From caring touch to cooperative communities

Gentle touch is not only good for mental health, but also for the evolution of cooperation.

In today’s fast-paced world, mental health struggles are becoming more common, but there’s good news: simple, caring touch can help. Not only does it strengthen our relationships, but it also improves our wellbeing. Often called “affective” or “consoling” touch, this gentle contact has been linked to many benefits like reducing stress, easing pain, building trust, and enhancing mental health. But it’s not just humans who rely on touch—it plays an important role in the animal world, too, and may even help animals work together and form strong social bonds.

A recent international study led by Dr Miya Warrington from Oxford Brookes University and Dr Michael Griesser from the University of Konstanz looked at evidence from the animal world to show how important touch is for forming and maintaining friendships and cooperation among animals.

Drs Warrington and Griesser noticed differences in the level of touch and cooperation between two wild bird species that they both study – Apostlebirds in Australia and Siberian jays in Swedish Lapland. Apostlebirds are very social and often preen each other, which helps them work together to care for their young. In contrast, Siberian jays don’t groom each other and cooperate much less. To understand this better, the researchers worked with primatologists Judith M. Burkart and Natalie Uomini from the University of Zurich, and mammal physiologists Prof. Nigel Bennett and Dr Daniel Hart from the University of Pretoria. The team discovered that touch is a key factor in how animals form and maintain bonds, which directly affects how well they cooperate.

Dr Warrington explains that “Cooperation comes in many forms. Sometimes animals help each other out of kindness, and other times it’s more about mutual benefit. For example, impalas groom each other to remove parasites, which is a “transactional” type of cooperation. On the other end of the spectrum, animals like marmosets live in close-knit family groups, where they do everything together, even without immediate benefits.”

This variety of cooperation is also linked to how much touch animals experience. For example, species like mole rats, which are more social, are highly sensitive to touch, while more solitary mole rats have fewer touch receptors. The amount of touch animals experience seems to influence how they cooperate with others. Dr Griesser explains, "As seen in Apostlebirds and Siberian jays, the variety of cooperation is linked to the amount of touch, touch sensitivity, and the types of bonds formed in nature."

So, what does all this mean for us? In our busy lives, we often don’t touch or connect with others as much as we should. But it’s clear that reaching out to family and friends, and reconnecting with each other, can improve our mental health and strengthen our communities. After all, touch builds connections, connections create strong communities, and strong communities help us work together better.