Abstract The differences in gender and initiating intentional physical contact during communication were investigated. Fifty college-age dyads who engaged in conversation were observed between 30 and 60 seconds to see which gender instigated physical contact with a person of the same or opposite gender. It was hypothesized that females would initiate touch more often with males than any of the other 4 gender situations. Results showed that males initiated physical contact with males more often than either gender …showed first 75 words of 1168 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1168 total…classes) this may also have attributed to higher frequencies of physical contact. This may also be responsible for the high frequency in greeting contact as opposed to mid-conversation (conversations were no longer than 60 seconds) and closure (most contact occurred in passing, therefore not allowing for conversation closure). Though all results were significant, if future replications were conducted with more time permitted and a more appropriate setting, conclusions would more than likely differ from those recorded.