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Title: | A Touch of Warmth: An Investigation of How Interpersonal Touch May Modulate Observers' Perceptions of Warmth and Prosocial Behavior | Authors: | ZHAO HUIJING CLARIS | Keywords: | interpersonal touch, social perception, simulation, embodied cognition, warmth, prosocial behaviour | Issue Date: | 7-Jun-2013 | Citation: | ZHAO HUIJING CLARIS (2013-06-07). A Touch of Warmth: An Investigation of How Interpersonal Touch May Modulate Observers' Perceptions of Warmth and Prosocial Behavior. ScholarBank@NUS Repository. | Abstract: | Past studies found that being touched leads individuals to act more prosocially. The present thesis tested the hypothesis that this effect also applies to third-party bystanders who observe interpersonal touch. This hypothesis was derived from three lines of research. First, interpersonal touch has been linked to both social and physical warmth. Second, perceiving social warmth enhances physical warmth (and vice versa) and both promotes prosociality towards others. Lastly, there is evidence that observers of others' tactile experiences are internally simulating this experience. Experiment 1 investigated whether the presence of interpersonal touch in social interactions enhances observers' perceptions of social warmth defined as prosocial intentions. Experiment 2 explored whether observing such interactions increases prosocial behavior and whether temperature-related embodied simulations play a mediating role. The results showed that observers perceive interactions involving touch as socially warmer than interactions without touch. However, their prosocial tendencies appear unaffected and no evidence of physical warmth simulations was observed. Possible implications of these results are discussed. | URI: | http://scholarbank.nus.edu.sg/handle/10635/48617 |
Appears in Collections: | Master's Theses (Open) |
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