strangers in men "openly" more areas of the body, while unfamiliar men are prohibited from touching their arms and chest.

Touch – it is an important way of maintaining social relationships. The more pleasant sensations a person experiences when touching a certain part of the body, the more carefully he protects it from access by other people.

The study was conducted in the form of an online survey, during which 1 & nbsp; 368 participants (both male and female) had to indicate the nature of the reaction to touching body areas by each representative of the human social network. The survey involved residents of Finland, France, Italy, Russia and the UK.

Of course, all people are different, as are their reactions to touch, but the map compiled by the authors of the study will help bypass danger zones when making physical contact with a person, especially not too close. The ability to avoid restricted areas is very important for building social relationships with a person.

Estet-portal.com reminds: it is better not to abuse touching strangers (confine yourself to a handshake), if possible, do not violate the boundaries of a person’s personal space – so he will feel more comfortable in your presence.

Female subjects – women;

Male subjects– men;

Back – back;

Front – front;

Taboo zones – restricted areas.

Partner – partner;

Friend – girlfriend;

Friend – friend;

Mother – mother;

Father – father;

Sister – sister;

Brother – brother;

Aunt – aunt;

Uncle– uncle;

Cousin – cousin;

Cousin – cousin;

Acq. – friend;

Acq. – familiar;

Stranger – stranger;

Stranger – stranger.