Some like it hard whereas others don’t seem to care : a study of how touch influences reading medium preferences

Who said that reading couldn’t be a ‘touchy’ subject? The present research aimed to investigate whether individuals’ levels of Need for Touch (NFT) influence their preference for a specific reading medium (hardcopy, computer screen or mobile device). The study found that there was a significant difference in preference for reading medium between genders. Specifically it was found that heightened autotelic NFT increased females’ preference to read from hardcopy and males’ preference to read from electronic devices. The authors present the findings and discuss implications for marketing, limitations and future directions.