Adjusting the Thermometer of Race Relations: Physical Warmth Reduces Bias

Extending recent research suggesting that interpersonal warmth is metaphorically and experientially rooted in physical warmth, I conducted three experiments to examine the hypothesis that physical warmth can temporarily improve implicit attitudes toward negatively stereotyped outgroup members. In Experiment 1, a group of primarily European-American participants were randomly assigned to wear either a warm or cool compress on their forearm (ostensibly part of a product evaluation), then completed an Implicit Association Test (IAT) designed to assess implicit attitudes toward African-Americans relative to European-Americans. Experiment 2 replicated Experiment 1 using an additional neutral temperature control condition as well as two single-target IATs, permitting the assessment of absolute rather than relative implicit attitudes toward African- and European-Americans. In Experiment 3, a punishment decision measure was used to assess attitudes toward African- and European-Americans. The results of Experiment 1 supported the hypothesis that warmth leads to reduced bias, whereas the results of Experiment 2 did not support hypotheses. Experiment 3 yielded mixed results. Theoretical implications and future directions are discussed