Some hugs disappear into the ordinary blur of a day. Others stay with us for years. What makes a brief moment of contact so memorable?
Fifteen thousand people and the memory of touch
In a study published on October 28, 2026 in PLOS One, researchers led by Anna Lena Dueren used data from the Touch Test to investigate how people remember emotionally meaningful touch. The analysis included more than 15,000 adults and examined individual differences in touch experience, empathy and attachment-related measures.
About 69.5% of participants recalled a hug for its positive emotional impact. This was a pattern in reported memories, not evidence that every hug has a lasting beneficial effect. A hug that arrives during grief, reunion or reassurance may carry a meaning well beyond the seconds it lasts.
Not all bodies and memories respond alike
The researchers studied associations between remembered touch and people’s attitudes and individual traits. Their findings suggest that experiences of touch are deeply personal. Cultural expectations, relationships, consent and personal history can all shape whether contact feels comforting, neutral or unwelcome.
That distinction matters: there is no universal recipe for a meaningful hug. A wanted embrace can express support; an unwanted one can cross a boundary. An observational, self-report study cannot establish that hugging causes better memory or stronger relationships.
Why the ordinary can feel extraordinary
Touch combines bodily sensation with context and emotion. A hug from an old friend after years apart is not psychologically interchangeable with a quick greeting. Rather than explaining away affection, the research gives us a more interesting question: why do certain moments of closeness become part of our personal history?
Original research: Dueren et al., Why we hug: Individual differences predict emotional touch memories, PLOS One (2026).
Featured image: Yuri Figueiredo, illustrative photograph.
Question. Investigate. Reconsider.
