Citation

Forden C. Sex Roles 1981; 7(9): 889-894.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1981, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/BF00290972

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Eighty-seven male and female university students were shown one of three videotapes of a male and a female having a conversation. The three videotapes were identical, except for the beginning and end, where in one condition the male touched the female on the shoulder, in another the female touched the male, in the last neither touched. After they had watched a videotape, subjects were asked to rate the male and the female on 17 descriptive adjectives. Touch condition significantly changed ratings on two clusters of adjectives: the "dominant" cluster for the female; and the "passive" cluster for the male. The female was seen as most "dominant" (stereotypically male) when she touched, the male as most "passive" (stereotypically female) when he was touched. These results are discussed in terms of Henley's (1977) theory of touch as a power symbol.