ResearchDriveby: Rejection is Cold. Literally

Cold and lonely. These two concepts seemed permanently paired in the English language. So do warm and fuzzy.

And new studies suggests that the linguistic link between emotional experience and physical sensation might not be so accidental. University of Toronto researchers Zhong and Lonardelli found that study participants describing a personal experience of social rejection or exclusion actually felt colder than others who remembered inclusive experiences. People describing negative experiences estimated the room temperature to be about 2.5 degrees C colder (That’s about 4.5 degrees difference in Farenheit.).

Feelings, it seems, can influence our physical experience.

It seems the reverse holds true as well: Your physical world influences your attitudes and largesse toward others. To demonstrate this, researchers Williams and Bargh asked Yale University students to hold a cup of coffee for them—as a favor—during an elevator ride to the study location. Students who were asked to hold hot coffee subsequently described a third person as having a much warmer personality than those asked to hold iced coffee. Similarly, in a subsequent study, participants asked to test and rate a warm therapeutic pad demonstrated greater generosity than those who rated a cold one.

So, the next time you want to make a good impression on someone, you may not need to buy them a cup of hot coffee. Instead you just ask them to hold yours ….

References
Zhong, C. and Leonardelli, G, J. (2008). Cold and Lonely. Does social exclusion literally feel cold? Psychological Science 19(9).
Williams, L.E. and Bargh, J. A. (2008).Experiencing Physical Warmth Promotes Interpersonal Warmth. Science 24(322) pp. 606 – 607.