Touchy about touch: Bystanders’ perceptions of social touch based on gender

Abstract: In humans and primates, social touch is instrumental in demonstrating support. However, three studies show that there is gender bias in bystanders’ perceptions of men and women’s use of touch to show support for an opposite-sex colleague. In Study 1, individuals described a man touching a woman in an office setting as inappropriate more often than those who saw a woman touching a man. Moreover, a woman touching a man was seen as a positive, supportive interaction. Study 2 revealed perceptions of a man’s (versus a woman’s) use of touch as more inappropriate was limited to opposite-sex interactions. Study 3 extended the previous studies’ findings by showing there are not only biased evaluations of touch based on gender but also the type of touch matters. A male-supervisor who used a more stereotypical form of touch (i.e., give a jab) was seen as less inappropriate than if he touched a female-subordinate.

Keywords: gender, social touch, bias