The meaning of touch: Relational and individual variables shape emotions and intentions associated with imagined social touch.

Charlotte Krahé, Aikaterini Fotopoulou, Claudia Hammond, Michael J Banissy, Athanasios Koukoutsakis, Paul M Jenkinson

Abstract read

In one paragraph

Article in European journal of social psychology, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it

0cells of the map it votes in

3citing papers in PubMed

–field-weighted citation impact

1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

Observing positive and negative social touch triggers topographically distinct physical and emotional reactions in the body.Scientific reports · 2026
Article
Autistic adults prefer social touch less but engage just as much: The impact of social context, relationship type, sensory responsivity, and psychological factors.Autism : the international journal of research and practice · 2026
Article
Is cultural context the crucial touch? Neurophysiological and self-reported responses to affective touch in women in South Africa and the United Kingdom.Social cognitive and affective neuroscience · 2025
Article

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Charlotte KrahéSchool of Psychology, Faculty of Health, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0620-1263

Aikaterini FotopoulouResearch Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, London, UK.

Claudia HammondDepartment of Psychology, University of Sussex, Falmer, UK.

Michael J BanissyDepartment of Psychology, Goldsmiths, University of London, London, UK.

Athanasios KoukoutsakisResearch Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, London, UK.

Paul M JenkinsonResearch Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, London, UK.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Touch is a key channel for conveying meaning in social interactions. The affective quality of touch and its effects on well-being are shaped by relational context (relationship between touch giver vs. recipient) and person variables (e.g. adult attachment style). Yet, such effects have not been explored in relation to the

Indexed as

affective touchattachment stylecommunicationemotionintentionsocial touch

Identifiers

PMID39404689

DOI10.1002/ejsp.3076

PMCPMC7616566

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata

LicenceCC BY

Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.