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Vicarious Touch: A Potential Substitute for Social Touch During Touch Deprivation.

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Title: Vicarious Touch: A Potential Substitute for Social Touch During Touch Deprivation.
Authors: Kirsch, Louise P. (AUTHOR), von Mohr, Mariana (AUTHOR), Koukoutsakis, Athanasios (AUTHOR), Fotopoulou, Aikaterini (AUTHOR)
Source: European Journal of Social Psychology. Feb2026, Vol. 56 Issue 1, p19-34. 16p.
Subjects: Anxiety prevention, Self-evaluation, Research funding, Visual analog scale, Multiple regression analysis, Human-animal relationships, Loneliness, Descriptive statistics, Research, Analysis of variance, Interpersonal relations, Data analysis software, Confidence intervals, Social isolation, Sensory deprivation
Geographic Terms: United Kingdom
Abstract: Restricted interpersonal touch experiences, for instance due to COVID‐19 social distancing measures, result in detrimental effects on anxiety, loneliness and psychological well‐being. Yet, interventions capable of mitigating the impact of social touch deprivation, as experienced during the COVID‐19 pandemic, remain insufficient. In this study, conducted during a period of enforced physical distancing and touch deprivation, we investigated whether prosocial, vicarious (i.e., visually seen) touch during interactions involving human–human touch and human–pet touch, compared to human–robot touch, could alleviate self‐reported feelings of stress. To this end, 1490 participants completed an online video‐viewing task in which they self‐reported their stress level before and after viewing video clips depicting prosocial tactile interactions. Main findings suggest that vicarious human–pet touch was especially effective in reducing perceived stress, followed by human–human touch, whereas human–robot touch surprisingly increased stress levels. This pattern reveals a novel dissociation between the calming potential of human–animal versus human–human interactions and highlights potential limits of artificial agents in replicating the emotional benefits of real social touch. Moreover, the extent of the calming effect provided by vicarious touch depended on individual differences, including participants' anxiety states and personal preferences regarding the perceived pleasantness and awkwardness of the video clips. In particular, individuals experiencing higher levels of anxiety prior to watching interactions exhibited a more pronounced calming response to vicarious human–pet touch. Altogether, these findings underscore the significant role of social vicarious touch in a context where actual, somatosensory touch is lacking and warrant the development of further randomised, controlled testing of related interventions for conditions of physical distancing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of European Journal of Social Psychology is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection
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  Data: Vicarious Touch: A Potential Substitute for Social Touch During Touch Deprivation.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Kirsch%2C+Louise+P%2E%22">Kirsch, Louise P.</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22von+Mohr%2C+Mariana%22">von Mohr, Mariana</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Koukoutsakis%2C+Athanasios%22">Koukoutsakis, Athanasios</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Fotopoulou%2C+Aikaterini%22">Fotopoulou, Aikaterini</searchLink> (AUTHOR)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22European+Journal+of+Social+Psychology%22">European Journal of Social Psychology</searchLink>. Feb2026, Vol. 56 Issue 1, p19-34. 16p.
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  Data: Restricted interpersonal touch experiences, for instance due to COVID‐19 social distancing measures, result in detrimental effects on anxiety, loneliness and psychological well‐being. Yet, interventions capable of mitigating the impact of social touch deprivation, as experienced during the COVID‐19 pandemic, remain insufficient. In this study, conducted during a period of enforced physical distancing and touch deprivation, we investigated whether prosocial, vicarious (i.e., visually seen) touch during interactions involving human–human touch and human–pet touch, compared to human–robot touch, could alleviate self‐reported feelings of stress. To this end, 1490 participants completed an online video‐viewing task in which they self‐reported their stress level before and after viewing video clips depicting prosocial tactile interactions. Main findings suggest that vicarious human–pet touch was especially effective in reducing perceived stress, followed by human–human touch, whereas human–robot touch surprisingly increased stress levels. This pattern reveals a novel dissociation between the calming potential of human–animal versus human–human interactions and highlights potential limits of artificial agents in replicating the emotional benefits of real social touch. Moreover, the extent of the calming effect provided by vicarious touch depended on individual differences, including participants' anxiety states and personal preferences regarding the perceived pleasantness and awkwardness of the video clips. In particular, individuals experiencing higher levels of anxiety prior to watching interactions exhibited a more pronounced calming response to vicarious human–pet touch. Altogether, these findings underscore the significant role of social vicarious touch in a context where actual, somatosensory touch is lacking and warrant the development of further randomised, controlled testing of related interventions for conditions of physical distancing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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  Data: <i>Copyright of European Journal of Social Psychology is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=pbh&AN=194010740
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        Value: 10.1002/ejsp.70022
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        Text: English
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      Pagination:
        PageCount: 16
        StartPage: 19
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Anxiety prevention
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Self-evaluation
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Research funding
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      – SubjectFull: Visual analog scale
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      – SubjectFull: Multiple regression analysis
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      – SubjectFull: Human-animal relationships
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Loneliness
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Descriptive statistics
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      – SubjectFull: Research
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      – SubjectFull: Analysis of variance
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      – SubjectFull: Interpersonal relations
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      – SubjectFull: Data analysis software
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      – SubjectFull: Confidence intervals
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      – SubjectFull: Social isolation
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      – SubjectFull: Sensory deprivation
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      – SubjectFull: United Kingdom
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Vicarious Touch: A Potential Substitute for Social Touch During Touch Deprivation.
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              Text: Feb2026
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
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