Resource: The Power of Touch
Media Type:
QuickTime Video
Length: 2m 57s
Size: 41.5 MB
Teachers' Domain, The Power of Touch, published September 26, 2003, retrieved on ,
http://www.teachersdomain.org/resource/tdc02.sci.life.reg.touch/
- Background Essay
- Questions for Discussion
- Standards
So, which is it? Do newborn animals benefit from the caresses of their mother's tongue, or are we just anthropomorphizing -- ascribing human values and motivations to animal behavior? Studies conducted on several species of mammals (especially rats and monkeys) suggest that touch during early stages of development is critical to an animal's physical and psychological well-being.
Most touch research has compared the development of animals under normal conditions with the development of animals deprived of touch. These studies have revealed strong correlations between touch deprivation and a variety of physiological, behavioral, and social problems in young animals.
Researchers found that young rats and monkeys, for example, tended to grow more slowly and have weaker immune systems when deprived of touch. They were also much less likely to be inquisitive as they grew older, rarely venturing far from the nest to learn about the outside world. For monkeys it also seems that the importance of touch is absolutely essential when it comes to establishing social bonds. Touch-deprived rhesus monkeys tended to be extremely aggressive toward other monkeys and exhibited behaviors consistent with the human emotions of anger and depression. Furthermore, monkeys that were deprived of touch when young went on to raise their own offspring in a similarly distant manner.
It's not difficult to understand why being raised without touch would interfere with socialization. What's surprising is that the lack of touch can have such profound effects on so many aspects of a young animal's life, from its immunity to its adventurousness. And there's little doubt that the same is true for humans, too.
Teachers' Domain is proud to be a Pathways portal to the National Science Digital Library.
Please answer this survey question:
Thank you!
Your response has been received. Thanks for helping improve Teachers' Domain!
Source: NOVA: "Mystery of the Senses: Touch"
Resource Produced by:
Collection Developed by:
Collection Funded by:



Print Background Essay
Loading Standards