What makes comforting hugs from some people special and memorable revealed

In: Science

Hugs that offer comfort, support, and understanding from close companions tend to be the most memorable, according to a large study that surveyed over 15,000 UK adults.

A warm hug is an important form of social touch, associated with positive outcomes like reduced stress and improved mood.

However, very little is known about the individual differences between different kinds of embraces and how people remember hugs.

It particularly remains unclear whether empathy, body image, attachment patterns in relationships, and everyday experiences influence the emotional value placed on hugs, say researchers from the University of Bristol.

In the new study, researchers probed whether hugs are generally remembered as distinct emotional experiences, and whether individual differences are related to emotions linked to hugging.

The research assessed data from a survey of 15,049 healthy adults, of whom 75 per cent were women.

Participants were recruited in the UK through promotion on public broadcasting programmes and other media.

A young child in kindergarten who is crying and feeling sad is holding his stuffed animal in one hand and cuddling in his mother
A young child in kindergarten who is crying and feeling sad is holding his stuffed animal in one hand and cuddling in his mother (Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images)

Overall, nearly 70 per cent of participants remembered hugs for their positive emotional impact.

Participants who had higher scores on the body-perception scale, which looks at the connection between body awareness and touch, were more likely to remember a hug, the study found.

People with higher scores on cognitive and empathy measures were related to a higher likelihood of remembering a hug.

Difficulty knowing how to hug and disliking hugging were negatively related to remembering a hug.

Individuals who display a higher level of independence in relationships could be less likely to remember a hug compared to those who tend to experience distress when facing separation, according to the study.

People who are more likely to greet family and friends by hugging experienced the most positive emotional value.

“Men were more likely than women to report physically arousing hugs as the most memorable,” researchers wrote in the study published in the journal PLOS One.

Overall, the findings suggest that hugs are predominantly remembered because they convey “comfort, support, and understanding”.

Researchers caution that the study results may not generalise to people who live in societies with different attitudes toward physical contact.

They also noted that the study was observational and did not find causal relationships between hugging experiences, people’s traits, and the formation of memories.

Yet, despite these limitations, the study provides an overview of psychological factors that shape the meaning of social touch.

The findings extend current theoretical work by linking emotional touch to the formation of memories, researchers said.