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Murder or not?: cold temperature makes criminals appear to be cold-blooded and warm temperature to be hot-headed

  • Temperature-related words such as cold-blooded and hot-headed can be used to describe criminal behavior. Words associated with coldness describe premeditated behavior and words associated with heat describe impulsive behavior. Building on recent research about the close interplay between physical and interpersonal coldness and warmth, we examined in a lab experiment how ambient temperature within a comfort zone influences judgments of criminals. Participants in rooms with low temperature regarded criminals to be more cold-blooded than participants in rooms with high temperature. Specifically, they were more likely to attribute premeditated crimes, ascribed crimes resulting in higher degrees of penalty, and attributed more murders to criminals. Likewise, participants in rooms with high temperature regarded criminals to be more hot-headed than participants in rooms with low temperature: They were more likely to attribute impulsive crimes. Results imply that cognitive representations of temperature are closely related to representationsTemperature-related words such as cold-blooded and hot-headed can be used to describe criminal behavior. Words associated with coldness describe premeditated behavior and words associated with heat describe impulsive behavior. Building on recent research about the close interplay between physical and interpersonal coldness and warmth, we examined in a lab experiment how ambient temperature within a comfort zone influences judgments of criminals. Participants in rooms with low temperature regarded criminals to be more cold-blooded than participants in rooms with high temperature. Specifically, they were more likely to attribute premeditated crimes, ascribed crimes resulting in higher degrees of penalty, and attributed more murders to criminals. Likewise, participants in rooms with high temperature regarded criminals to be more hot-headed than participants in rooms with low temperature: They were more likely to attribute impulsive crimes. Results imply that cognitive representations of temperature are closely related to representations of criminal behavior and attributions of intent.show moreshow less

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Metadaten
Author:Prof. Dr. Christine Gockel, Peter M. Kolb, Lioba Werth
Parent Title (English):PLoS ONE
Document Type:Article
Language:English
Date of Publication (online):2014/06/16
Year of first Publication:2014
Publishing Institution:SRH Berlin University of Applied Sciences
Release Date:2014/06/16
Tag:Criminal behavior
Volume:9
Issue:4
First Page:Keine Angabe - No details
Last Page:Keine Angabe - No details
Note:
Online: http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0096231
Link author profile:https://www.srh-berlin.de/hochschule/hochschulteam/gockel-christine/
Peer-reviewed:Keine Angabe - No details
JEL-Classification:Y Miscellaneous Categories
Licence (German):License LogoCreative Commons - CC BY-NC-ND - Namensnennung - Nicht kommerziell - Keine Bearbeitungen 4.0 International
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