Tactile Warmth Reduces Loneliness, but Visual Warmth Does Not
Author(s): Patrick N. Murphy, Lionel G. Standing
Abstract: Recent research in the field of embodied cognition has found that temperature can prime subjects’ emotions concerning social inclusion, so that physical warmth and coldness trigger feelings of social warmth and rejection, respectively. The aim of this study (N = 90) was to determine whether brief tactile and visual stimuli, involving hot or cold temperatures, would affect subjects' self-reported levels of loneliness after they viewed a subsequent video clip depicting ostracism. A 2 × 3 between-subjects design (warm/cold prime × tactile/visual/ combined modalities) was used. The cold tactile, and cold combined (visual plus tactile), conditions were found to increase the subjects’ reported loneliness, compared to warm tactile and warm combined conditions; the effect size was medium. Visual warmth versus cold had no significant effect on loneliness, however. These data replicate the finding by Bargh and Shalev (2012) that a warm stimulus can reduce loneliness, in accordance with the general theory of embodied cognition, but suggest that the stimulus must be tactile rather than visual.
Keywords: Embodied cognition; Physical warmth; Loneliness; Social inclusion; Tactile stimulation; Temperature Priming; Affective embodiment; Social rejection
Article: e19004
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