It seems that the old saying “cold hands, warm heart” is no longer true. A cup of coffee warming your hands might also warm your feelings and make you see people more favorably, turning you into a generous person at the same time, a report in the Oct. 24 issue of Science reveals.

"Simply holding a warm or cold object can influence people's interpersonal judgments and decisions," said lead researcher Lawrence Williams, an assistant professor of marketing at the Leeds School of Business of the University of Colorado at Boulder.

The assumption is based on two studies on undergraduate students in which researchers wanted to see how temperatures affect emotions. The first study involved 41 college students with an average age of 18.5. They were randomly asked to hold either a cup of warm coffee or a cup of iced coffee without being told that the cup of coffee was part of the experiment. Further, they were given a packet of information on an unknown person described with words like intelligent, skillful, industrious, practical and cautious. The researchers found that participants who had held the warm coffee were much more likely to score the pretend person as warmer than those who had held the iced coffee.

The second study involved 53 participants who were asked to hold either a hot or cold therapeutic pad. Then the researchers gave them a choice of reward for participating in the study: either a gift for a friend, or a reward for themselves. What they found was similar to findings of the first experiment. More exactly, people who held the hot pad were more likely to choose the gift for a friend, while people who held the cold pad were more likely to choose the reward for themselves.

“It appears that the effect of physical temperature is not just on how we see others, it affects our own behavior as well. Physical warmth can make us see others as warmer people, but also cause us to be warmer -- more generous and trusting -- as well,” John A. Bargh, PhD, professor of psychology at Yale University and co-author of the paper said.

The experiments clearly show that mental processes are not separate and detached from the body. In fact, previous research has showed that the same brain region that processes physical temperature changes, called the insula, also processes feelings of trust and empathy associated with social warmth.

As for the current findings, the researchers said the association between temperature and emotional warmth starts in infancy, when the warmth of being held is linked to food, safety and love. As we grow up, a cup of warm coffee or a warm bath might activate memories of those feelings. Sometimes, even a big warm hug is enough to make the person next to you feel better about himself /herself or about you. Now that you know the trick you’d better make sure you have that cup of warm coffee ready next time you meet someone you want to make a good impression on. Good luck!