Public displays of affection among Asian and Latino heterosexual couples

Psychol Rep. 1999 Jun;84(3 Pt 2):1201-2. doi: 10.2466/pr0.1999.84.3c.1201.

Abstract

The present study used naturalistic observation to investigate whether public touching behavior differs as a function of the interactants' race or ethnicity. Heterosexual dyads (22 Asian, 22 Latino; average age = 24 years) were observed while walking through the campus of a large western university. Some support was found for the notion that interactants from "contact" cultures, e.g., Latin America, are more contact-prone than those from "noncontact" cultures, e.g., Asia. Specifically, Latino male-female dyads were more likely to embrace while walking in public than Asian male-female dyads.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Asian / psychology*
  • Cross-Cultural Comparison*
  • Female
  • Hispanic or Latino / psychology*
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Sexual Behavior*
  • Social Environment*
  • Social Values
  • Students / psychology*
  • Touch