The father-son dyad might be the most socially significant male-male relationship in the life course, yet its negative qualities have been the sole focus in most research on the relationship. One communicative aspect that has received little scholarly attention is the expression of affection between fathers and sons, despite the strong correlation of affectionate communication with positive inv...

The consensus view of economists is that the formation of wants does not fall within the province of economic analysis: it is contended that the objective of economic analysis is to observe the consequences of choices which reveal underlying preference structures, not to question the psychological and physiological causes of wants or to investigate the mechanisms governing the formation of pref...

Despite its connection with relationship satisfaction, research on physical affection is scarce and fails to disentangle private and public displays of affection. It is important to examine both types if marginalized couples are less comfortable displaying affection publicly. The present study examined whether same-sex couples display less public (but not private) physical affection than differ...

Drawing on physiological research, this study explores disclosures after sexual activity, or ‘‘pillow talk.’’ Oxytocin, better known as the ‘‘bonding hormone,’’ has been associated with physical affection and intimacy. While the hormone was originally studied for its role in childbirth, recent work has started to explore oxytocin’s other effects, such as decreasing stress, decreasing perception...

Affection games are ludic experiences in which players are required to express culturally recognized expressions of liking as a primary goal in the game. Interestingly, while the physical world of analog play has many such activities, the digital world has been relatively limited in affording players the ability to express affection as the primary game goal. Affection games in digital play exis...

This study examines the sense of self of women with physical disabilities in terms of self-esteem, self-cognition (perceptions of how others see them), and social isolation. It was hypothesized that these variables mediate the relation of precursor variables (age, education, severity of disability, and childhood experiences, including overprotection, familial affection, and school environment) ...