Next time a customer comes to your office, offer him a cup of coffee. And when y

Next time a customer comes to your office, offer him acup of coffee. And when you’re doing your holidayshopping online, make sure you’re holding a large glassof iced tea. The physical sensation（感觉）of warmthencourages emotional warmth, while a cold drink in hand prevents you frommaking unwise decisions—those are the practical lesson being drawn from recentresearch by psychologist John A. Bargh.

Psychologists have known that one person’s perception（感知）of another’s “warmth” is a powerful determiner in social relationships.Judging someone to be either “warm” or “cold” is a primary consideration, even trumping evidencethat a “cold” person maybe more capable. Much of this is rooted in very early childhood experiences,Bargh argues, when babies’ conceptual sense of the world around them is shapedby physical sensations, particularly warmth and coldness. Classic studies byHarry Harlow, published in 1958, showed monkeys preferred to stay close to acloth “mother” rather than one made of wire, even when the wire “mother”carried a food bottle. Harlow’s work and later studies have led psychologiststo stress the need for warm physical contact from caregivers to help youngchildren grow into healthy adults with normal social skills.

Feelings of “warmth” and “coldness” in socialjudgments appear to be universal. Although no worldwide study has been done,Bargh says that describing people as “warm” or “cold” is common to manycultures, and studies have found those perceptions influence judgment in dozensof countries.

To test the relationship between physical andpsychological warmth, Bargh conducted an experiment which involved 41 collegestudents. A research assistant who was unaware of the study’s hypotheses（假设）, handedthe students either a hot cup of coffee, or a cold drink, to hold while theresearcher filled out a short information form. The drink was then handed back.After that, the students were asked to rate the personality of “Person A” basedon a particular description. Those who had briefly held the warm drink regardedPerson A as warmer than those who had held the iced drink.

“We aregrounded in our physical experiences even when we think abstractly,” saysBargh.

1.The author mentions Harlow’s experiment to show that________.

A. babies need warm physical contact

B. caregivers should be healthy adults

C. adults should develop social skills

D. monkeys have social relationships

2.In Bargh’s experiment, the students were asked to________.

A. write down their hypotheses

B. evaluate someone’s personality

C. fill out a personal information form

D. hold coffee and cold drink alternatively

3.We can infer from the passage that ________.

A. abstract thinking does not come from physicalexperiences

B. feelings of warmth and coldness are studiedworldwide

C. physical temperature affects how we see others

D. capable persons are often cold to others

4.What would be the best title for the passage?

A. Drinking for Better Social Relationships.

B. Developing Better Drinking Habits.

C. Experiments of Personality Evaluation.

D. Physical Sensations and Emotions.

试题答案

【答案】

1.A

2.B

3.C

4.D

【解析】

试题