We're a hands-on species. "We probably have as much physical contact within our core relationships as monkeys do within theirs," says Robin Dunbar at the University of Oxford. Touching each other is pleasant, it builds trust and promotes cooperation. And touching others – a soft caress, a reassuring hand on the arm – may be far more critical to our development than we imagined.
That's not to say we all do it the same, however. Social touching is strictly governed by local conventions around the world. Here's a quick travel guide to get you up to speed.
UK
It's been called the "English Disease". People in the UK have long had a reputation for being less willing to touch each other than people in other parts of the world, but a 1966 study revealed just how great the cultural divide can be. When researchers observed the behaviour of couples in coffee shops in London and San Juan, Puerto Rico, they found that couples in London barely touched each other. Puerto Ricans, by contrast, touched each other an average of 180 times per hour.
Things have changed since the 1960s, of course. In London it's now common to greet friends with a hug and kiss on the cheek – though uncertainty over the number of kisses can still provoke embarrassment.
Sierra Leone
"Don't touch" has become a familiar greeting in Sierra Leone, a country with long traditions of interpersonal touch. Before the recent Ebola outbreak, the usual greeting was to shake hands, then touch your hand to your chest – as if drawing the other person to your heart. Now, people avoid body contact for fear of picking up the Ebola virus, which is carried in bodily fluids.
Thailand
Patting children on the head, or ruffling their hair is viewed as an affectionate gesture in many Western countries. But in Thailand it is considered rude to touch someone's head because the head is viewed as a sacred part of the body.
The US
American adolescents touch each other less frequently than their French counterparts. Could that explain why French teenagers seem to be less aggressive towards one another? That's the suggestion of Tiffany Field at the Touch Research Institute in Florida, who observed how adolescents at McDonalds restaurants in Miami and Paris interacted with one another. The American teens spent less time leaning against, stroking, kissing, and hugging their peers than did the French teenagers. Instead, they touched themselves more, and displayed more aggressive verbal and physical behaviour.
Papua New Guinea
Buggies might be the predominant mode of transport for babies in most parts of the world, but in Papua New Guinea some indigenous populations take a different approach. Arapesh mums traditionally carry their babies in a net bag, keeping them in constant skin-to-skin contact. The neighbouring Mundugumor, however, favour a basket suspended from the forehead, where the baby is out of contact with the mother's body.
In the 1930s, Margaret Mead, the first anthropologist to study these cultures in depth, noted a correlation between preferred mode of baby-carrying and a tribe's attitude to violence: the Arapesh were non-aggressive and gentle, the Mundugumor were an aggressive and warring people. Older Mundugumor children, however, were carried on their mothers' backs just by holding on to their mother's hair. Though animal studies have suggested a link between lack of handling in infanthood and adult aggression, the exact connection – especially in humans – is unclear.
The Middle-East
Left-handed people take note: in Islamic countries it's best to avoid touching people with your left hand, which is reserved for toilet functions. Touching people of the opposite sex – no matter how innocently – is also discouraged, although hand-holding and hugs between members of the same sex are common.
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