| Summary: | Previous research has demonstrated that communication of emotion via touch is possible and occurs well-above chance levels, though the potential mechanism whereby this occurs has yet to be determined. The current study aimed to determine if physiological linkage, or the synchrony between various physiological signals between two interaction partners, played a role in successful communication of emotion via touch. Dynamic linear times series analysis was used to determine the strength and length of synchrony between the inter-beat intervals of fifty-two stranger female-female dyads (n=104, mean age=19.88) during two rounds of an emotion communication task in which they communicated a randomized list emotions to each other via forearm touch alone without being able to see their interaction partner. Results showed the highest magnitude linkage coefficients and the greatest number of consecutive lagged linked seconds during the “touch alone” communication—demonstrating that touch increases physiological linkage. Stronger and longer physiological linkage across tasks predicted emotion word, valence, intensity, and quadrant (from the circumplex model) detection accuracy. Participants serving as the initial communicator in the first round of emotion communication tended to have a greater influence on the physiology of initial receivers. Overall, greater physiological linkage as the result of touch predicted successful communication of emotion via touch and is therefore likely a portion of the mechanism underlying this phenomenon. === M.S. === People often communicate with their friends, family, and acquaintances using touch—when meeting a loved one after a long time, we might give them a particularly tight hug; to congratulate someone, we give a high five; and even in business settings, handshakes are used as a form of greeting or parting. Touch can also be used to communicate distinct emotions, just like a frown or a stern tone can communicate visually and aurally that someone is angry. However, although past research has demonstrated this communicative ability of touch, it is not yet known how touch is able to communicate emotion. The current study hypothesized that physiological linkage might play a role. Physiological linkage occurs when physiological signals, such as heart rate, between interaction partners starts to sync up—for example, when one person’s heart rate speeds up, so does the heart rate of the person with whom they are interacting. Results showed that greater levels of physiological linkage occurred in response to touch and that these increased levels of physiological linkage predicted people’s ability to successfully determine which emotion was communicated to them via touch to their forearm. All the emotions were communicated via touch alone; participants could not see or hear their interaction partner. This demonstrates how powerful communication via touch can be. Future research should examine how touch and physiological linkage can be incorporated into medical and psychological therapies.
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