We examined male and female abservers' reactions to the use of touch by a nurse towards a patient in a hospital situation. The results suggest that an overrall pattern for observers to react more favorably to the nurse touch compared to no touch in interacting with patients may be judged in part by the attitudes of males and females about the use of touch. The generally favorable reaction to the use of touch by a nurse is consistent with Lewis et al's (1995) study. However, in contrast to their study, there were no differences in the nurse's supportiveness, competence, affect ratings and nurse's confidence in the low touch and high touch conditions.