Most of us have found comfort in the hugs of good friends or family members in times of stress or trouble. Athletes celebrate victories by hugging their teammates. We use hugs to wish someone good luck; show support; or say hello, goodbye and goodnight. Sometimes we hug each other for no reason at all.
While hugging seems like a natural act, it isn’t practiced universally. Some cultures, such as the Japanese, prefer bowing to hugging, although news coverage of the aftermath of the recent earthquake and tsunami there proves there are exceptions
In other cultures, such as Latin American and Middle Eastern, hugging and touching occur far more frequently than in the United States.
Dr. Jennifer Schlegel, assistant professor of anthropology at Kutztown University, said some cultures, such as Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, Indian and South and Central American, are considered high-touch cultures, while American, northern European, Japanese and Australian cultures are considered low touch.
While Americans and members of other low-touch cultures hug and touch, Schlegel said, it is not with the frequency of people who live in high-touch cultures.
Interestingly, studies have indicated that low-touch cultures experience higher incidences of aggression and violence than high-touch cultures.
“There does seem to be some aggression associated with low touch,” Schlegel said.
From an anthropological standpoint, Schlegel said, hugs are a form of reciprocal exchange.
“Reciprocal exchanges are about social relationships,” she said. “So the hug isn’t about physical contact, it’s about the social relationship between two people.”
Hugs are used as a form of communication, Schlegel said, and they generally occur among people of equal status.
When you hug someone, whether it’s a full-body hug that in our culture is more typical between two females or a male and a female, or an abbreviated hug in the form of a chest bump or shoulder tap, which is typical between two males, you’re communicating that your relationship with that person is solid.
“It’s like saying, ‘We’re good,’ ” Schlegel said.
People who are not of equal status, such as an employer and employee, generally do not hug each other, Schlegel said, but might shake hands instead.
Some people take hugging to a new level with free hugs events. These events, some of which can be seen on a video sharing website such as YouTube, portray people in various cities who head to the streets, carrying signs that say free hugs.
Generally, a hugger waits for someone to approach, and then provides a hug. The duration and intensity of hugs vary, but, as the video continues, you sense that the overall mood of people on the street improves.
That mood change, according to Schlegel, is not surprising.
“Hugs are affirming,” she said. “The tension goes down, and people are just happier.”
Lisa Kneer, founder and director of Berks Unity Solution, an umbrella group of agencies, groups and individuals working for the good of the community and of each other, organized a free hugs event in Reading several years ago. A group of eight to 10 people, including two small children, circulated around Reading for about two hours, she said, giving out what she feels were badly needed hugs.
“We were just trying to make people happy, and I think we did,” said Kneer of Reading. “If you wanted a hug you got one, and if you didn’t want one, we respected that.”
One woman, Kneer related, knelt down to get hugs from the children. Her reaction touched everyone around her.
“She started crying, and she told us that she hadn’t been hugged for 20 years,” Kneer said. “I can still see that image of her.”
Research has shown that hugging and other forms of touching can contribute to well being and healing. Researchers at the Touch Research Institute (TRI) at the University of Miami say that touching promotes health and contributes to the treatment of disease.
While it’s well documented that infants who are left untouched suffer high levels of social anxiety disorder and other problems, TRI researchers claim that people of all ages benefit from touching, including hugs, which result in an increase in the presence of oxytocin, known as the bonding hormone, and decreases in stress and blood pressure.
Dr. Joyce Pottash, an Oley psychologist, agreed.
“Touch creates a deeper sense of connection between people and is an effective source of healing,” Pottash said.
The connection that people feel after sharing a hug goes back to the fact that hugs reinforce our social relationships, Schlegel said.
“Hugging is a joint experience, a joint accomplishment,” she said. “It’s not something that you can do by yourself.”
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Contact Susan Shelly: life@readingeagle.com.
Why are we trying to stop are children from feeling good This is crazy! A Hug a day Keeps the smile on your face!
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