Is it just a hug? The study that found a surprising difference between men and women

A study from the University of Bristol, published in PLOS One, examined the hug memories of over 15,000 people and found that men are nearly five times more likely than women to remember a hug due to physical arousal, but the researchers emphasize that this is a small group and that arousal is the rarest reason for remembering.

A new study from the University of Bristol in the UK, published on October 28 in the journal PLOS One, examined the hug memories of more than 15,000 adults. The study found that men were nearly five times more likely than women to remember a hug due to physical or sexual arousal (3.9% vs. 0.8%). However, the researchers emphasized that arousal was the rarest reason for remembering a hug among both sexes, and that the finding is based on a relatively small group. In contrast, women were more likely to remember hugs for comfort and security. The study also found that high empathy, body awareness, and emotional attachment style affect the likelihood of remembering a significant hug, while the frequency of hugs itself was not found to be related. The researchers warned against drawing sweeping conclusions due to the composition of the British sample, which was about 75% women. Additionally, a separate study from Germany from 2025 is cited, which found that a hug between partners lasts an average of 7.02 seconds, compared to 2.88 seconds between friends.