Warm drink equals warm feelings

Ever wondered why estate agents and other salesmen just can't wait to get a nice warm cup of coffee in to your hands?

According to US research published in Science magazine, people who have been holding a hot drink are more likely to trust strangers.

In one test 41 volunteers were tricked into holding a drink while they were being taken from the lobby to the laboratory. They were then asked to read about a fictional character and rate how cold or warm they found them on a scale of one to seven. Those who had held the warm drink were 11% more likely to also rate the character as a 'warm' person.

So making someone a hot drink isn't just a nice gesture, it creates real warmth between you as well as steam. 

Less selfish

It also appears that a hot drink can make us less selfish. In a second study, 53 people held heated or frozen therapeutic pads believing they were evaluating a medical product. Afterwards, they were offered a choice of a drink for themselves or a voucher they could give to a friend.

Those who had handled the cold product were more likely to choose a gift for themselves, while those had held the warm one were more likely to choose the gift for a friend.

It could be argued that those who had handled the cold pad just needed a drink to warm themselves up and were being practical rather than selfish but this is not the first time temperature has been linked with emotion. Lonely people often reprot feeling colder.

The researchers told the BBC that the findings suggests that seeing someone as warm is not just a metaphor but a literal description of emotions such as trust, first experienced between mother and child during infancy. Professor John Bargh from Yale University said the terms 'implicitly tap into the primitive experience of what it means to be warm and cold. Physical warmth can make us see others as warmer people, but also cause us to be warmer, more generous and trusting as well.'

Dr Simon Moore, lecturer in psychology at London Metropolitan University told the BBC that similar results had been shown in other types of experiments.

For example people asked to memorise a list of words will rate the experience more positively if they are given warm words.

'It's basic conditioning - warm sensations are nicer than cold sensations and if you feel something nice you transpose it on to something else.'