Abstract
In this study, touch behavior was monitored via live-feed webcams in 18 bars, spread across 5 continents (North America, South America, Europe, Australia, and Asia) for 213 hours. Our findings offer support for a link between equatorial proximity (measured by latitude) and cultural indulgence with more tactile communication. In cultures where indulgence versus restraint was more normative, those perceived as females initiated more touch in both opposite- and same- sex dyads. Moreover, in cultures closer to the equator, there was an increase in touch frequency and the number of body locations touched. Housed within these findings is the idea that geographical location may play a predictable role in motivating the development of cultural communication norms and behaviors. We consider the influence of sunlight, topography, history, and other culture-specific forces on the development of touch norms. 
  
Highlights
At all stages of human development, physical touch provides a direct gateway to interact with our environments and with others
Multiple regression analyses were used to examine the overall influence of p-sex, cultural indulgence, and latitude on touch frequency and number of body locations touched
Multiple regression models were used to explore our research questions regarding the role of cultural indulgence and latitude in same and cross p-sex tactile initiation
Summary
At all stages of human development, physical touch provides a direct gateway to interact with our environments and with others. Consider the variation in clothing worn outdoors across regions, thinner versus thicker layers of clothing provide a more direct route for skin-to-skin contact, potentially leading to more consequential touch in public settings. Exploring variations such as these have been instrumental in helping to understand how touch communication norms develop across cultures and topographies. We have learned a great deal about touch communication around the globe, there are still significant gaps and inconsistencies in our understanding of how culture motivates variations in touch behavior
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