tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21605329.post114071435964932194..comments2024-03-14T23:52:09.893-07:00Comments on The Neurocritic: I Wanna Hold Your HandThe Neurocritichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08010555869208208621noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21605329.post-1141776495072647152006-03-07T16:08:00.000-08:002006-03-07T16:08:00.000-08:00By posing additional questions about hand-holding ...By posing additional questions about hand-holding by mothers, unmarried partners, etc., The Neurocritic did not intend to mock this study, merely to remind readers that not everyone in the world is married. Some of these unmarried individuals have very close relationships with others (family members, friends, significant others). Some individuals (i.e., gay people) are not allowed to get married in most countries. Does that mean these unmarried individuals would not benefit from holding the hand of someone close to them? In addition, it is not sarcastic to wonder whether husbands would feel similar comfort from holding their wives' hands.<BR/><BR/>As a matter of policy, The Neurocritic may actually LIKE some studies (see The "Face Module" Identified in Moneys?) and make some PERSONAL OBSERVATIONS that are not based on fact. Note, in the present post, I did say that "I really wanted to comment on the personal observation..." and I go on to describe something that *actually* happened to me after major surgery (two weeks prior to writing the post)!! It may have *sounded* glib (see The Neurocritic's profile for a clue), but I really did find it comforting to be touched by a nurse. It was more comforting to be touched by my unmarried partner, who was there (although I did not try to quantify the difference at the time). However, I would challenge any Boston area psychologist to prove that my relationship with my partner is not as close as the married "supercouples" in the Psych Sci paper.The Neurocritichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08010555869208208621noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21605329.post-1141521615038032742006-03-04T17:20:00.000-08:002006-03-04T17:20:00.000-08:00Dear Neurocritic:You failed to write any "criticis...Dear Neurocritic:<BR/><BR/>You failed to write any "criticism" of this study. Is your criticism suppose to be obvious?<BR/><BR/>Instead of a criticism you gave your own hypothesis, which apparently you feel is obvious. You wrote:<BR/><BR/>What I really wanted to comment on is the personal observation that when under an actual state of extreme stress .... being touched by anyone (e.g., a nurse) can be very comforting<BR/><BR/>But what is the evidence for this? You mean, based on your own commonsense reasoning? The article you are holding up as dubious science in fact provides excellent evidence that your hypothesis is probably incorrect. This Psychological Science article found that a stranger's hand was not as comforting as a husband's hand, even for so mild a stress as anticipated electric shock. Imagine that for a a strong stress a stranger's hand might even be aversive, on the idea that one is longing for closeness. I wouldn't want to grip a stranger's hand when I'm strugging to keep from screaming in pain, because of the social awkwardness of a stranger seeing me in so much pain.<BR/><BR/>Furthermore, the article showed that marital quality mediated the stress-alleviating effect. That's a pretty powerful finding.<BR/><BR/>It wasn't that long ago that husbands weren't allowed in the delivery room. Some commonsense was missing in those days. Wish we'd had studies like this one 20 years ago.<BR/><BR/>Then you went on to ask if the mother's hand would help, etc. Are these questions suppose to mock the findings? The findings themselves provide quidelines for answering your question. Given that marital quality increases the stress-alleviating properties of touch, one would predict that high quality personal relationships are more effective that poor quality, and so on.<BR/><BR/>The study provides the basis for a set of general expectations about how social contacts can alleviate stress. Hospital patients still must contend with limited visiting hours from relatives and loved ones. Pain medications do not alleviate pain perfection and can have side effects. More use of social/psychological methods to alleviate pain would thus seem to be welcome. For these reasons, this type of study is very much needed. I can understand why this study is being published in one of the most prestigious outlets for psychological research.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com