When We Touch: Handshakes, hugs, high fives and the new science behind why touch matters

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'A mind-expanding tour of what touch means.' DAVID EAGLEMAN, neuroscientist and author of Incognito and Livewired

Why is a hugged person a healthier person

Why do high-fiving teams win more matches

How does a shared handshake make you more likely to tell the truth

We rely on touch every day of our lives. It makes us who we are. It helps us connect with those around us. And yet touch between individuals can be fraught with confusion and misunderstanding.

In When We Touch, social neuroscientist Professor Michael Banissy blends expert scientific insights with anecdotes from 90s rom coms to office politics to explore the new science of human touch.

His groundbreaking new book explains how touch impacts every part of our lives, from why touch is essential for healthy development, to how kissing might help us choose a genetically beneficial mate to how holding hands with a loved one can help us feel less pain.

Banissy tackles the nuances of appropriate touch across culture and gender, investigates our 'touch personas' and why they differ, and offers solutions to the 'touch hunger' that has become a modern epidemic in our increasingly distanced world.

From the most inconsequential to the most salient moments of human contact, When We Touch is a fascinating and entertaining exploration of our most overlooked sense.

Author Bio

Michael Banissy is an award-winning Professor in Social Neuroscience and Science Communicator. He has expertise in several research areas, including touch, social perception, creativity, and empathy. The breadth of his work is not only seen in scientific contributions but also in his efforts to bring science to the public and to industries. A member of The Royal Society Industry Research Fellow College, Michael has close interactions with technology companies exploring the tools to support social interaction in the workplace. He is also an experienced science communicator, having been involved in several major public festivals and working with a variety of media outlets for the last decade.

His most recent project was the Touch Test - a science and broadcast collaborator with the BBC and Wellcome Collection. This project explored attitudes and experiences of touch via the world's largest contemporary survey on the topic, public exhibitions, and a series of broadcast programmes focused on the topic of touch that received worldwide attention. When We Touch is Michael's first book.