The most common form of touch in a professional setting is a handshake , which can also convey different meanings.
Touch can be categorized in many terms such as positive, playful, control, ritualistic, task-related or unintentional. It can be both sexual (kissing is one example that some perceived as sexual), and platonic (such as hugging or a handshake).
Haptics is the study of touching as nonverbal communication. Touches that can be defined as communication include handshakes, holding hands, kissing (cheek, lips, hand), back slap, "high-five", shoulder pat, brushing arm, etc. Each of these give off nonverbal messages as to the touching person's intentions/feelings.
Examples of Sense of Touch
Touching ice cubes from the refrigerator allows us to feel cold. We can sense the texture of a substance, be it smooth or rough. Touching a cement wall shall feel rough. Touching a silk cloth will feel very smooth.
A good example is if you receive a hug. Your discriminative touch pathway tells you where the person is touching you but you also feel how hard they are squeezing. That sensation of how soft or hard they are squeezing is called touch pressure.
One of the most common forms of nonverbal communication is facial expressions. Using the eyebrows, mouth, eyes and facial muscles to convey emotion or information can be very effective. Example: Someone might raise their eyebrows and open their eyes widely if they feel surprised.
Eye contact
This is one of the most powerful examples of nonverbal communication. Eye contact can tell the other person you are engaged and interested in what they have to say. However, eye contact can also be a way of showing dominance.
Together, they allow a person to feel sensations like pressure, pain, and temperature. Click for more detail. Receptors are small in size, but they collect very accurate information when touched. They may sense pain, temperature, pressure, friction, or stretch.
Functional-Professional Touch. unsympathetic, impersonal, cold, or business-like touch. Social-Polite Touch. acknowledges another person according to the norms or rules of a society.
Physical flirting involves using touch or body language to express attraction and create a sense of intimacy. Examples include playful touches, hugs, or leaning in closer during conversations. This form of flirting can be very effective when used appropriately and with respect for boundaries.
Haphephobia is the fear of being touched. For some people, the fear is specific to being touched by people of one gender. For others, the fear extends to all people. People with haphephobia often experience physical symptoms of intense distress when they are touched.
The thousands of nerve endings in the skin respond to four basic sensations: Pressure, hot, cold, and pain, but only the sensation of pressure has its own specialized receptors.
Haptics is the study of touch. Touch is the first type of nonverbal communication we experience as humans and is vital to our development and health (Dolin & Booth-Butterfield; Wilson, et al.).
Verbal communication makes conveying thoughts faster and easier and is the most successful method of communication. However, it makes up just 7% of all human contact.
Body Language and Posture
While these nonverbal communications can indicate feelings and attitudes, body language is often subtle and less definitive than previously believed.
Some of the things psychologists look for are your posture, hands, eye contact, facial expressions, and the position of your arms and legs. Your posture says a lot about your comfort level.
Nonverbal communication is perhaps the most powerful form of communication. While a lot of attention is paid to the words we speak, frequently a look or a gesture can say a great deal more. Facial expressions, eye contact, ges- tures, posture, and the tone of our voice convey our interest, comfort, sincerity and mood.
the ability to perceive an object or other stimulus that comes into contact with the surface of the skin (e.g., by pressure, stroking). Also called tactile sense. See haptic perception; tactile perception.
The tactile (touch) sense is a function of the receptors in our skin that receive and give messages related to pressure, vibration, texture, temperature, pain, and the position of our limbs.
Sense of touch
Pressure, temperature, light touch, vibration, pain and other sensations are all part of the touch sense and are all attributed to different receptors in the skin.