"Touch Me, Like Me": Testing an Encounter Group Assumption

Boderman, Alvin; Freed, Douglas W.; Kinnucan, Mark T.

doi:10.1177/002188637200800503

Cited by 21 publications

(8 citation statements)

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“…Research has already shown that observers consider touch to be more expected from attractive, higher-status, and equal-status communicators than from unattractive and lower-status ones (Burgoon & Walther, 1990). Because touch is open to multiple interpretations (Heslin & Alper, 1983)-ranging from warmth, affection, involvement, and intimacy (Beier & Stemberg, 1977;Boderman, Freed, & Kinnucan, 1972;Breed & Ricci, 1973;Fisher, Rytting, & Heslin, 1976) to dominance, status, power, and agppssion (Henley 1977;Henley & Harmon, 1985;Major & Heslin, 1982;Summerhayes & Suchner, 1978)-it appears plausible that communicator valence could also alter interpretations. Predictions for touch evaluations should parallel those for interpretations and are bolstered by the finding that some touches are seen as more desirable when committed by an attractive partner than by an unattractive partner (Burgoon & Walther, 1990).…”

Section: Tion?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Interpretations, Evaluations, and Consequences of Interpersonal Touch

Walther²,

1992

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Key elements of an expectancy violations (EV) framework are forwarded as a possible organizingframeworkfir understanding how touch functions in interpersonal wmmunication. Central to applying an EVframework to touch is assessing the expectedness, interpretations, and evaluations of touch and its influence on such communication outcomes as evaluations ofcommunicatorattractiwnessand credibility. Toaddress these considerations, an experiment required participants toengage in dyadic problem-solving discussions during which they were touched or not touched by high-valence (attractive, high status, expert) or low-valence (unattractive, low status, inexpert) confederates. Brief touches by high-valence communicators were less expected than from low-valence communicators but positively evaluatedfrom both. Touch also carried many favorable relational message interpretations, and the combination of touch and high communicator valence generally produced the highest credibility and attraction ratings. Some gender cfiects emerged, which appeared to moderate touch eflects. Results suggest that brief touches among strangers may haw positive consequences, especially when initiated by high-valence communicators, for whom they may qualify as positiw violations. mong communicative nonverbal behaviors, one of the most provocative yet least well understood is touch. By virtue of

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Section: Tion?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Interpretations, Evaluations, and Consequences of Interpersonal Touch

Walther²,

1992

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“…(Despite our own intense sniffing of the literature, we found no work on smelling--or tasting either.) In two different studies--one conducted in the labora tory (35) and the other at a library checkout I�ounter (99)-female respondents were found to like a previously unknown confederate better after a brief touch on the hand than after no touch. Males, who participated in equal numbers in the second study, showed no consistent positive effect.…”

Section: Nonverbal Interactionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interpersonal Attraction and Relationships

Huston¹,

Levinger²

1978

Annu. Rev. Psychol.

403

172

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“…In addition to role playing, exercises involving physical contact were employed. Such contact has been shown to increase interpersonal attraction (Boderman et al, 1972). Another explanation is that more positive reinforcement may have been provided in role-rehearsal than discussion groups.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interpersonal variables in behavioural group therapy

Falloon¹

1981

British Journal of Medical Psychology

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Attraction towards the group as a whole and to male and female co-leaders was self-rated after each of 10 sessions of behavioural group therapy. Fifty-one patients with specific interpersonal skills deficits completed the course after being randomly assigned to nine small groups employing either (a) role rehearsal and modelling, or (b) guided discussion. Higher levels of attraction were obtained in role-rehearsal groups. This was associated with improved self-esteem and a reduction of specific social fears at the end of treatment. Drop-outs showed less attraction and tended to leave the groups at critical stages in their development. The findings suggest that greater attention to specific interpersonal variables may enhance the effectiveness of group therapies.One of the major goals of group psychotherapy is the acquisition of interpersonal and social competence. Little research has been conducted to evaluate the success in achieving this goal. Considerable theoretical concern for the structure of group therapy and styles of leadership has been accompanied by few rigorous studies to support the hypotheses generated through this discussion. One explanation for this seems to be the complexity of interpersonal interaction, which, even when broken down into its component expressive and responsive skills, and the ability to discriminate the occasions for the use of these skills effectively, presents formidable problems for the researcher.A recently developed behavioural group therapy method is known as social skills training. [Personal effectiveness training (Liberman et al., 1975), structured learning therapy (Goldstein, 1973), and assertion training (Hersen et al., 1973) are variants that employ similar behavioural techniques.] This method employs a small-group setting for direct teaching of interpersonal skills. A variety of training components derived both from behavioural and social learning paradigms are employed. These include role playing of social interaction that patients find difficult in their everyday lives; explicit modelling by the therapist and other patients of alternative ways of handling these critical situations; social reinforcement and feedback on the role-played behaviour ; and specific homework tasks completed between sessions. In addition to the use of these interventions, this method differs from traditional models of group psychotherapy in several ways: function in the group. outside session times.(1) The emphasis is on behaviour change in real-life settings, not merely improved(2) Patients are encouraged to meet and help one another with their homework tasks (3) Positive feedback is stressed during the groups. (4) The themes of sessions are frequently programmed by the therapist from prior (5) Treatment is time-limited: usually a three-month course is offered. Social skills training, with its specific emphasis on social interaction, thus presents the knowledge of the patient's specific difficulties.researcher in the group therapy field with several challenging questions, and a clearly defin...

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"Touch Me, Like Me": Testing an Encounter Group Assumption

Cited by 21 publications

References 0 publications

Interpretations, Evaluations, and Consequences of Interpersonal Touch

Interpretations, Evaluations, and Consequences of Interpersonal Touch

Interpersonal Attraction and Relationships

Interpersonal variables in behavioural group therapy

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