ABSTRACT
This chapter explores how touch functions to provide us with meaningful information about the world. Active touch can be described as a process of exploring an object or sensory feature of an object in order to acquire information about it. The information people receive when they place the palm of their hand onto a table top without moving it, or the feeling people experience when somebody massages their shoulders are further examples of different types of passive touch. Consider for example the information people receive through touch when bending down to stroke a purring cat which is rubbing its side against their bare ankles. The movements in the earlier activities were relatively fast and simple to execute and provided information about particular properties, including surface temperature and texture. The right hand may then grasp the object while the left hand exerts pressure.
