Your partner makes a difference. Affective touch delivered by the romantic partner improves affective state but not physiological state.

The gentle slow stroking of the hairy skin, also called affective touch, evokes a pleasant bodily sensation. Also, it is assumed to reduce stress and to improve affective state. Top-down factors, such as expectations and the person who delivers the stimulation, might also contribute to these effects. In a preregistered laboratory experiment, 110 men and women in romantic relationships (24.2 ± 5.4 yrs) were presented with blocks of pictures evoking a negative affective state three times. Afterwards, they received slow stroking (5 cm/s) by the experimenter or by their romantic partner, or were asked to focus on their skin. Skin sensation, affective state, and peripheral physiological changes (heart rate, heart rate variability, respiratory rate) were recorded. Aspects of adult attachment, relationship satisfaction, and body awareness were also assessed. Slow stroking delivered by the partner evoked a significantly more pleasant skin sensation and led to a more positive change in valence than the other interventions. Self-reported psychological characteristics were not related to pleasantness of the skin sensation. No differences between the physiological effects of experimenter and partner delivered slow stroking were found. Finally, we found no significant sex differences in the experiential and physiological responses. In conclusion, the agent delivering slow stroking shapes subjective experience but not short-term peripheral autonomic changes.