Public displays of affection among Asian and Latino heterosexual couples.
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.
Regan
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PC
Department of Psychology, California State University-Los Angeles 90032-8227, USA. pregan@calstatela.edu
Jerry
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D
Narvaez
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M
Johnson
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D
D000328:Adult; D001213:Asian / Q000523:psychology*; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012725:Sexual Behavior; D012931:Social Environment; D012945:Social Values; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*; D014110:Touch