Editing Haptic communication (section)

===Friendship/warmth===
It is more acceptable for women to touch than men in social or friendship settings, possibly because of the inherent dominance of the person touching over the person being touched. Women and girls are more commonly known for interacting with each other through touch than men and boys are. This is thought to be because same-sex touch is acceptable for women.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bosson |first1=Jennifer K. |last2=Vandello |first2=Joseph A. |last3=Buckner |first3=Camille E. |title=The Psychology of Sex and Gender |date=2018 |publisher=SAGE Publications |isbn=978-1-5443-1039-8 }}{{page needed|date=February 2024}}</ref> Whitcher and Fisher conducted a study to see whether friendly touch in a healthcare setting reduced [[anxiety]] equally or differently between men and women.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Whitcher |first1=Sheryle J. |last2=Fisher |first2=Jeffrey D. |title=Multidimensional reaction to therapeutic touch in a hospital setting. |journal=Journal of Personality and Social Psychology |date=1979 |volume=37 |issue=1 |pages=87–96 |doi=10.1037/0022-3514.37.1.87 |pmid=458550 }}</ref> A nurse was told to touch patients for one minute while the patients looked at a pamphlet during a routine preoperative procedure. Females reacted positively to the touch, whereas males did not. It was surmised that males equated the touch to being treated as inferior or dependent.

Touching among family members has been found to affect the behavior of those involved. Touch is a way that a child can express positive emotion. For example, physical affection, like hugs, can serve as an overt display of love. Various factors are at work within a family setting. As a child grows older, the amount of touching by the parent decreases although it does continue to be an important social behavior for that child to communicate positive or [[negative emotion]]s later in their future.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bai |first1=Sunhye |last2=Repetti |first2=Rena L. |last3=Sperling |first3=Jacqueline B. |title=Children's expressions of positive emotion are sustained by smiling, touching, and playing with parents and siblings: A naturalistic observational study of family life. |journal=Developmental Psychology |date=January 2016 |volume=52 |issue=1 |pages=88–101 |doi=10.1037/a0039854 |pmc=4695297 |pmid=26524382 }}</ref>