“The number of suicides [in a region] can be considered a sort of thermometric indicator which informs us of the condition of the mores, of the moral temperature of a group.”
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| A summary of the 2009 highly-cited (C[2015]:229+|Ѻ) experiment, by Danish social researchers Hans Ijzerman and Gun Semin, on measuring "social warming" and "social cooling" in relationships with actual physical temperatures. [2] |
See also: Sidewalk study; Hallway studyIn 2009, Danish social researchers Hans Ijzerman and Gun Semin, in their “The Thermometer of Social Relations: Mapping Social Proximity of Temperature”, supposedly conducted three experiments in aims to get quantitative indicators on thermal words employed socially, beyond the metaphor; the abstract of which is as follows: [2]
“‘Holding warm feelings toward someone’ and ‘giving someone the cold shoulder’ indicate different levels of social proximity. In this article, we show effects of temperature that go beyond these metaphors people live by. In three experiments, warmer conditions, compared with colder conditions, induced (a) greater social proximity, (b) use of more concrete language, and (c) a more relational focus. Different temperature conditions were created by either handing participants warm or cold beverages (Experiment 1) or placing them in comfortable warm or cold ambient conditions (Experiments 2 and 3). These studies corroborate recent findings in the field of grounded cognition revealing that concrete experiences ground abstract concepts with which they are coexperienced. Our studies show a systemic interdependence among language, perception, and social proximity: Environmentally induced conditions shape not only language use, but also the perception and construal of social relationships.”In May 2015, Chinese psychologist Zhansheng Chen, et al, in their “Cold Thermal Temperature Threatens Belonging: The Moderating Role of Perceived Social Support”, citing Ijzerman and Semin (2009), report the following study findings: [3]
“Recent research suggests that thermal (cold vs warm) experience influences people’s perception and construal of the social world. Extending this line of research, the present investigation examined whether cold thermal temperature would influence people’s psychological feelings of belonging. We found that drinking cold water threatened feelings of belonging (Study 1). An additional study replicated this effect and further showed that it was moderated by perceived family support, such that the effect of cold water on the belonging was only found among participants with low family support (Study 2). These findings not only strengthen the interconnection between social and physical experiences, but they also demonstrate the interactive effect of these two types of experiences on psychological feelings. Implications are discussed.”
“Mere reminders of money have been shown to cause socially “cold” behavior. Recent research suggests that the metaphor of “social coldness” is bodily grounded and thus linked to actual sensations of physical coldness. We therefore hypothesized that reminding individuals of money causes them to feel physically colder. This hypothesis was put to test in two studies, drawing on predictions from psychophysiological thermal perception. In Study 1, individuals who had been reminded of money perceived the air in the room as colder compared to a control group (an assimilation effect). Contrarily, in Study 2, they perceived water (a medium that was only momentarily experienced) as warmer compared to individuals not reminded of money (a contrast effect). Together these findings demonstrate that reminders of money cause sensations of actual physical coldness and add to the literature of both the psychological effects of money and human thermal perception.”
“Public opinion is the thermometer a monarch should constantly consult.”— Napoleon Bonaparte (c.1810), Publication
