We found a match
Your institution may have access to this item. Find your institution then sign in to continue.
- Title
Too hot to help or too cold to care? On the links between ambient temperature, volunteerism, and civic engagement.
- Authors
Ng, Henry Kin Shing; Cheung, Sing‐Hang
- Abstract
We investigated the relationship between ambient temperature and prosocial behaviour in real‐life settings. It was guided by two mechanisms of opposite predictions, namely (1) higher temperatures decrease prosociality by harming well‐being, and (2) higher temperatures increase prosociality by promoting the embodied cognition of social warmth. In Study 1, U.S. state‐level time‐series data (2002–2015) supported the first mechanism, with higher temperatures predicting lower volunteer rates through lower well‐being. Study 2 furthered the investigation by probing the relationship between neighbourhood temperature and civic engagement of 2268 U.S. citizens. The data partially supported the well‐being mechanism and reported findings contradictory to the social embodiment mechanism. Higher temperatures predicted lower interpersonal trust and subsequently lower civic engagement. The unexpected finding hinted at a cognitive effect of heat and a compensatory mechanism in social thermoregulation. We discussed the findings regarding their methodological strengths and weaknesses, with cautions made on ecological fallacies and alternative models.
- Subjects
UNITED States; WELL-being; HEAT; TEMPERATURE; BIOPSYCHOSOCIAL model; ALTRUISM; COGNITION; ECOLOGY; VOLUNTEERS; PSYCHOSOCIAL factors; TIME series analysis; INTERPERSONAL relations; SOCIAL classes; POLITICAL participation; BODY temperature regulation; SOCIAL skills; TRUST; NEIGHBORHOOD characteristics; CITIZENSHIP; COLD (Temperature); ENVIRONMENTAL exposure
- Publication
British Journal of Psychology, 2023, Vol 114, Issue 4, p945
- ISSN
0007-1269
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1111/bjop.12669