Stroking and leaning: The give and take of social touch between humans and their pets

Affectionate interpersonal touch serves important social and affective functions. Here we asked, whether the same holds for the physical contact between pet-owners and their pets. An international sample of pet owners (N=443) rated the typicality of different human and pet touch behaviors. They then provided bodily contact maps for typical behaviors and reported the behaviors’ duration, probability across different situations, and associated affect. Human-pet touch was characterized by a range of tactile behaviors but strongly emphasized stroking by owners and leaning by pets. Touching took substantial time (~20-30 min/day) and was most likely when owners were resting, after separation, and during joint activities with the pet. It entailed very intimate bodily contact that was followed by positive affect. Although the different touch behaviors differentiated in their properties, overall owner and pet touching were similar and reciprocal. Together, our data identify parallels between interpersonal and human-pet touch and establish human-pet interactions as an important source for affectionate touch experiences.