Interpersonal Touch among Adults in Cafeteria Lines

Abstract

Previous studies have indicated that interpersonal touch decreases with age. In the present study 1012 pairs of college students and 212 pairs of elderly subjects were observed in cafeteria queues. Instances of touch were recorded along with sex, race, and body parts used to touch and touched. College students segregated themselves by race and sex just as the younger students had been observed to do in previous studies. Unlike all previous studies the elderly subjects did not segregate themselves by gender. For college students, touch was highest for female to male combinations; blacks were more likely to touch other blacks and least likely to touch whites. Touch was more likely among elderly subjects for female to female interactions than it was for college students, but there were no differences for the other gender combinations. In college students personal body areas were used to touch those of different gender while impersonal body areas were used to touch those of the same gender; personal body areas were more likely to be touched by others of the other gender. For elderly subjects there were no differences in frequencies with which personal or impersonal areas were involved in touch in relation to gender for either area used to touch or area touched.