Researchers Chen-Bo Zhong and Geoffrey J. Leonardelli from the University of Toronto conducted a social exclusion study to determine the effects of positive and negative social settings as they relate to perceived temperature. The results are surprising but make perfect sense. We may not often think of temperature as a factor in how we feel or how we are reacting to certain social situations, but, as it turns out, it is a major player in our mental assessment of how others respond to us.

The effects of temperature begin at birth. Babies are swaddled to keep them warm not only to hold their body temperatures, but to keep them feeling secure. When a newborn baby cries and they have been fed and changed, try placing a hand on their head and over their legs. This recreates the boundaries they came to know in the womb. It also warms them and that is a reassuring feeling that often clams a cranky baby to the point of peaceful sleep.

We hold onto that reassuring feeling of warmth throughout our lives. Zhong and Leonardelli asked the participants in their study to recall a time in their lives when they felt ostracized by those around them. They were then asked to recall the temperature in the area where they had been. Subjects reported cold temperatures as low as 54 degrees. Another group of subjects were asked to remember a time when they felt very included in a social setting or activity. Temperatures associated with these more positive memories were much higher with the highest at 104 degrees.

They also ran a study where guests were invited to play an online ball-throwing game with others (Sound familiar? Something like getting picked for dodge ball?). Those who had been passed the ball and interacted with the other players asked for cool drinks. Those who were not passed the ball asked for hot drinks and food as a comfort for being excluded.

Another study showed that people who had their hands around a hot drink were more likely to be confident during job interviews and first dates. Warmth comes from closeness and coldness is induced by distance – two very different stimuli that can have dramatic effects on your mental well-being and psyche. Of course there will be exceptions to every rule, but by and large the observations of these studies were echoed in an informal polling of some friends and family – particularly the memory of the temperature as being cold in negative situations and warm in positive ones.

Now whether or not carrying a hot cup of coffee in to your next job interview is a good idea, we’re not here to say. But we will say this: it could be worth a try, but be sure to bring a cup for your prospective boss too.

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