Lecture The Study of Intercultural Communication Key Terms

3.13 Touch
Haptics is nonverbal communication that involves touching. Individuals within a culture vary as to the degree to which they touch while speaking, and there are important differences in touching from culture to culture. Touching is usually intended to convey warmth, caring, and other positive emotions; but it may be playful or show irritation. Hugging or kissing as a greeting conveys intimacy.
A set of cultural conventions guides who may touch whom, under what conditions, and where to touch. For instance, same-sex touching in the United States is more permissible than cross-sex touching. Male-to-male touching is much less frequent (except in sports) than female-to-female touching, perhaps out of fear that such touching might be perceived as indicating a sexual preference. The difference is the displays of touching are not only gender based, they are also determined by status. In business, higher-status employees generally initiate touch; lower-status employees are less likely to do so since the behavior could be interpreted as assuming a familiarity which does not exist.
Shaking hands is an example of differing cultural perceptions. In the United States, a moist handshake transmits a message that the individual is nervous or anxious. Most people in that culture think that a firm handshake is appropriate, and that a weak handshake is wimpy. In India, where handshaking is not practiced very widely as a form of greeting, a rather limp handshake is culturally appropriate. Indians generally greet each other by holding their palms together in front of their chest. In Korea and in Mali a person touches his/her right forearm with the left hand while shaking hands. Moroccans kiss the other person’s hand while shaking. Islamic men may greet each other by embracing and kissing first on one cheek and then on the other. Thais greet each other with a wai (pronounced “wi”), which is executed by placing the hands together in a praying position in front of the chest. Japanese people greet each other with a bow. The depth of the bow depends on the other person’s status. Bows entail bending at the waist at about 30 degrees, 45 degrees, 90 degrees, depending on the relative status of the other person. One should not rise from the bow until the person of higher status has risen. The arms should be at the sides while bowing and one should gaze downward. A common greeting between a Japanese person and a foreigner is to bow while shaking hands.