TACTILE COMMUNICATION


wrist-bending: This is where an individual presents the back of the hand to another’s lips (Estes, 1991). This is done by adults and juveniles to infants, a reassuring gesture (Estes, 1991).

reaching and touching: This is where an individual will touch with the hand the head, back, or rump of another (Estes, 1991). This acts as a submissive or appeasement gesture or a reassurance gesture as a response to social presenting (Estes, 1991).

patting: This functions as a reassurance gesture to a distressed subordinate and is done by a more dominant individual (Estes, 1991); the individual softly touches the receiver on a part of the body.

kissing: There is one individual presses the lips or teeth to the body (usually the lips or face) of another (Estes, 1991). This is done by submissive individuals to more dominant ones and can occur with bowing, and also kisses on the groin (Estes, 1991). This is also the response by a dominant individual to a kiss or bowing (Estes, 1991).

embracing: This is where an individual wraps one or two arms around another from the front, back, or side (Estes, 1991). This is often done by a mother to her frightened infant (Estes, 1991).

submissive mounting: This is where a subordinate will mount a superior after being charged or attacked, and he grasps the individual around the waist, pelvic thrusts, and sometimes grabs the scrotum with the foot (Estes, 1991).

reassurance mounting: This is where a dominant individual mounts a subordinate and is a response to social presenting (Estes, 1991).

social grooming: This is where one individual will remove parasites and/or dead skin from another. This functions in maintaining social bonds and is usually done between males, usually lower to higher ranking (Estes, 1991). In the common chimpanzee this also occurs between family members (Estes, 1991).

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