Why we hug: Individual differences predict emotional touch memories
6 affiliations
- 1School of Psychological Science, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom.
- 2Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
- 3Faculty of Psychology, Counselling and Psychotherapy, The Cairnmillar Institute, Melbourne, Australia.
- 4Research Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, London, United Kingdom.
- 5School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom.
- 6School of Human Sciences, Institute for Lifecourse Development, University of Greenwich, London, United Kingdom.
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.
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BibTeX
@article{dueren2026individual,
title = {{Why we hug: Individual differences predict emotional touch memories}},
author = {Anna Lena Dueren and Paul M Jenkinson and Aikaterini Vafeiadou and Athanasios Koukoutsakis and Claudia Hammond and Natalie C Bowling and Aikaterini Fotopoulou and Michael J Banissy},
journal = {PLOS One},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0359868},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0359868},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Why we hug: Individual differences predict emotional touch memories
AU - Anna Lena Dueren
AU - Paul M Jenkinson
AU - Aikaterini Vafeiadou
AU - Athanasios Koukoutsakis
AU - Claudia Hammond
AU - Natalie C Bowling
AU - Aikaterini Fotopoulou
AU - Michael J Banissy
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/28
JO - PLOS One
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0359868
UR - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0359868
AB - 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.
SN - 1932-6203
ER -