Affection Exchange Theory

Floyd pointed out five postulates of Affection Exchange Theory in 2006.

1)“The need and capacity for affection are inborn”(Floyd, 2006, p.161). Affection exchange is a basic human need and ability, as an innate and stable experience across different historical and social conditions(Floyd, 2006, p.161).

2)“Affectionate feelings and affectionate expressions are distinct experiences”(Floyd, 2006, p.163). People would modify their emotional displays depending on the specific situations(Ekman and Friesen,1975).

3)“Affectionate communication is adaptive with respect to human viability and fertility”(Floyd, 2006, p.164). The survival chances can be increased by affectionate communication because there are connections with others, coming with achievable resources both material and emotional to help survive. Besides, it is a physically pleasant choice for human to exchange affection (Littlejohn et al., 2021, p.226).

4)“There are differences among people in their tolerance for affection”(Littlejohn et al., 2021, p.226). People have different preferences about the behaviors of affection exchange, such as the skin contacts, so there is no a general standard of affectionate expressions.(Littlejohn et al., 2021, p.226).

5)“People are averse to affectionate behaviors that violate their standards of tolerance”(Littlejohn et al., 2021, p.226). There would be biological and behavioral reactions from the uncomfortable affectionate behaviors(Floyd, 2006, p.179). For some overwhelmed affectionate communication, “high levels of affection could result in transgressions being perceived as more hurtful and severe resulting in higher levels of rumination”(Horan, 2012, p.121).

Many studies had shown the benefits of physical and psychological benefits of receiving affectionate communication (Floyd, 2002, p136). For example, Schwartz and Russek (1998) found that college students would experience less physical and psychological distress with the love and caring showed by their parents, while Shuntich, Loh, and Katz (1998) found “received affection to be negatively related to alcohol abuse and physical aggression toward family members”. Similarly, Floyd had done much work in the area of affection involved in communication processes before introducing this theory. One of the areas that was so unique in the study of affection was the idea of the expectations involved in affection exchange. Canary et al. (2008) point out that the expectations involved in affection exchange as well as a curiosity about the evolutionary and biological bases for affection expectations are what led Floyd to develop this theory (p. 72). Canary et al. (2008) also note, “In AET, affection is thought of as an adaptive behavior that is helpful to long-term human survival by promoting bonding and increased access to resources. If this theory is correct, affection ought to increase as its ability to enhance survival increases” (p. 72).

Affectionate communication is a resource that begets benefits not only when it is received but also when it is given (Floyd, 2002, p136). In Floyd’s series paper “Human affection exchange: V. Attributes of the highly affectionate” (2002), he talked about the benefits from Individual-level predictions and Social-level predictions.

According to Floyd’s (2002) findings in the study, “individuals who are high affection communicators report greater happiness, higher self-esteem, less depression, less stress, and greater overall mental health than do low affection communicators” (p.144).

High affection communicators are more comfortable with intimate relationships, more permissible with closeness, and have “less of a tendency to view relationships as being of secondary importance than do low affection communicators” (Floyd, 2002, pp.144-145).

High affection communicators are more likely to have a secure attachment style, while low affection communicators are more likely to have a fearful/avoidant attachment style (Floyd, 2002, pp.145).

High affection communicators reported greater femininity than did low affection communicators (Floyd, 2002, p.146). Men who are high affection communicators could report greater femininity than low-affection women (Floyd, 2002, p.145).

High affection communicators are more socially outgoing and will not isolate themselves from society (Floyd, 2002, p.146).

High affection communicators could create romantic relationships more easily and stay satisfied in those relationships (Floyd, 2002, p.146).

Stress management is a constant topic in modern society. In fact, McEwan (1999) estimated that “stress and stress-related disorders take an annual economic toll of nearly $200 billion in the United States alone”. According to Floyd et al. (2007), “expressing affection can be instrumental in alleviating acute stress” (p.123), the AET could be used to “aid researchers and clinicians in the development of techniques to help people to manage stress more efficiently” (Floyd & Mikkelson, 2007, p.124).

Floyd and his coworkers (2007) gathered 30 students from a large university in the southwestern United States to do the research. After the stress induction, students were asked to identify their most affectionate relationship and use the “affectionate communication index (ACI)” (Floyd & Morman, 1998) to report their affectionate communication in the relationship. The researchers kept track of the students’ heart rate and free cortisol level before, between, and after the induction. The data showed that verbal and supportive affection in participants' most affectionate relationships could lower participants’ resting heart rate and is inversely associated with the magnitude of cortisol increase.

Floyd and other researchers did a similar test as the previous one in 2007. Only in this study, they divided participants into three groups. After taking six standard laboratory stressors tests, each group was asked to write to loved ones expressing the feeling of love, think of loved ones, and sit without doing anything. The result showed that the expression group has lower cortisol values than those in the other two groups. This research supports the idea that "communicating affection following exposure to an acute stressor accelerates adrenocortical recovery" (Floyd et al., 2007, p130).

Affectionate communication is one way individuals express love and appreciation (Floyd, 2006). Expressing love is fundamental for a romantic relationship to form and persist. However, for military couples during deployment, it is hard for them to see each other and express love. Alaina Veluscek (2018) pointed out that affectionate writing during military deployment is one effective way of showing love, and “individuals who engaged in affectionate writing reported higher levels of relational satisfaction than those who did not”.

However, affectionate communication is not always positive (Horan & Booth-Butterfield, 2011). For example, deception is one of the risks of affection (Horan & Booth-Butterfield, 2011). In Horan’s study (2015), he explained that people are not comfortable talking about previous sexual behaviors with their partners and some individuals might lie about their sexual histories. Although sex is a communicative activity that could gauge affection, it causes relationship risks when there are deceptions involved. Horan’s study (2015) focused on sexually transmitted infections (STI). He believed that “one preventive method of STI is honesty surrounding sexual history conversations” (p.451).

Affection deprivation is a concept added by Floyd to AET, which is “the condition of wanting more tactile affectionate communication than one receives”(Floyd, 2014). It could be used to explain why some affectionate communication result in unhealthy relationships (Hesse et al., 2021). Affection deprivation is a concept different from loneliness both conceptually and empirically (Floyd & Hesse, 2017). There are several indicators related to affection deprivation in close relationship, such as closeness and commitment (Hesse & Mikkelson, 2017). “Affection deprivation affects general, social, mental, physical, and/or relational well-being, instructing people in ways to increase their tactile affection can effect improvements to their health and stability”(Floyd, 2014, p.398).

“Alexithymia is a personality trait characterized by a relative inability to understand, process, and describe emotions” (Hesse & Floyd, 2008, p.796).

The symptom has a strong inversely relationship with affectionate experience, close relationship and happiness, and it is directly related to stress and depression(Hesse & Floyd, 2008, p.805).

Grandchildren receive a lot of affection and care from their grandparents and their relationship with grandparents is highly valued and influential in their life (Downs,1988). From related studies based on Affection exchange theory, grandchildren received more love and esteem from grandmothers and more humor and memories from grandfathers(Mansson, 2013). More affectionate communication from grandmother would bring more positive and healthier habits to their grandchildren (Salazar et al., 2022).