A new study suggests a hug may tell you everything you need to know about how someone feels about you. Humans hug each other all the time in all kinds of different situations, from comforting someone who’s sad to a celebratory hug or even just as a greeting. New research focuses on the difference in hugs between people who are romantically involved and those who are just friends, and it finds a hug may reveal more about your relationship than you realize.
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For the study, researchers with MSH Medical School Hamburg in Germany recruited 60 volunteers to do some hugging.
- Some of the people were friends, the rest were romantic partners, and they had to walk toward each other and hug repeatedly.
- While hugging, they were filmed by 14 high-frequency video cameras that captured all their movements from many different angles.
- Then advanced AI-based software analyzed their movements, measured hug duration and how different body parts were positioned during the hug.
- Volunteers also answered questions about their personalities and relationships.
- It turns out, hug duration is very revealing. Romantic partners hugged much longer than platonic friends, with lovebirds hugging for an average of 7.02-seconds, compared to 2.88-seconds for pals.
- Surprisingly, the way people positioned their feet, knees or hips didn’t seem to matter.
- But personality factors play a part in hugging tightness. People who show high neuroticism (those prone to anxiety and self-doubt) tended to leave more distance in a hug, while tighter hugs were given by conscientious types (who tend to be responsible and careful).
So, next time you’re replaying an awkward goodbye in your head and wondering if it meant anything, let science be your guide. “Less than three seconds? You are clearly in the friend zone,” explains study author Sebastian Ocklenburg. “Seven seconds or more? They may have more feelings for you than you thought.”
Source: Vice
