The Effects of Temperature Priming on Cooperation in the Iterated Prisoner's Dilemma. (1st January 2013)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Storey, Simon; Workman, Lance
• Is Part Of: Evolutionary psychology. Volume 11:Number 1(2013)
• Publication Date: 2013-01-01
• Subjects: Iterated Prisoner's Dilemma -- cooperation -- interpersonal warmth; Evolutionary psychology -- Periodicals; Human evolution -- Psychological aspects -- Periodicals; Biological Evolution; Psychology; Periodicals; 155.705
• DOI: 10.1177/147470491301100106
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1474-7049

Abstract

Based on initial research findings byWilliams and Bargh (2008) andKang, Williams, Clark, Gray and Bargh (2011) on the interaction between interpersonal and physical warmth, theoretical models such as cognitive scaffolding and the importance of evaluations of interpersonal warmth in trust-based decisions, this experiment investigated the effect of temperature priming on 30 pairs of British university students with hot and cold objects on frequency of cooperation in a game of iterated Prisoner's Dilemma. Participants were found to cooperate significantly more frequently when primed with hot objects than with cold objects, supporting the assertion that physical warmth sensation positively affects interpersonal trust evaluation. No support was found for the prediction that male-male pairs would cooperate less than female-female pairs. The implications of these findings to evolutionary and developmental theories of interpersonal warmth are discussed.