Drink temperature affects feelings: Study
Want to melt someone’s heart? Give them a hot drink!
Research done recently by psychologists at Yale University in New Haven, CT, found that hot drinks encourage warm feelings, while cold drinks spark a part of the brain involved in practical decisions.
Dr. John Bargh and colleague Lawrence Williams watched and recorded the behaviour of 41 undergraduates in two experiments. In one, they received either a cold drink or a hot drink. And in another, they were asked to hold either a heat pack or a frozen pack used for sports injuries.
Physical temperature — whether the body is feeling warmth or cold — stimulates the insula, a part of the brain that is also used when we evaluate who we can trust in transactions. In the first experiment, the students with hot drinks were more likely to feel warm towards other people, while those with cold drinks were more likely to be critical of others. In the heat pack experiment, those holding a hot pack were more likely to be generous, while those holding a freezing-cold pack were more likely to be self-absorbed.
“I’d recommend a warm drink before meeting people for the first time,” says Dr. John Bargh, a professor of psychology at Yale University. Feeling toasty increases the possibility of making a good impression and building trust.
On the other hand, if you are about to sign on the dotted line, you might want to put a few ice cubes in your drink to put a damper on those feelings of trust. “I’d recommend something cold when making an important decision such as buying a car or home — good to be a bit less trusting and more skeptical of salespeople,” says Dr. Bargh.
Need to write a cool response to an e-mail? A frosty drink might help. “I’d watch out for drinking hot beverages when reading and responding to e-mail,” suggests Dr. Bargh. “You may well say ‘yes’ to things you might regret later.”
