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Updated: Jun 3, 2025

Using Facial Electromyography to Assess Facial Muscle Reactions to Experienced and Observed Affective Touch in Humans
Published on: March 15, 2019
The power of caring touch: from survival to prosocial cooperation
Michael Griesser1, Nigel C Bennett2, Judith M Burkart3
1Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Universitätsstrasse 10, 78457 Konstanz; Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, Universitätsstrasse 10, 78457 Konstanz, Germany; Department of Collective Behavior, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, 78457 Konstanz, Germany; Luondu Boreal Field Station, 93391 Arvidsjaur, Sweden.
Abstract:
Cooperation is a pivotal biological phenomenon that occurs in diverse forms. In species that engage in helping, individuals vary in the time they spend together and the degree of their physical proximity, which affects the extent of physical touch between individuals. Here, we propose that touch activates a hormonal feedback loop that supports bond formation and maintenance in mating, parenting, and social contexts. Notably, extended parenting is essential for the emergence of enduring bonds and the development of the prosocial mindset that fosters forms of cooperation with delayed benefits. We incorporate these ideas into the caring-touch hypothesis (CT-H), which emphasizes the role of oxytocin-vasotocin hormones, touch, and enduring bonds in the evolution of different forms of cooperation.
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