This study tested 2 hypotheses: (a) tactile experience is critical to the effect of creation of clay work in enhancing psychological well-being, and (b) sense of temperature is one of the mediating factors that underlies the effectiveness of tactile experience. Using an experimental research design, 36 Chinese adult participants created clay work with a half-pound of clay in a 30-min session either using their bare hands or wearing gloves. Participants who created clay work using bare hands improved significantly in positive mood and well-being immediately after the session, whereas those wearing gloves showed no improvements. The effect of tactile experience due to using bare hands on improving well-being was fully mediated by the sense of temperature of the clay.
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