只要一杯咖啡，就能改變你對陌生人的印象，甚至你的行為。
這一期的《Science》有一個很有趣的心理學研究：試驗者隨機給41名受試者冰咖啡或熱咖啡拿在手上數秒後，請他們評估陌生人給他們的觀感，拿過熱咖啡的人傾向於認為陌生人有溫暖的人格特質。
另外一個分開的研究也發現，以商品測試為名，讓53個受試者隨機拿著熱水袋或冷水袋一會兒，再請他們選取贈品，拿過熱水袋的人較會去選擇送人用的禮品，反之，拿冷水袋的人較喜歡選擇自用的贈品。
1940年代，心理學家Solomon Asch就認為，人類在面對陌生人時，會先分析這人是不是容易親近，接著評估這人是否不友善，甚至是成為競爭者；這類「對方是熱情抑或冷漠」的分析，佔人類初相見時第一印象評估的大部分，約86%。Asch也假設，這類的認知行為有可能反映了人類的生理經驗。舉例來說，以「熱情」或「溫暖」來形容有善意的人，在某種程度上，是人類對於幼時伴隨食物或呵護而來的碰觸，如母親的體溫或溫水浴，外界溫度的改變和安全感或是安心感產生連結的表現。
數年後，神經生物學家發現，負責信任感、同理心、罪惡感或尷尬等社交心理行為的腦島皮質（insular cortex），也能隨著碰觸的物體溫度變化而被活化；因此，很有可能就是腦島皮質連結起情緒上的「溫情」和感官上的「溫暖」。
雖然溫度可以影響一個人對陌生人的第一印象，若是人格特質已被定型的名人，熱咖啡或冰咖啡並不能幫他加分或扣分；但如果在推銷物品時，提供熱飲或是食物，也許能增加銷售率。
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嗯，其實會特別注意這篇paper，倒不是它是個很可愛的研究，而是──
在這一期不是DNA就是RNA就是離子通道就是全球暖化的《Science》裡，這研究也太跳tone了吧！
相關連結：
Seattle Times
Friday, October 24, 2008 - Page updated at 02:39 PM
Los Angeles Times
Looking to improve your romantic odds? Get your date a cup of steaming coffee.
That's the implication of a new study from researchers who wanted to see if there was any connection between physical and emotional heat.
To their surprise, they found people who held a cup of hot coffee for 10 to 25 seconds warmed up to a perfect stranger. Holding a cup of iced coffee had the opposite effect.
If you want to make a good impression, advised University of Colorado psychologist and study author Lawrence Williams, a cup of fresh coffee "may bias the situation in your favor."
The study, published today in the journal Science, is the latest to show how physical properties such as distance or temperature can unconsciously influence emotional reactions.
"Our mental processes are not separate and detached from the body," said John Bargh, a Yale University psychologist and co-author of the study.
The study raises the potential for manipulation beyond matters of the heart. Williams said it was not hard to envision marketers using warm cookies to make connections with customers — and prime them to buy.
By the same token, Bargh said, shoppers who want to resist pushy salespeople could improve their chances by carrying an icy can of soda in their pocket.
But when it comes to personal relationships, researchers said, a hot beverage can't always overcome awkward habits and distasteful traits.
"If I had a nice warm cup of coffee with Adolf Hitler, I'm still not going to like him," Bargh said.
In the latest study, a lab worker asked each of 41 subjects to hold a cup of warm coffee or iced coffee. They then were asked to rate the personality of an unidentified person whom researchers described as "skillful, industrious, determined, practical and cautious."
People who had held warm coffee gave the stranger an average score of 4.7 on a 7-point scale, warmer than the average score of 4.3 from people who had held iced coffee.
In a second experiment, a lab worker asked 53 participants to evaluate either a heated or a frozen therapeutic pad. After completing that task, the subjects were told they could choose as a reward either a cold drink for themselves or ice cream they could share with someone.
Of the people who handled the hot pad, 54 percent chose the gift to share with a friend and 46 percent picked a reward for themselves. Among those who touched the cold pad, 25 percent selected the gift to share, and 75 percent chose the item for themselves.
"Physical warmth can make us see others as warmer people, but can also cause us to be warmer — more generous and trusting — as well," Bargh said.
Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company
