Communicative Patterns of Self-Disclosure and Touching Behavior

The results confirmed the hypothesis that the two patterns were significantly positively correlated, indicating a consistent structural context expressed through interpersonal interaction, and found that the males engaged in significantly more touching behavior than the females, while for self-disclosure the trend was reversed.

Abstract

Summary One hundred ninety, male and female Israeli high school students responded to questionnaires inquiring into self-disclosure and touching behavior toward four target persons: father, mother, same-sex friend, and opposite-sex friend. The results confirmed the hypothesis that the two patterns were significantly positively correlated, indicating a consistent structural context expressed through interpersonal interaction. The results also found that the males engaged in significantly more touching behavior than the females, while for self-disclosure the trend was reversed. The implications of these and other findings are discussed in terms of sub- and cross-cultural norms in personality research.