Touch: Its Communicative Functions in Infancy

The communicative functions that the tactile modality serves in infancy have been severely neglected by researchers. The present article highlights the importance of touch by addressing two questions. First, what is communicated to infants by touch from their caregivers? In addition to the common notion that touch regulates arousal levels, it is argued that touch is capable of communicating valenced and discrete emotions as well as specific information. Second, how does meaning come about from the touch that adults administer to infants? This question is addressed by discussing specific qualities and parameters of touch and three mechanisms by which infants gain meaning from touch. Empirical evidence is provided and hypotheses are made regarding each of these questions. Furthermore, a preliminary model of tactile communication is presented based upon the literature on touch, as well as the conceptual framework outlined in the article. Copyright © 2002 S. Karger AG, Basel Touch has been described as the most fundamental means of contact with the world [Barnett, 1972], and the simplest and most straightforward of all sensory systems [Geldard, 1960]. Many researchers have implicated the importance of touch in several domains of the infant’s life, including social, cognitive, and physical development [e.g., Field, 1988; Greenough, 1990; Hertenstein & Campos, in press; Stack, in press]. However, one crucial, but relatively neglected, area of study involves the communicative functions of touch; researchers have focused almost exclusively on the face and the