Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 14, 2026

Measurement of Vibration Detection Threshold and Tactile Spatial Acuity in Human Subjects
Published on: September 1, 2016
Touch, compliance, and awareness of tactile contact
Robert-Vincent Joule1, Nicolas Guéguen
1Université de Provence.
Abstract:
Many experimental studies have shown that touch increases compliance with a request; however, the difference between the effect of touch on compliance between participants who notice and those who do not notice such contact remains in question. An experiment was conducted in which a female confederate asked 368 female smokers to give her a cigarette. In the Touch condition, when making her request, the confederate slightly touched the participant on her forearm. Analysis showed the touch was associated with significantly higher compliance to the request, and a difference was evident in the Touch condition between subjects who had noticed the tactile contact and those who had not.
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