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Sorokowska A, Kowal M, Saluja S, Aavik T, Alm C, Anjum A, Asao K, Batres C, Bensafia A, Bizumic B, Boussena M, Buss DM, Butovskaya M, Can S, Carrier A, Cetinkaya H, Conroy-Beam D, Cueto RM, Czub M, Dural S, Espinosa A, Esteves CS, Frackowiak T, Contreras-Garduño J, Guemaz F, Hromatko I, Iskra H, Jiang F, Kafetsios K, Kavcic T, Kervyn N, Köbis NC, Kostić A, Láng A, Lindholm T, Manesi Z, Meskó N, Misra G, Monaghan C, Natividade JC, Nizharadze G, Oberzaucher E, Oleszkiewicz A, Pagani AF, Pakalniskiene V, Parise M, Pejičić M, Pisanski A, Pisanski K, Popa C, Prokop P, Sargautyte R, Sharad S, Simonetti F, Sorokowski P, Stefanczyk MM, Szagdaj A, Tadinac M, González KU, Uhryn O, Vauclair CM, Yoo G, Zupančič M, Croy I. Love and affectionate touch toward romantic partners all over the world. Sci Rep 2023; 13:5497. [PMID: 37015974 PMCID: PMC10073073 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-31502-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2022] [Accepted: 03/13/2023] [Indexed: 04/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Touch is the primary way people communicate intimacy in romantic relationships, and affectionate touch behaviors such as stroking, hugging and kissing are universally observed in partnerships all over the world. Here, we explored the association of love and affectionate touch behaviors in romantic partnerships in two studies comprising 7880 participants. In the first study, we used a cross-cultural survey conducted in 37 countries to test whether love was universally associated with affectionate touch behaviors. In the second study, using a more fine-tuned touch behavior scale, we tested whether the frequency of affectionate touch behaviors was related to love in romantic partnerships. As hypothesized, love was significantly and positively associated with affectionate touch behaviors in both studies and this result was replicated regardless of the inclusion of potentially relevant factors as controls. Altogether, our data strongly suggest that affectionate touch is a relatively stable characteristic of human romantic relationships that is robustly and reliably related to the degree of reported love between partners.
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Affiliation(s)
- Agnieszka Sorokowska
- Institute of Psychology, University of Wroclaw, Ul. Dawida 1, 50-527, Wroclaw, Poland.
| | - Marta Kowal
- IDN Being Human Lab, University of Wrocław, Wrocław, Poland
| | | | | | | | | | - Kelly Asao
- Westminster College, Salt Lake City, USA
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Seda Can
- Izmir University of Economics, Izmir, Turkey
| | | | | | | | | | - Marcin Czub
- Institute of Psychology, University of Wroclaw, Ul. Dawida 1, 50-527, Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Seda Dural
- Izmir University of Economics, Izmir, Turkey
| | | | | | - Tomasz Frackowiak
- Institute of Psychology, University of Wroclaw, Ul. Dawida 1, 50-527, Wroclaw, Poland
| | | | | | | | - Herak Iskra
- Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | | | | | - Tina Kavcic
- University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Nicolas Kervyn
- Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - Nils C Köbis
- Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany
| | | | | | | | - Zoi Manesi
- Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Anna Oleszkiewicz
- Institute of Psychology, University of Wroclaw, Ul. Dawida 1, 50-527, Wroclaw, Poland
- Smell & Taste Clinic, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Faculty of Medicine Carl Gustav Carus, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Kasia Pisanski
- Institute of Psychology, University of Wroclaw, Ul. Dawida 1, 50-527, Wroclaw, Poland
- CNRS, University of Lyon 2, Lyon, France
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Piotr Sorokowski
- Institute of Psychology, University of Wroclaw, Ul. Dawida 1, 50-527, Wroclaw, Poland
| | | | - Anna Szagdaj
- Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Wroclaw, Poland
| | | | | | - Olga Uhryn
- Lviv State University of Internal Affairs, Lviv, Costa Rica
| | | | | | | | - Ilona Croy
- Institute of Psychology, University of Jena, Jena, Germany
- German Center for Mental Health, Halle-Jena-Magdeburg, Germany
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Battaglia S, Serio G, Scarpazza C, D'Ausilio A, Borgomaneri S. Frozen in (e)motion: How reactive motor inhibition is influenced by the emotional content of stimuli in healthy and psychiatric populations. Behav Res Ther 2021; 146:103963. [PMID: 34530318 DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2021.103963] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2021] [Revised: 08/06/2021] [Accepted: 09/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Efficient inhibitory control is vital. However, environmental cues can influence motor control especially in an emotional context. One common task to measure inhibitory control is the stop-signal task (SST), which asks participants to respond to go stimuli knowing that on some trials a stop signal will be presented, requiring them to inhibit their response. This paradigm estimates the ability to inhibit already-initiated responses by calculating participants' stop-signal reaction times (SSRT), an index of inhibitory control. Here, we aim to review the existing, often contradictory, evidence on the influence of emotional stimuli on the inhibitory process. We aim to discuss which factors may reveal an interference as well as an advantage of emotional stimuli on action inhibition performance. Finally, we review the existing evidence that has investigated the effect of such stimuli on action inhibition in the psychiatric population. Important factors are the relevance, the intensity and the valence of the emotional stimulus, as well as the affected component of the motor control. From all this evidence, it is clear that understand precisely how emotion is integrated into core executive functions, such as inhibitory control, is essential not only for cognitive neuroscience, but also for refining neurocognitive models of psychopathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simone Battaglia
- Centro Studi e Ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Dipartimento di Psicologia, Università di Bologna, Campus di Cesena, 47521, Cesena, Italy.
| | - Gianluigi Serio
- Centro Studi e Ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Dipartimento di Psicologia, Università di Bologna, Campus di Cesena, 47521, Cesena, Italy
| | - Cristina Scarpazza
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, 35131, Padova, Italy; Padova Neuroscience Centre (PNC), 35131, Padova, Italy
| | - Alessandro D'Ausilio
- Università di Ferrara, Dipartimento di Neuroscienze e Riabilitazione, Ferrara, Italy; Italian Institute of Technology, Center for Translational Neurophysiology, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Sara Borgomaneri
- Centro Studi e Ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Dipartimento di Psicologia, Università di Bologna, Campus di Cesena, 47521, Cesena, Italy; IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00179, Rome, Italy.
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Duschek S, Nassauer L, Montoro CI, Bair A, Montoya P. Dispositional empathy is associated with experimental pain reduction during provision of social support by romantic partners. Scand J Pain 2020; 20:205-209. [PMID: 31433786 DOI: 10.1515/sjpain-2019-0025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2019] [Accepted: 08/02/2019] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Background and aims While social interactions like verbal support and physical touch have repeatedly been shown to reduce experimental pain, analgesic effects of passive social support, i.e. the sole physical presence of a supportive other, remain unclear. Moreover, little is known about individual factors influencing the extent of pain attenuation during social support. This study investigated analgesic effects of passive support by a romantic partner and the role of partner empathy therein. Methods In 48 heterosexual couples, sensitivity to pressure pain was assessed; each participant was tested alone and in the passive presence of his/her partner. Dispositional empathy was quantified by a questionnaire. Results In the presence, as compared to absence, of their partners men and women exhibited higher pain threshold and tolerance, as well as lower sensory and affective pain ratings on constant pressure stimuli. Partner empathy was positively associated with pain tolerance and inversely associated with sensory pain experience. Conclusions The results confirm the analgesic effects of social support, which may even occur without verbal or physical contact. Partner empathy may buffer affective distress during pain exposure, thereby reducing pain sensitivity and promoting pain coping. These processes may occur solely due to a partner's physical presence and do not necessarily require direct empathetic feedback.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefan Duschek
- UMIT - University of Health Sciences Medical Informatics and Technology, Eduard Wallnöfer-Zentrum 1, 6060 Hall in Tirol, Austria
| | - Lena Nassauer
- UMIT - University of Health Sciences Medical Informatics and Technology, Eduard Wallnöfer-Zentrum 1, 6060 Hall in Tirol, Austria
| | | | - Angela Bair
- UMIT - University of Health Sciences Medical Informatics and Technology, Eduard Wallnöfer-Zentrum 1, 6060 Hall in Tirol, Austria
| | - Pedro Montoya
- University of the Balearic Islands, Palma, Illes Balears, Spain
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Burunat E. Love is a physiological motivation (like hunger, thirst, sleep or sex). Med Hypotheses 2019; 129:109225. [PMID: 31371074 DOI: 10.1016/j.mehy.2019.05.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2018] [Revised: 04/17/2019] [Accepted: 05/12/2019] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
The multitude of terms associated with love has given rise to a false perception of love. In this paper, only maternal and romantic love are considered. Love is usually regarded as a feeling, motivation, addiction, passion, and, above all, an emotion. This confusion has consequences in the lives of human beings, leading not only to divorces, suicides, femicides but possibly also to a number of mental illnesses and suffering. Therefore, it is crucial to first clarify what is meant by emotion, motivation and love. This work aims to finally place love within the category of physiological motivations, such as hunger, thirst, sleep, or sex, on the basis that love is also essential for human survival, especially in childhood. Love is presented from an evolutionary perspective. Some other similarities between love and other physiological motivations are pointed out, such as its importance for appropriate human development, both its ontogeny and its permanence, and the long-lasting consequences of abuse and neglect. There are summarized reasons that account for this, such as the fact that physiological motivations are essential for survival and that love is an essential motivation for the survival of human offspring. Other reasons are that minimum changes in the quantity and quality of love alters development, that there can be a variety of neurophysiological and behavioural states within a motivation, and that motivations (also love) appear and change throughout development. Also, motivations and love sometimes may lead to an addictive behaviour. Finally, it is recognized that once physiological motivations (and love) appear, they become permanent. In a third section, some potential social, cultural, clinical and scientific consequences of the proposed consideration of love as a motivation are discussed. Accordingly, love's recognition as a motivation in the clinical field would imply a better understanding of its disorders and its inclusion in classifications manuals such as The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), or in the International Classification of Diseases (ICD). Considering love as a motivation rather than an emotion could also impact the results of scientific research (an example is included). A comprehensive understanding of these questions could potentially allow for a new therapeutic approach in the treatment of mental illness, while offering an all-inclusive evolutionary explanation of cultural phenomena such as the origin and diffusion of both language and art. Love should be understood as a physiological motivation, like hunger, sleep or sex, and not as an emotion as it is commonly considered.
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Affiliation(s)
- Enrique Burunat
- School of Health Sciences/School of Psychology, Department of Clinical Psychology, Psychobiology and Methodology, University of La Laguna, P.O. Box 456, 38200 Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain.
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Song S, Zou Z, Song H, Wang Y, d'Oleire Uquillas F, Wang H, Chen H. Romantic Love Is Associated with Enhanced Inhibitory Control in an Emotional Stop-Signal Task. Front Psychol 2016; 7:1574. [PMID: 27826260 PMCID: PMC5078777 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01574] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2016] [Accepted: 09/28/2016] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Purpose: This study explored whether romantic lovers differ in emotion-related inhibitory control capacity from those who are single. Methods: 88 healthy undergraduate college students participated in the study. Half were currently in love and in a romantic relationship (love group, LG), and half were single and had never been in a romantic relationship (single group, SG). Based on duration of romantic relationship (i.e., love duration), the LG were further divided into two subgroups: “early stage love” and “longer periods of love”. All participants completed an emotional Stop Signal Task, consisting of a variety of human face stimuli displaying either sad or neutral affect. Results: Results found that relative to SG, lovers showed greater inhibitory control [shorter stop-signal reaction time (SSRT)] during negative emotion condition trials. Furthermore, in early stages of love, SSRT for negative emotion condition trials was significantly shorter compared to that in “longer periods of love” or SG individuals, with no significant differences between the two latter groups. Conclusion: Compared with individuals who were single, early stage lovers showed greater capacity for inhibiting action during presentation of negative emotional stimuli. Within a greater social context, greater inhibitory control capacity during early stages of love may be related to the successful formation of romantic relationships, particularly to the ability to persevere in goal-directed action despite negative emotional contexts such as that of sadness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sensen Song
- Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University Chongqing, China
| | - Zhiling Zou
- Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University Chongqing, China
| | - Hongwen Song
- School of Humanities and Social Science, University of Science and Technology of China Anhui, China
| | - Yongming Wang
- Sino-Danish College, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing, China
| | | | - Huijun Wang
- Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University Chongqing, China
| | - Hong Chen
- Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University Chongqing, China
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