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Science 24 October 2008:
Vol. 322. no. 5901, pp. 606 - 607
DOI: 10.1126/science.1162548
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Reports

Experiencing Physical Warmth Promotes Interpersonal Warmth

Lawrence E. Williams1* and John A. Bargh2

"Warmth" is the most powerful personality trait in social judgment, and attachment theorists have stressed the importance of warm physical contact with caregivers during infancy for healthy relationships in adulthood. Intriguingly, recent research in humans points to the involvement of the insula in the processing of both physical temperature and interpersonal warmth (trust) information. Accordingly, we hypothesized that experiences of physical warmth (or coldness) would increase feelings of interpersonal warmth (or coldness), without the person's awareness of this influence. In study 1, participants who briefly held a cup of hot (versus iced) coffee judged a target person as having a "warmer" personality (generous, caring); in study 2, participants holding a hot (versus cold) therapeutic pad were more likely to choose a gift for a friend instead of for themselves.

1 Leeds School of Business, University of Colorado at Boulder, UCB 419, Boulder, CO, 80309–0419, USA.
2 Department of Psychology, Yale University, Post Office Box 208205, New Haven, CT 06520–8205, USA.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: lawrence.williams{at}colorado.edu

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