M.Com. (Industrial Psychology) / Traditional experimental psychology and cognitive science have regarded the mind as an abstract information processor that places little importance on the connections to the surrounding environment (Bilda, Candy, & Edmonds, 2007). Contemporary research into the functioning of the mind, however, has discovered the essential role that the body plays in constructing perceptual and mental processes. This is known as embodied cognition, which holds that cognitive processes and even intelligence are deeply embedded in the body’s interactions with the environment, as a result of sensory motor activity (Barsalou, 2008; Jostmann, Lakens, & Schubert, 2009; Smith & Gasser, 2005; Wilson, 2002). As such, even haptic sensations such as touch could have an effect on the way individuals perceive and process information. Touch may even have an effect on the way people judge themselves (Ackerman, Nocera, & Bargh, 2010). This is the focus of the current study. The work of Ackerman and et al. (2010) is a recent and seminal study that also provides the guidance for this particular study, which aims to determine whether haptic sensations (in particular the touch sensation of the physical questionnaire) have an effect on the self-judgements of individuals completing a personality questionnaire. In this chapter the following will be considered: the background and rationale for the study; a problem statement presented in the form of a research question; research objectives; and an overview of the metatheory that forms the basis of the study. The latter will also be linked to the rationale of this study.

This study was conducted to determine whether or not a significant difference exists in pregnant women among those receiving therapeutic touch, mock therapeutic touch, or no touch on measurements of anxiety and well-being. Thirty third trimester primigravida subjects were tested pre- and postintervention using the State-Anxiety Inventory and a Well-Being Visual Analog; heart and respiratory rates were monitored before, during, and after the treatment. No significant differences were found using analysis of covariance with the pre-test scores as the covariate. The findings indicate that therapeutic touch may not be useful in reducing state anxiety or enhancing subjective well-being in pregnancy. Study limitations include a small sample size, use of an instrument without established reliability and validity, and a study environment that may have increased anxiety.

No description available.

M.Com. (Industrial Psychology) / The current study investigated, by means of an experiment, the influence of incidental haptic sensations, encountered when completing self-report questionnaires, on formal ratings of an unestablished consumer brand. In total 128 university students (mean age = 20.16 years, males = 31.3%, females = 68.8%) participated in the study. Initially, all the participants completed a pretest self-report questionnaire on standard weighted paper (80gsm). A week later, the same participants were randomly assigned to one of two experimental groups, where Group 1 (n=64) completed a post-test self-report questionnaire on firm paper, and Group 2 (n=64) completed a post-test self-report questionnaire on flimsy paper. The questionnaire scale comprised 30 sets of bipolar pairs of adjectives related to the language association of rigidity and strength. A robust Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) revealed a statistical difference between groups for scores between 80 and 104 on the pre-test, while no effect was found for scores of 109 and upwards. Further support of the hypothesis was evident in kurtosis across groups (Group 1: kurtosis = 0.73 , Group 2: kurtosis = -0.03), which indicated that more participants in Group 1 ('Firm') had formed stronger judgements of the unestablished consumer brand than those in Group 2 ('Flimsy'). In conclusion, it appeared that a physically grounded mental framework, consistent with embodied cognition, had nonconsciously led participants to form stronger product judgements, of an unestablished consumer brand, when encountering an incidental, tactile experience of strength when completing self-report questionnaires in the consumer context.

Need for touch--Protection of client and practitioner--Appropriateness--Personal boundaries--Client psychopathology--Sexual and legal issues--Interpretation--Practitioner judgement.

Social connection is important to one's health and longevity. However, not only do people need others to survive, we need others to thrive. Researchers call for deeper examination of the functions and processes through which our social partners help us to prosper and thrive, such as through increased physical health and well-being. Over three studies, I examined phenomena theorized to contribute to long-term thriving including positive emotions (i.e., gratitude and positive affect fluctuation), responsive support, affectionate touch, and physical health (i.e., sleep) within the context of nursing work (Study 1) and military relationships (Study 2 & 3). Study 1 provides support for the benefits of received gratitude expressions, an understudied component of gratitude interactions. Specifically, nurses receiving more thanks within their work week were associated with feeling more satisfied with their patient care and in turn positive physical health outcomes including higher sleep quality, for example. Thus, not only is feeling grateful important to well-being but receiving thanks from others benefits one's physical health as well. Study 2 extended research describing the impact of the dynamic and fluctuating nature of emotion and physical health to close relationships by examining how positive affect variability (intra-individual standard deviation) and instability (differences between each successive day's mood) promotes or hinders intimacy. The second study found that greater fluctuations in positive affect over time were associated with greater reports of closeness within military couples. Recent research indicates that variability in positive and negative mood contributes to reduced psychological and physical well-being; however, when applied to the study of close relationships, Study 2 suggests that variation in positive mood may instead benefit military couples. Finally, Study 3 investigated the degree to which affectionate touch enhances the interrelationships among negative event support, gratitude, and sleep within Veterans and their partners over time. Results offer limited support; however, one key finding indicates that Veteran daily reports of affectionate touch were associated with increased sleep quality for their spouses. In addition, Veteran reports of affectionate touch strengthened the degree to which spouses' perceived responsive support predicted Veteran grateful mood. Study 3 supports research showing that positive interactions with one's partner, such as physical touch and responsive support, contribute to sleep and positive relationship maintenance emotions, such as gratitude. Taken together, these studies offer support for the integral role our social connections play in thriving, particularly within the contexts of nursing and military relationships.

M.Comm. (Industrial Psychology) / The current study investigated, by means of an experiment, the influence of nonconscious incidental haptic sensation, encountered when completing self-report questionnaires, on formal ratings of a consumer brand. In total, 178 university students (mean age = 19.82 years, males = 31.5%, females = 68.5%) participated in the study. Participants were allocated to one of two groups with Group 1 (n=88) completing a questionnaire printed on rigid paper while Group 2 (n=90) completed the same questionnaire printed on flimsy paper. The questionnaire scale was constructed using 28 sets of biploar pairs of adjectives related to the language association of rigidity and strength. An independent t-test revealed no differences between groups (t = 0.67, p = 0.50), but differences of distribution and polarisation of scores, evidenced by differences in kurtosis across groups (Group 1: kurtosis = 1.49, Group 2: kurtosis = 0.11), were apparent. In conclusion it appeared that a physically grounded mental framework, consistent with an embodied cognition approach to mental processes, had led to participants forming stronger product judgments when encountering an incidental, nonconscious, tactile experience of strength in a consumer context.

The purpose of the present study was to investigate a human being's basic responses to being touched by another human being in a nonreactive context and the effects of an illogical rationale on system disorganization. Two hypothesis were put forth: 1 - that persons in similar circumstances who are not touched, and 2 - that persons who are touched for a reason that makes sense will display less psychological and physiological variability than persons who are touched for a reason that makes less sense or, perhaps, is even considered "illofical." Forehead touch was chose. Positive and negative affect scales were utilized to measure psychological reactivity while skin temperature and heart rate were employed to measure psychological reactivity. These hypotheses were not supported in the present study since the expected group by phase interactions were not obtained. Instead, main effects for phase were found, especially for heart rate scores. Many concerns about the nature of the sample and the manipulation itself are discussed.

The purpose of this study was to determine the degree to which the experience of incest contributed to women's' evaluations of counselors' trustworthiness and attractiveness based on the counselors' use of touch. Counseling facilities, educational centers, and individual therapists who led groups for female adult survivors of incest and non-victimized women, were contacted and asked to participate in a study designed to evaluate counseling techniques for women in counseling. The sample consisted of 130 volunteers over the age of 18 and currently in counseling. Groups of participants evaluated two 4 1/2 minute Simulated counseling sessions on video tapes. Nearly half of the sample viewed the tapes with a male counselor and a female client, and the others viewed tapes with a female counselor and a female client. On one of each set of counseling vignettes, the counselor supportively touched the client four times. All other variables were held constant. Participants evaluated the counselors on attributes of attractiveness and trustworthiness associated with the use of counselor touch. The results of the multiple regression analysis indicated that two variables significantly influenced how participants evaluated counselor attributes associated with the use of counselor touch, namely counselor attributes when the counselor did not use touch and counselor's gender. Results of independent t-tests indicated that female counselors were rated significantly higher on both counselor attributes in both counseling vignettes. Paired t-tests indicated that female counselors were rated significantly higher on counseling attributes when they used touch versus when they did not use touch. Male counselors were rated significantly higher on the counselor attribute of attractiveness when they used touch versus when they did not use touch. A significant interaction was found between the participant's incest experience and ratings of counselors' attributes when the counselor did not use touch. That is, participant's ratings of counselors' attributes when the counselor used touch and participant's incest experience were combined, they made a Significant contribution to how participants rated counselors on counseling attributes when the counselor used touch. The findings of this study suggest that whether women experience incest or not does not effect their perceptions of counselors who use touch. Furthermore, women preferred counselors who used touch versus those that did not. Implications for further training suggest that counselors be taught appropriate touch techniques to use in counseling with both adult survivors of incest and non-victimized women. / Ed. D.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)