Moment 110- The Unknown And Surprising Power Of Physical Touch: Dacher Keltner
The episode explores the profound power of physical touch and pro-social emotions like gratitude and kindness. It highlights their critical role in human connection, health, and well-being, discussing the negative impacts of loneliness and gender stereotypes on men's health.
Deep Dive Analysis
11 Topic Outline
The Power and Physiological Benefits of Touch
Historical Suppression of Touch and its Re-emergence
Harlow's Monkey Experiments on Touch Deprivation
The Foundational Role of Touch in Human Development
The Language of Touch and its Importance in Friendships
Benefits of Touch and Eye Contact with Dogs
Gender Differences in Expressing Touch and Emotion
The Loneliness Epidemic and its Health Consequences
Societal Neglect of the Elderly and Vulnerable
Rebuilding Pro-Social Emotions and Touch in Society
The Ripple Effect of Kindness and Gossip in Social Networks
4 Key Concepts
Physiology of Touch
Touch involves the skin, which contains the immune system and registers various types of touch, sending signals to the brain that directly affect the immune system, vagus nerve, heart rate, and overall body health.
Vagal Tone
Vagal tone refers to the activity of the vagus nerve, which regulates internal organ functions like heart rate and immune response. A higher vagal tone, often elevated by a nice embrace, is associated with better health and stress resilience.
Oxytocin
Oxytocin is a chemical that floats in the brain and blood, promoting kindness and cooperation. It is released during positive social interactions, such as touch and eye contact between humans, and even between humans and their dogs.
Social Networks and Karma
Pro-social behaviors like gratitude, kindness, and sharing resources spread through social networks, creating a positive cascading effect. Conversely, negative behaviors like unkindness also spread through gossip, acting as a social mechanism to keep problematic tendencies in check.
7 Questions Answered
Touch has direct effects on the immune system, vagus nerve, and heart rate, contributing to overall body health and well-being, with studies showing benefits like lower cortisol and elevated vagal tone.
Premature babies deprived of skin-to-skin contact used to die, but with touch, they gain significant weight. Studies with monkeys and human orphans show that touch deprivation leads to severe social and behavioral problems, including aggression and difficulty with social interactions.
Studies indicate that children who receive a pat on the back in the classroom are three to five times more likely to attempt challenging problems on the blackboard.
Yes, interacting with dogs, particularly through eye contact, can release oxytocin in both the human and the dog, fostering kindness and cooperation.
Gender stereotypes often associate compassionate work and physical touch with weakness, denying men opportunities to engage in these beneficial emotional expressions, which can contribute to worse health outcomes and higher rates of issues like suicide.
Loneliness is the deprivation of touch, appreciation, awe, and kindness, leading to significantly worse health outcomes, a shorter life expectancy, and increased stress.
Practicing gratitude, kindness, and sharing resources creates a cascading effect, spreading positive emotions and behaviors through social networks, akin to a real-world 'karma'.
8 Actionable Insights
1. Prioritize Friendly Physical Touch
Actively engage in friendly physical touch, such as hugging loved ones or patting children on the back, as it is foundational for connection, reduces stress (lower cortisol, elevated vagal tone), improves immune function, and enhances social behavior and learning.
2. Actively Combat Loneliness
Recognize loneliness as a deprivation of vital pro-social emotions and touch, and actively work to build these connections into your life to improve health outcomes, increase life expectancy, and foster appreciation.
3. Challenge Male Emotional Stereotypes
Men should actively challenge gender stereotypes that inhibit emotional expression and physical touch, as embracing these pro-social behaviors can improve health outcomes and combat loneliness, which is a significant factor in male mortality.
4. Cultivate Pro-Social Emotions
Consciously integrate pro-social emotions like gratitude, kindness, compassion, and awe into your daily interactions and experiences, as they are crucial for a meaningful life and overall well-being.
5. Recognize Social Ripple Effects
Understand that acts of kindness, gratitude, and compassion have a real, cascading positive effect through social networks, just as negative behaviors can spread, influencing how others perceive and treat you.
6. Reintegrate and Connect with Elderly
Actively reintegrate and connect with elderly individuals, ensuring they receive appreciation and physical touch, as their isolation leads to loneliness, worse health outcomes, and significant healthcare expenses.
7. Utilize Touch in Friendships
Develop a rich language of friendly touch with friends, such as fist bumps or chest bumps in sports, as it is a fundamental human language for connection and strengthens social bonds.
8. Engage in Eye Contact with Pets
Look into your dog’s eyes to experience a surge of oxytocin, a chemical that promotes kindness and cooperation, benefiting both you and your pet.
7 Key Quotes
Touch in a lot of mammalian species including humans is just connection, it's identity, it's I'm with you.
Dacher Keltner
If you deprive non-human primates of touch, they, they are almost schizophrenic or psychopathic, or they're just like aggressive. They can't handle social interactions.
Dacher Keltner
If you're not hugging people you love, if you're not, if you don't have a rich language of touch with your friends, you're missing out on one of the great languages of human kind, which is to be in contact with each other.
Dacher Keltner
If you look into the eyes of your dog, you, your dog will have a surge of oxytocin and you will have a surge of oxytocin.
Dacher Keltner
The deepest craving we have is to be appreciated by other people.
Dacher Keltner (attributing William James)
Hugging my dad or hugging my mom or hugging anybody is, is a mutually beneficial, um, behavior in terms of all the, you know, life expectancy, happiness, reduction in stress.
Dacher Keltner
When we treat someone badly, people on average gossip that bad treatment to 2.5 people.
Dacher Keltner