How many types of touch are there?
There are three types of touch; light touch, deep pressure, and discriminative touch. Light touch is alerting. It may alert you to danger such as something touching the skin, or brushing against a spider web. For those with sensory sensitivity, light touch can be bothersome, painful, and elicit negative emotions. Additionally, touch possesses an affective component, in that tactile experiences can be perceived as pleasant or unpleasant. Moreover, touch has been linked with social cognition and affiliation in the sense that interpersonal touch can promote affiliative, collaborative and sexual behaviour (Löken et al.Touching becomes flirting when it’s done in a playful or affectionate manner. This could include a light touch on the arm during a joke, a playful nudge during a game, or a gentle touch on the hand while sharing a moment. The key here is that the touch is not aggressive or intrusive, but gentle and affectionate.
What are the 5 levels of touch?
In this episode, our hosts breakdown the 5 Dimensions of Touch, from an article written by renowned sex therapist Barry McCarthy, PhD. George and Laurie guide us through the different dimensions: Affectionate touch, sensual touch, playful touch, erotic touch and intercourse. When it comes to touch, there are five dimensions or “gears” that contribute to the connection between partners: affectionate, sensual, playful, erotic, and intercourse. Dr. Barry McCarthy, a sex therapist and educator, paints a picture of five stages of erotic touch that he compares to gears in a car.