section_path: Care and feeding/Benefits of touch
section_name: Benefits of touch
paragraph_text: Benefits of touch
  
  Experiments have been done with infants up to four months of age using both positive touch (stroking or cuddling) and negative touch (poking, pinching, or tickling). The infants who received the positive touch cried less often and vocalized and smiled more than the infants who were touched negatively. Infants who were the recipients of negative touch have also been linked with emotional and behavioral problems later in life. A lower amount of physical violence in adults has been discovered in cultures with greater levels of positive physical touching.