The Perception of CT-optimal and non-optimal Touch in Females with Autistic Traits

Abstract

Social touch represents an essential aspect of everyday life. A specific form of social touch is CT-optimal touch, a slow and gentle form of touch. While this touch is generally perceived as more pleasant than CT-non-optimal touch, high levels of autistic traits have been linked to decreased pleasantness ratings of CT-optimal touch. The present study aimed to investigate whether these findings could be extended to the observation of CT-touch. A mediation analysis was conducted to test whether the effect of autistic traits in females on the perceived pleasantness of CT-optimal and non-optimal touch could be mediated by empathy. While the mediation effect was not significant, autistic traits had a positive effect on the perceived pleasantness of CT-non-optimal touch and empathy. The results suggest that individuals with high autistic traits perceive observed CT-non-optimal touch as more pleasant than CT- optimal touch and that autistic traits in females are linked to increased empathy. More research is needed to explore the influences of autistic traits on the observation of CT-touch.