Haptics

After our human communication lesson on 21/1/09 Wednesday, we know that non-verbal communication actually exist all the time and it is so natural that sometimes we do not notice that we are doing it. There are many forms of non-verbal communication, Chronemics, Kinesics, Haptics and Proxemics. I would like to share one of the non-verbal form of communication which is Haptics.

"Haptics" is a Greek word meaning "the science of touch". We do rely on our sense of touch to do our daily task such as typing our assignment, playing musical instrument, searching for something in the dark and people that need this the most are the blinds. Well this actually works because we have Mechanoreceptors all over our body that send information to primary sensory cortex in our brain.

There is a technology called the Haptic technology but the earliest application on Haptic is on animals which include human beings. Why do I say so is because we human being likes to touch each other and different kind of touch send different kind of meaning. For example, your feelings are positive when the touch is perceived to be natural. A person gets the opposite feeling when the touch is perceived to be manipulative or insincere. Touch is experienced in many ways. Handshakes, pats, and kisses are just a few of the ways one can communicate by touching. A firm handshake means your are confident and care while a weak handshake show you care less. Besides that touching at different part of the body also show the intimacy between the two person and gender also plays an very important roles in determining the meaning of the touch. Studies shows that people who are trying to flirt will tends to touch the target. Besides that, different cultures perceive touching differently. Asians will think that certain touching such as kisses are too intimate while the Middle East man kiss both of their friend's cheek to show friendliness.

The main point is, Haptics/Touching are part of our non-verbal communication that we do consciously or unconsciously. However, we should control our self and touch wisely because you will get into jail for touching the wrong place at the wrong time =)