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The effect of friendly touch on delay-of-gratification in preschool children

Julia A Leonard1, Talia Berkowitz, Anna Shusterman

  • 1a Department of Psychology , Wesleyan University , Middletown , CT , USA.

Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology (2006)
|March 27, 2014
PubMed

Insights

Friendly touch significantly improved children's waiting ability in a delay-of-gratification task. This suggests physical touch can encourage positive behavior development in young children.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Child Psychology
  • Behavioral Science

Background:

  • Physical touch offers numerous benefits, yet its impact on child development remains under-researched.
  • Limited studies explore how touch influences children's behavioral regulation and compliance.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the effect of physical touch on children's compliance behavior.
  • To examine touch as an intervention in a delay-of-gratification task for children.

Main Methods:

  • Forty children (average age 59 months) participated in a modified delay-of-gratification task.
  • Participants were randomly assigned to either a touch or no-touch condition.
  • Children in the touch group received gentle physical touch while instructed to wait for permission to eat a candy.

Main Results:

  • Children receiving touch waited an average of two minutes longer to eat the candy compared to the no-touch group.
  • This indicates a significant positive effect of touch on children's ability to delay gratification.
  • The findings highlight touch as a potential tool for enhancing behavioral control.

Conclusions:

  • Physical touch can be an effective method for promoting compliance and self-control in children.
  • This research underscores the importance of considering physical touch in strategies aimed at fostering positive child development.
  • Further research is warranted to explore the long-term effects and mechanisms of touch in child behavior.

Keywords:
Childhood developmentCognitive developmentDelay of gratificationTouch

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