Scientists reveal why hot weather makes us grumpy
This will give you a reason to be excited about the winter months!
South Africans are prepping for winter and are ready to settle into the cold that has officially creeped in.
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Winter might not be everyone's favourite season, with many of us looking forward to December and the SA summer.
However, one study reveals some worrying truths about the summer season.
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Scientists have found that being in the heat makes people less cooperative, less likely to help others, and crankier.
The study was published in the European Journal of Social Psychology, and research was conducted by Liuba Y. Belkin (Lehigh University) and Maryam Kouchaki (Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management).
The researchers conducted three experiments to test the effects of heat-related discomfort on human emotions and behaviours.
Part one consisted of the researchers pulling data from a 2010 summer study conducted in Russian shopping malls.
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The original study collected data from secret shoppers who visited a popular chain of handbag and luggage stores and recorded their experiences in the store and with staff.
While this was an ordinary assignment, the stores were abnormally hot as Moscow experienced a mega-heatwave, and the malls lacked air conditioning.
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The data showed that employees were 59% less likely to ask customers if they needed help, make suggestions or volunteer assistance.
They just honestly couldn't be bothered.
The researchers recruited 160 participants for the second experiment to take an online quiz. Before starting the quiz, half of the participants were instructed to imagine themselves in an uncomfortably warm setting.
They then had to answer a few questions about their feelings, take the quiz and complete a short survey about their experience.
The quiz was a ruse. The researchers only examined what the post-quiz survey might show and whether the participants had completed it.
While many people took the survey, those who had to imagine being hot were significantly less likely to complete it, with only 44% completing it compared to 77%.
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They also reported feeling less happy and more tired than everyone else.
The final experiment involved 73 of Belkin's college students. She taught the same class but in very different environments.
One class took place in a room of 26°C while the other was in an air-conditioned room.
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At the end of each class, the students must complete a 100-question survey to support a nonprofit that helps underprivileged children.
Students in the hot room answered far fewer questions compared to the more comfortable classroom.
The point of our study is that ambient temperature affects individual states that shape emotional and behavioral reactions. So people help less in an uncomfortable environment, whatever the reason they come up with to justify why they cannot do certain things.
Belkin confirms that these findings also translate to work environments and warns employers to keep their employees at a safe and comfortable temperature.
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Main image courtesy of iStock