Touch May Alleviate Existential Fears for People With Low Self-Esteem

 

Washington, DC, USA (November 6, 2013) – As human beings, we all know that we are going to die some day. Most of us deal with this knowledge by trying to live meaningful lives, but people with low self-esteem tend not to see their lives as particularly meaningful. Now, research suggests that touch may help people with low self-esteem in confronting their own mortality.

 

“Even fleeting and seemingly trivial instances of interpersonal touch may help people to deal more effectively with existential concern,” explains psychological scientist and lead researcher Sander Koole of VU University Amsterdam.

 

“This is important because we all have to deal with existential concerns and we all have times at which we struggle to find meaning in life,” says Koole. “Our findings show that people may still find existential security through interpersonal touch, even in the absence of symbolic meaning derived from religious beliefs or life values.”

 

In a series of studies published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, Koole and colleagues tested the hypothesis that people with low self-esteem deal with existential concerns by connecting with others.

 

In one study, an experimenter approached participants as they walked through a university campus. The experimenter handed the participants questionnaires to fill out; for some of the participants, she accompanied the questionnaire with a light, open-palmed touch on the participant’s shoulder blade that lasted about 1 second.

 

Interestingly, participants with low self-esteem who received the brief touch reported less death anxiety on the questionnaire than those who had not been touched.

 

Touch also seemed to act as a buffer against social alienation when participants were reminded of their mortality: Participants with low self-esteem showed no decreased in social connectedness after being reminded of death, but only if they had received a light touch.

 

The research suggests that individuals with low self-esteem may desire, and even seek out, touch when they are confronted with their mortality. Participants with low self-esteem who were reminded of death estimated the value of a plush teddy bear at about €23 (about $31 USD), while those who had not been reminded of death estimated the value at about €13 euros, a full €10 less.

 

Being able to touch the teddy bear while estimating its value seemed to provide existential comfort to participants with low self-esteem, reducing their levels of ethnocentrism, a common defensive reaction to reminders of death.

 

“Our findings show that even touching an inanimate object — such as a teddy bear — can soothe existential fears,” notes Koole. “Interpersonal touch is such a powerful mechanism that even objects that simulate touch by another person may help to instill in people a sense of existential significance.”

 

While the existential benefits of touch may be limited by various factors — such as who or what is providing the touch — Koole and colleagues believe that touch could be a useful supplement to more traditional cognitive-based therapies in treating low self-esteem and related disorders, such as depression and anxiety.

 

The researchers are currently exploring the possibilities of simulated interpersonal touch through the use of a “haptic jacket,” which can electronically give people the feeling that they are being hugged.

 

 

In addition to Koole, co-authors include Mandy Tjew A Sin and Iris K. Schneider of VU University Amsterdam.

 

The article abstract can found online: http://pss.sagepub.com/content/early/2013/11/04/0956797613483478.abstract

 

The APS journal Psychological Science is the highest ranked empirical journal in psychology.  


 

Association for Psychological Science, 06.11.2013. (tB)

MEDICAL NEWS

IU School of Medicine researchers develop blood test for anxiety
COVID-19 pandemic increased rates and severity of depression, whether people…
COVID-19: Bacterial co-infection is a major risk factor for death,…
Regenstrief-led study shows enhanced spiritual care improves well-being of ICU…
Hidden bacteria presents a substantial risk of antimicrobial resistance in…

SCHMERZ PAINCARE

Hydromorphon Aristo® long ist das führende Präferenzpräparat bei Tumorschmerz
Sorgen und Versorgen – Schmerzmedizin konkret: „Sorge als identitätsstiftendes Element…
Problem Schmerzmittelkonsum
Post-Covid und Muskelschmerz
Kopfschmerz bei Übergebrauch von Schmerz- oder Migränemitteln

DIABETES

Wie das Dexom G7 abstrakte Zahlen mit Farben greifbar macht…
Diabetes mellitus: eine der großen Volkskrankheiten im Blickpunkt der Schmerzmedizin
Suliqua®: Einfacher hin zu einer guten glykämischen Kontrolle
Menschen mit Diabetes während der Corona-Pandemie unterversorgt? Studie zeigt auffällige…
Suliqua® zur Therapieoptimierung bei unzureichender BOT

ERNÄHRUNG

Positiver Effekt der grünen Mittelmeerdiät auf die Aorta
Natriumaufnahme und Herz-Kreislaufrisiko
Tierwohl-Fleisch aus Deutschland nur mäßig attraktiv in anderen Ländern
Diät: Gehirn verstärkt Signal an Hungersynapsen
Süßigkeiten verändern unser Gehirn

ONKOLOGIE

Strahlentherapie ist oft ebenso effizient wie die OP: Neues vom…
Zanubrutinib bei chronischer lymphatischer Leukämie: Zusatznutzen für bestimmte Betroffene
Eileiter-Entfernung als Vorbeugung gegen Eierstockkrebs akzeptiert
Antibiotika als Störfaktor bei CAR-T-Zell-Therapie
Bauchspeicheldrüsenkrebs: Spezielle Diät kann Erfolg der Chemotherapie beeinflussen

MULTIPLE SKLEROSE

Multiple Sklerose: Aktuelle Immunmodulatoren im Vergleich
Neuer Biomarker für Verlauf von Multipler Sklerose
Multiple Sklerose: Analysen aus Münster erhärten Verdacht gegen das Epstein-Barr-Virus
Aktuelle Daten zu Novartis Ofatumumab und Siponimod bestätigen Vorteil des…
Multiple Sklerose durch das Epstein-Barr-Virus – kommt die MS-Impfung?

PARKINSON

Meilenstein in der Parkinson-Forschung: Neuer Alpha-Synuclein-Test entdeckt die Nervenerkrankung vor…
Neue Erkenntnisse für die Parkinson-Therapie
Cochrane Review: Bewegung hilft, die Schwere von Bewegungssymptomen bei Parkinson…
Technische Innovationen für eine maßgeschneiderte Parkinson-Diagnostik und Therapie
Biomarker und Gene: neue Chancen und Herausforderungen für die Parkinson-Diagnose…