Embodied motivation: Using a goal systems framework to understand the preference for social and physical warmth.

Abstract

Embodiment research has primarily focused on metaphor-assimilative effects (e.g., perceiving someone to be socially warmer when holding a warm object). Research shows these effects can occur by activating metaphor-associated knowledge constructs. This account is not sufficient, however, for explaining complementary effects-for example, the tendency to prefer social warmth when experiencing physical coldness (Experiment 1). We suggest that socially warm events are considered a means for achieving the goal of reducing physical coldness. Guided by this basic hypothesis and the principles of a goal systems framework, we examine whether the basic relationship between goals and means explains complemen tary embodiment effects. We find that socially warm activities are preferred over control activities when people are primed with the goal of reducing physical coldness, but not when primed with the concept of coldness (Experiment 2). We also find that activating an alternative goal decreases the attractiveness of socially warm activities when people are feeling cold (Experiment 3). Finally, we examine the effect of social coldness on preferences for physical warmth, showing that the attractiveness of physically warm items among socially excluded people is decreased by activating an alternative goal (Experiment 4). These results suggest that complementary embodiment effects follow the principles of goal activation.

Homelike thermoregulation: How physical coldness makes an advertised house a home

“…Based on recent work by Zhang and Risen (2014) we had predicted that a motivational prime would matter; In our sample, it did not, and only temperature was related to our results. In our General Discussion we return to potential reasons.…”

“…We hence conducted a follow up to discover this potential mechanism, in which we included the so-called Need For Affiliation as potential mediator. In addition, we learned about a recent empirical demonstration that people's motivations may matter to self-regulate their temperature (Zhang & Risen, 2014).…”

“…Hong and Sun (2012), for instance, discovered that physical coldness yields increased liking of romance movies and novels, whereas Zhou and colleagues (2012) found that nostalgia -a positive and social emotion -is triggered by coldness. Zhang and Risen (2014) found self-regulatory properties of people preferring socially warm activities in the cold, while Kolb, Gockel and Werth (2012;see also Bargh & Shalev, 2012) learned that physical coldness triggers a Need For Affiliation in sales-people, letting them affiliate more with their customers. Finally, it appears that people feeling lonely tend to apply non-human physical warmth ; see also Zhong & Leonardelli, 2009; but see Donnellan, Lucas, & Cesario, 2014; for skepticism, and see Bargh & Shalev, 2014, for a rebuttal), just like loneliness in PTSD patients yields preference for warm foods (Li & Liao, 2013; see also Ong, IJzerman, & Leung, 2012).…”

“…For convenience reasons, and based on Zhang and Risen (2014), we now tested participants in cold outdoor (vs. warm indoor) temperatures instead of giving them cold (vs. warm) cups to hold. We thus set up a design with a cold staying "outside" condition, a warm staying "inside" control condition, but also with a cold "going inside" condition.…”

“…Specifically, in the latter we added a "prime" by telling this third group they would go inside shortly, this in order to reduce their motivation to self-regulate their warmth (hence taking away the effects of coldness). Based on Zhang and Risen (2014), we hypothesized that the cold Outside condition (vs. Inside and vs.…”