Mainly that. Furthermore, the topics of mutual vulnerability (both parties are defenseless during a hug), joint attention, synchronicity in movement (which reinforces bonding) are ignored in favour things that are easier to replicate, such as the anxiolytic qualities of chest compression.
In a way, a good consensual hug is a powerful promise of support and protection.
>Hugs are also beneficial and cause documented positive chemical changes in our bodies. No imaginary mystical forces or increased "vibrations" needed.
It's just a different theoretical framework for describing an observed phenomenon. Even if it's not technically correct, it can still be a good enough cognitive heuristic to help people intuit what's happening or how to influence it.
Think about it kind of like Newtonian mechanics, which are also not quite right but make predictions that are generally close enough for most of what we do in everyday life and much easier for people to work with intuitively.
Hugging has two distinct sides - emotional and sensorial. It feels kind of futile to do it for emotional reason (you do it just to please the other side, maybe) but it still feels good for sensorial one. It's like hugging a pleasant animal.
Hugging is extremely important as I argue in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PemCDigV680
xo
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