8 questions are raised with the hope to investigate the Vietnamese and the Australian‟s perceptions of haptics as follow:
1. Are you a person who naturally touches others to communicate? What do you often do?
2. According to your culture, what parts of body can be freely touched to express something you want to say? Are there any reasons? Why?
3. Is there any difference in your touching behavior with a male and with a female? Why?
4. According to your opinion, what regions of body are considered to be rude to touch and get touched? Why?
5. If you meet someone at the first time, what touching behavior could you practice? Why?
6. How would you feel if someone you don’t know hug/slap your shoulder, touch your hands/arms or thighs while communicating? Why?
7. What do you think if you see two females, two males or a male and a female (not in love) kiss each other on lips/cheeks in public? Why?
8. Do you have any experience with accidental touches in bus, elevators or in crowd? If yes, what was your reaction?
3.2.1. The findings from interviews with the Vietnamese
-Question 1: 9 of 12 informants answered that it depends on with whom they interact. They often practice touching behavior with their family, relatives and close friends. However, they hardly touch someone they do not know much of or a stranger. Two informants reported often touching and getting touched in communication. Only one said that she disliked touching and being touched by the others.
-Question2: 7 of 12 informants said that the parts of body that they could freely touch and get touch are hands, arms and shoulders. Four informants only feel pleasant when touching or being touched on hands and arms. One informant only accepts touching behavior on her hands.
-Question 3: Ten informants replied that their touching behavior with a male is different from that with a female. They feel more natural and comfortable to touch a relative or a friend of the same-sex. Their touches are normally limited when communicating with a person of the opposite-sex. For example, two females can walk arm in arm in streets, but not for two male or a male and female. Only two considered that there is no difference in their touching behavior with a male and a female. They can hug their friends‟ shoulders regardless of their sexes.
-Question 4: All six female informants listed their untouchable parts as chest, waist, hips, and thighs. The reason is that those are sensitive parts of a woman and not touched by the others without permission. According to six male informants, four answered that they hate being touched on head and hips, and two will angry with someone who touches their face and head.
-Question 5: All the informants answered that they normally shake hands with someone they meet at the firs t time. Three of them said that they also can slap on someone‟s back or shoulder to ask for information in the bus
-Question 6: All the informants think that it depends on each context. In general, they feel that it is not a problem if someone they don‟t know much slaps their shoulder or touches their hands in case that they do it without intention. However, it will be considered to be rude and impolite if that person hugs their shoulder or touches their thighs.
-Question 7: Four in six male informants said that it is normal and acceptable, and two others condemn that behavior as a phenomenon of homosexuals. Based on the answers of 6 female informants, half of them said that they do not care because they may be close friends and they express their intimacy to each other or they are frolicking. Another half shares the same idea with 2 male that it is unaccepted and unusual behavior.
-Question 8: All the informants have ever experienced with accidental touching in the bus, elevators, or in crowd. All of them give the same answer that it is majeure situations and people do not intend to touch other. Therefore, the female often try to avoid standing and sitting next to a male. Whereas, the male said that they can do nothing but accept.
3.2.2. The findings from interviews with the Australian
-Question 1: Most of the Australian informants answered that they naturally touch their close friends, their relatives and their children. With someone, they do not know much or a stranger, they seem not to have any touching behavior at all. The context of communication will determine their appropriate touching behavior. Only one interviewee said that she does not naturally touch others in communication.
-Question2: The Australian informants listed the touchable parts of body, in their opinion, are hands, arms and shoulder.
-Question 3: Based on the answers from interviewers, 8 of 12 informants feel quite freer to touch their closed friends or relatives of the same sex more than those of opposite sex. There are 4 of them think that their touching is not different between the two sexes. It is more common in Australia for two friends or relatives, regardless of their gender, hug each other or kiss on cheeks for greeting.
-Question 4: All six female informants feel consult if someone touches their sensitive parts of body such as breast or hips. Even with friends, they do not want to be touched on these parts. According to six male informants, the sensitive parts of body like waits, face, thing, waist… should not touch and get touched in communication.
-Question 5: All the informants agree that handshaking is widely practiced in this situation. They tend not to touch a stranger but handshaking might be able to play the role of greeting manner.
-Question 6: All the informants think that it depends on the context of communication. In general, it is normal to slap shoulder or touch hands/arms in communication. However, the female informants are not really comfortable to be hugged or touched on thighs.
-Question 7: From the Australian informants‟ answers, we can see that female friends in Australia often give a hug or kiss to each other when meeting. These touches are less with two male. The married women talked that they do not want to see their husband kiss other woman in public. Whereas the young Australians thought it as normal and they do not care much about it. Two married informants expressed that it is not socially accepted for a man and a woman who are not in love to kiss on lips. Ten others thought that it was normal for good friends.
-Question 8: All the informants have ever experienced with accidental touching in the bus, elevators, or in crowd. All of them shared the same view that they often ignore or compulsorily accept when accidentally touching or getting touched in the bus, elevators, or in crowd because these touches are unintentionally practiced. 6 females said that the best way for them in those situations is trying to avoid the touches on private parts of body.
3.2.3. Major similarities and differences in their perception of haptics in communication
*Similarities:
- Both the Vietnamese and the Australian‟s touching behavior rely on whom they contact in what context of communication. They can freely touch and get touched by their relatives and close friends. With the people, they do not know much of or strangers, they dislike any touching at all.
- The touchable parts of body in their opinion are arms, hands and shoulders. Both of them feel unaccepted to be touched in the sexual part of body, regardless of their sexes.
- Vietnamese as well as Australian people often shake hands with someone they meet at the first time.
- All the Vietnamese and Australian informants have ever had experience with accidental touches in buses, elevators, or in crowd. In this situation, they do not bother because those touches are unintentional. Their reaction in those situation was that trying to avoid touching and being touched by others.
*Differences:
- There is a big difference in touching with a male and a female by the Vietnamese.
Only Vietnamese female closed friends or relatives often walk arm in arm, hand in hand or with shoulder hugging on streets, in the supermarkets, or in other public places. On the other hand, the Australian does not think that their touching behavior
with their closed friends or relatives is different due to the sexes. It is socially acceptable for close friends or relatives hug, kiss and touch each other in communication. They considered it a display of affection.
- It is also normal in Australia for two women, two men, or a man and a woman (not in love) to kiss or hug each other in public. Australian people often do it with their friends or relatives for greeting. In contrast, with the traditional Vietnamese culture, the majority of the Vietnamese find it unaccepted for two females or two males to kiss each other in public places because it is considered as a syndrome of homosexuality. Furthermore, kissing is only accepted between lovers and spouses.