The space between us: The effect of perceived threat on discomfort distance and perceived pleasantness of interpersonal vicarious touch

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Abstract

The space we keep between ourselves and others allows us either to engage in close shared experiences or to distance ourselves for safety. Focusing primarily on the latter, previous studies have identified a link between interpersonal boundaries and perceived threat, perceptual discrimination including pain perception as well as how we move and behave as a result. Although interpersonal distancing has been studied in a range of contexts, a mechanistic way of how such spatial behaviour might alter how we perceive affective touch has yet to be investigated. Here we probe the effect of perceived threat of COVID-19 on interpersonal boundary preferences and perceived pleasantness of vicarious affective touch. Our results demonstrate that increased perceived threat from COVID-19 is associated with larger boundaries of discomfort distance. Moreover, we show a positive association between perceived threat and pleasantness of vicarious touch coming from a member of the household, but no association with outsider touch. Importantly, rather than focusing on the purely “positive” and prosocial functions of affective touch, these results bolster a novel perspective that socially-relevant cues guide both approach and avoidance behaviours.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Article numbere36487
JournalHeliyon
Volume10
Issue number16
Publication statusPublished - 30 Aug 2024
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

ORCID /0000-0001-6540-5891/work/175770842

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Keywords

  • Affective touch, COVID-19, Discomfort distance, Interpersonal boundary, Threat