Lehigh Heat Wave Study Finds Temperature Affects Helpfulness
A study published in the European Journal of Psychology, called “Too Hot to Help! Exploring the Impact of Ambient Temperature on Helping,” shows that hot temperatures make people less likely to be courteous and helpful. The three-part study was co-authored by Lehigh University College of Business and Economics Professor Liuba Belkin and Kellogg School of Management Professor Maryam Kouchaki.
In the first study, the researcher duo analyzed data from a chain of stores in Easter Europe, which indicated that in uncomfortable heat, employees are less proactive and accommodating to customers. In fact, employees were 50 percent less likely to volunteer to help customers when ambient temperatures were high. The second study sought to make sense of this result by exploring why high temperatures affect helpfulness, examining factors such as increased lethargy. The third study replicated the findings.
As part of their research, Belkin and Kouchaki split college management students into two groups, placing one section in a hot classroom and the other in a cool classroom. The students were asked to fill out a survey for a non-profit that helps children and underprivileged members of the community. According to the study 95 percent of participants in the cool room answered at least one question on the survey, whereas only 64 percent of the students in the hot classroom participated in the survey at all.
This information may be valuable incentive for businesses to maintain comfortable temperatures, and for people to be more aware of how the temperature affects their moods and perceptions. Psychology Today suggests that listening to music whose content glorifies the heat may help people stay in better spirits. There has been a long-established link between hotter weather and increased crime rates, but this study shows there may also be a link between rising temperatures and a fall in good Samaritans.
