The Ultimate Body Language Book

status by initiating it against men of slightly higher status than them. If done tactfully, it can create a
leveling effect and force them to reevaluate the rank they have attributed to you. If touching is done
incorrectly, it will catch high status individuals off guard producing a negative effect that can be
difficult or impossible to correct. Men, overall, rate touching less positively as a rule when compared to
women, so touching initiated against men should be sparse.
Touching between men and women often outlines sexual interest and when women touch each other, it
is often done out of friendship or to extend sympathy or formulate bonds. Family members also use
touching such as hugs and kisses to display affection. Touching comforts are different from person to
person and also of different cultures. The kiss hello for example is commonplace in Switzerland,
Southern Europe, Latin America and the Mediterranean. It is uncommon in North America, Asia and
some of Northern and Western Europe. Localized kiss hellos happens in Miami and Quebec for
example and even in regional neighbourhoods such as with Italian or Hispanics. As far as hand holding
goes, it is commonplace in the Middle East to symbolize friendship and respect when done between
adult men. Even President George Bush was spotted holding Saudi’s crown Prince Abdullah’s hand
which scored points with the locals, but became water cooler material for people in the U.S.
Chapter 8 – Dominant and Submissive Gestures
Touching To Get What You Want.
Touching is a primitive grooming gesture.
A study by Chris Keinke in 1980 revealed that touch can influence compliance with a request. In the
study, an experimenter left a dime in a phone booth in a Boston airport. As the subjects emerged from
the airport the experimenter asked for the return of their dime. It was found that compliance was more
frequent when the request was accompanied by a light touch on the arm. A similar study in 1982 by
Joel Brockner and colleagues showed comparable findings but specify that only sixty three percent of
the non-touched returned the dime, whereas ninety six percent of those that were touched returned the
dime.