Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 17, 2026

Using Facial Electromyography to Assess Facial Muscle Reactions to Experienced and Observed Affective Touch in Humans
Published on: March 15, 2019
Touch as emotion regulation
1Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States.
None:
Interpersonal touch is central to emotional well-being. Even though numerous studies demonstrate its efficacy in mitigating negative affect, emotional distress, and physical pain across human development and in diverse species, little has been offered regarding how touch functions as a form of emotion regulation. To address that gap, we first review how touch-enabled by an interpersonal tactile system-facilitates emotion regulation through its effects on neurophysiological responses. We then outline how touch communicates emotional states in interpersonal relationships that are vital to emotion regulation. Finally, we chart four pathways through which touch supports emotion regulation.
Related Concept Videos
Facial Feedback Hypothesis
The Influence of Cognition on Affect
Techniques of therapeutic communication I: Active Listening, Sharing Observations, Validation, and Using Touch
Therapeutic communication is not the same as social interaction. Social interaction has no goal or purpose and consists of casual information sharing, whereas therapeutic communication has a plan or purpose for the conversation. Therapeutic...
Physiology of Emotion
Autonomic Nervous System
The autonomic nervous system (ANS) plays a critical role in emotional responses by regulating involuntary physiological functions. It consists of two main components: the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems. The sympathetic system...
Coping Strategies: Emotion Focused
Physiological Theories: James-Lange Theory of Emotion

