Jack Nicholson, playing the crazed caretaker in The Shining, makes me reach for a blanket. Now a study finds that people we find, well, creepy can (actually) make us feel colder. The research will be published in the journal Psychological Science.
Researchers interviewed 40 college undergraduates. During each interaction, the experimenter was either chummy with the student or very (stiff) and professional. The investigator also alternated between mimicking students’ posture—a signal of rapport—and not doing anything at all.
Participants then completed a questionnaire designed to find out how hot or cold they felt. The results showed that the subjects actually felt (colder) when the investigator acted inappropriately or sent mixed signals.
The researchers conjecture that because the brain tries to interpret social cues and purely physical ones simultaneously, people (unconsciously) associate icy stares and chilly interactions with actual physical coldness.
So the next time you have to visit your doctor with the creepy receptionist, bring a sweater.
