Touching

Book excerpt: A groundbreaking achievement when it was first published in 1971, this moving and absorbing examination of the importance of tactile interaction-touching-on all facets of human development is now brought thoroughly up to date in light of research since 1978. Dr. Montagu here devotes special attention to the relation of the skin and touching to mental and physical health; the discovery of the immunological functions of the skin; the importance of touching, especially for older people; a demonstration of the harmfulness of newfangled methods of dealing with the newborn; gender differences; new experimental studies on the deprivation effect; the relation between touching and imaging; and the uses of touching in psychotherapeutic situations. Book jacket.