Hand-Holding Reduces the Long-Term Painfulness of Social Memories

Hand-holding is a powerful form of that has been shown to alleviate physical pain. However, the effect of hand-holding on the ability to alleviate social pain has been less well explored. The current research examined whether holding a romantic partner’s hand while revisiting socially painful memories could reduce the of pain and whether this provided long-term . Participants (n = 50) in long-term, monogamous relationships recalled socially painful memories while holding their partner’s hand or a squeeze ball. Throughout the study, participants rated their level of pain. Although hand-holding did not reduce pain immediately, memories paired with hand-holding (vs. squeeze ball) were later recalled as significantly less painful 1 week later, relative to preintervention levels. Hand-holding does not decrease the immediate experience of social pain but may instead leverage adaptive memory updating of emotional experiences over time.