"Retraction:Effects of culture

Abstract

This study examined the effects of culture, gender, and personality on an individual's propensity to touch another person. A survey questionnaire was administered to 202 Japanese and 212 Korean undergraduate students. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that the two personality traits of extraversion and openness exerted a significant positive effect on an individual's propensity to touch others, such as their fathers, mothers, and close same-sex and opposite-sex friends. Furthermore, the relative effects of culture, gender, and personality on the tendency to touch varied depending on the target person. For example, culture was the strongest factor influencing an individual's propensity to touch their parents, whereas extraversion most strongly influenced one's tendency to touch close same-sex or opposite-sex friends. Our results suggest that individuals with high extraversion and/or high openness are more likely to use touching behavior as an instrument for building social relationships with close same-sex or opposite-sex friends.