{
  "abstract": "Hugging is a ubiquitous form of social touch, yet little is known about how individual differences shape the remembrance of such experiences. In a large-scale survey (N = 15,049), we investigated whether various traits predict the likelihood of recalling a hug for its positive emotional impact and the reasons why it was remembered. Participants were recruited through promotion on public broadcasting programs (BBC) and other media. Overall, 69.5% of participants reported recalling a hug for its positive emotional impact. In regression analyses, empathy, body perception, and attachment-related anxiety were associated with a higher likelihood of such recall, whereas attachment-related avoidance was associated with a lower likelihood. Men were more likely than women to report physically arousing hugs as the most memorable. These findings suggest that hugs are predominantly remembered because they convey comfort, support, and understanding, and that individual differences shape autobiographical memories of hugging.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "School of Psychological Science, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom.",
    "Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany.",
    "Faculty of Psychology, Counselling and Psychotherapy, The Cairnmillar Institute, Melbourne, Australia.",
    "Research Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, London, United Kingdom.",
    "School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom.",
    "School of Human Sciences, Institute for Lifecourse Development, University of Greenwich, London, United Kingdom."
  ],
  "article_type": "Research Article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 8,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Anna Lena Dueren",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-3904-517X"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2,
        3
      ],
      "name": "Paul M Jenkinson",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-6887-0457"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Aikaterini Vafeiadou"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Athanasios Koukoutsakis"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Claudia Hammond"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        5
      ],
      "name": "Natalie C Bowling"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Aikaterini Fotopoulou"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Michael J Banissy"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/42yzsqv4ggejq.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1371/journal.pone.0359868",
  "fulltext_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13716178",
  "id": "42yzsqv4ggejq",
  "issns": [
    "1932-6203"
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  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0359868",
  "language": "eng",
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "heading",
      "Anxiety"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Behavioral and Social Aspects of Health"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Biology and Life Sciences"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Cognition"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Cognitive Psychology"
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      "heading",
      "Cognitive Science"
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      "heading",
      "Emotions"
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    [
      "heading",
      "Learning and Memory"
    ],
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      "heading",
      "Medicine and Health Sciences"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Memory"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Mental Health and Psychiatry"
    ],
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      "Neuroscience"
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    [
      "heading",
      "Perception"
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    [
      "heading",
      "Psychological Attitudes"
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      "heading",
      "Public and Occupational Health"
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    ],
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      "heading",
      "Sensory Perception"
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    [
      "heading",
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    ],
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      "openalex",
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      "/Biology and life sciences/Neuroscience/Cognitive science/Cognition/Memory"
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    ],
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      "/Social sciences/Psychology/Cognitive psychology/Perception/Sensory perception"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Social sciences/Psychology/Cognitive psychology/Perception/Sensory perception/Touch"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Social sciences/Psychology/Emotions"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Social sciences/Psychology/Emotions/Anxiety"
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      "/Social sciences/Psychology/Psychological attitudes"
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  "pdf_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13716178?pdf=render",
  "pmcid": "PMC13716178",
  "pmid": "42949862",
  "published": "2026-10-28",
  "publisher": "Public Library of Science",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/42yzsqv4ggejq.ris",
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      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:17:17Z",
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  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "plos:neuroscience",
      "subfield": "neuroscience"
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    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "heading:Public and Occupational Health",
      "subfield": "epidemiology-public-health"
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    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "heading:Mental Health and Psychiatry",
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  "title": "Why we hug: Individual differences predict emotional touch memories",
  "title_text": "Why we hug: Individual differences predict emotional touch memories",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-01T12:23:13Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/42yzsqv4ggejq",
  "venue": "PLOS One",
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}