Hot coffee is heartwarming

Published on Thursday 23 October 2008 20:22

IT MAY be no coincidence that so many relationships start with an invitation to "come in for a coffee", research suggests.

A study has found that merely holding a hot coffee cup leads a person to see others as more generous and caring.

Researchers also discovered that warm hands make people more inclined to give than to receive.

They believe descriptions of "warm" or "cold" people tap into sensations and experiences dating back to an infant's first contact with its mother.

Psychologists in the US carried out the experiment to test the hypothesis. First, a number of unsuspecting students were casually asked to hold either a cup of hot coffee or iced coffee, while a researcher wrote down information.

The students were then asked to assess the personality traits of an individual whose details they were given. Those who had held the hot cup judged the target person to be significantly "warmer" – more generous and caring – than those who had held the cold cup.

In the second part of the study, volunteers were asked to "product test" either icy or hot therapeutic pads used for pain management.

After holding the pads for a short time, they were allowed to choose either a gift for themselves or for a friend as a reward for taking part in the study.

Those who held the hot pad were more likely to want a gift for a friend, while those with cold hands were inclined to choose a reward for themselves.

Imaging studies suggested that the same part of the brain processes both physical and psychological warmth information, said the scientists.