A team of German researchers says the length of a hug is a reliable indicator of whether an embrace is romantic or platonic, with lovers holding embraces substantially longer than friends.
In a September report from MSH Medical School Hamburg, investigators led by Sebastian Ocklenburg recorded and analyzed repeated embraces among 60 volunteers — some paired as friends, others as romantic partners — using 14 high-frequency video cameras and three-dimensional markerless motion-capture software. Advanced artificial intelligence tools measured hug duration and the positions of specific body parts to compare romantic and platonic hugging behavior.
The researchers reported that romantic partners hugged for an average of 7.02 seconds, while platonic friends hugged for an average of 2.88 seconds. Analysis of foot, knee and pelvis distances did not show significant differences by relationship status, the team said, indicating that duration rather than specific limb positioning distinguished the two types of hugs in this sample.
Participants completed personality questionnaires as part of the study. The investigators found that higher scores for neuroticism — a tendency to experience negative emotions such as anxiety and sadness — were associated with larger distances between bodies during hugs, producing looser embraces. Higher conscientiousness scores were linked to smaller distances and tighter hugs.
"Hugs are an important nonverbal social-affective behavior that plays a crucial role in romantic relationships," the authors wrote, describing the study's aim to quantify differences between affectionate and platonic hugging. Ocklenburg told Psychology Today that a brief embrace of less than three seconds likely signals a friendship, whereas seven seconds or more may indicate stronger romantic feelings.
The study applied markerless motion capture and AI analysis to timing and body-position data collected in a controlled setting. Investigators said the approach allowed for precise measurement of contact duration and relative body spacing without attaching markers to participants. Videos were recorded during repeated approach-and-embrace trials to capture naturalistic variations in hug behavior across pairs.
Researchers noted differences tied to individual personality traits but did not find evidence that particular limb positions reliably separated romantic from platonic hugs in this cohort. The sample comprised 60 participants and paired encounters were observed in a laboratory setting, factors readers and other researchers may consider when assessing how the findings generalize to broader populations or different social contexts.
The study adds quantitative, AI-assisted data to literature on nonverbal cues in social and romantic interactions, emphasizing that simple measures such as hug duration can convey relational meaning alongside personality-linked variations in physical closeness.