Taken together, these studies suggest that higher ambient temperatures change our patterns of decision-making. As our bodies struggle to maintain a healthy internal temperature, they use up resources that would otherwise be available for mental processes. As a result, we are less able to make complex decisions—we give up early, make mistakes, and even shy away from making these decisions in the first place. We choose the easy option—a standard, one-option lotto game—rather than the complex one—selecting one out of dozens of scratch tickets.
These results do not mean, however, that people in warmer climates are reliably prone to making poorer decisions than those in cooler environments. Human beings are remarkably adaptive; we automatically acclimate to changes in ambient temperature and—given a bit of time—are capable of performing just as well in sweltering heat, frigid cold, and a climate-controlled office. It really does matter that you were on vacation when making your lottery decision; if you had been a native Alaskan or Floridian, the temperature would have made little, if any, difference. This research suggests that what does make a difference is slight deviations in temperature from an expected norm. Even though an unusually warm day in northern Alaska may be 50° cooler than such a day in the middle of Florida, the effect on cognitive processes may be the same.
These slight deviations in temperature are a common part of our lives—the warmth of our homes and offices fluctuate throughout the day, stores and restaurants seem to set their thermostats with little regard for human comfort, and temperatures outdoors vary not just from day to day, but from minute to minute. Each of these minor changes in temperature may have important implications for our ability to make decisions, especially when we are unaware of these effects—but, luckily, now you are aware.
Are you a scientist who specializes in neuroscience, cognitive science, or psychology? And have you read a recent peer-reviewed paper that you would like to write about? Please send suggestions to Mind Matters editor Gareth Cook, a Pulitzer prize-winning journalist at the Boston Globe. He can be reached at garethideas AT gmail.com or Twitter @garethideas.
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17 Comments
Add CommentThat's interesting. Perhaps that is why there are more conservatives where it is hot.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe article warns against making that connection but I couldn't help thinking that this explains Rick Perry.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI'm glad they finally got around to pointing out that this is an adaptation issue, not an inherent nature issue. It would have been a lot better (and less incendiary) if they'd made that point on the first page, rather than the first.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe other silly part of this work is that they didn't control for relative humidity. Can people think better if they can control their body heat through sweating, and do they have problems when they cannot due to humidity? How fast do people's mental abilities change as they acclimate, and how fast do they lose acclimation? These are rather more interesting questions.
So, put on a hat, and drink something sweet, perhaps also with caffeine
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI have suffered from debilitating pressure headaches all my life and when I can think clearly it seems that 24-36 hours before a weather change occurs I get a pressure head ache.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisCan anybody help ?
I'm certainly not a doctor, but I suggest you ask your doctor about having an MRI brain scan. Fluid within the braincase may be affected by barometric pressure, for example...
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisYou might be on to something there. Prior to the advent of air conditioning beginning in the 1950s, hot and especially humid conditions made all physical activity very difficult. This had many very real social repercussions - I think including a general reluctance to start new projects, for example...
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThank you.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisYes I've had them all. With negative results. Maybe it is time to have them again.
I love the out of the box thinking! Great speculative thought on how the brain energy balance works; and much can be derived through an understanding of Physiological Homeostasis with regard to glucose. However, the most recent research indicates that the brain burns lactose when under stress (anxiety, physical exertion and temperature extremes) and not entirely glucose. This could be a missing factor in why epidemiological studies do not confirm the classic 70 year old wisdom on energy burn, brain caloric burn, heat, blood sugar, stress, weight and exercise.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWe have a LONG way to go before we can have sufficient confidence on extrapolative speculation in this arena; and we must be careful because moralist will use prima facia speculation as a basis from which to wag their finger at people who suffer from diabetes or heart disease - and block the science in and around those subjects as being unnecessary. Moreover we are a long way from actually being able to help the skyrocketing group which suffers glucose/endocrine damage from current causes which are not well understood.
But let's keep it up!! I like it.
That's a very interesting thesis worthy of more scientific research.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisGee, CA is a lot warmer than most of the Midwest right now. And government seems to be more active in the winter than the summer.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisSo I'd say this is a great argument for why CA has such an idiotic gov't.
Perhaps that's why you didn't read the entire article and posted anyway, based on your own bigotry and that of those around you.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisA diet change can be of great assistance: eating raw, unprocessed fruits and vegetables automatically lowers the blood pressure, whereas any processed, 'man-made' food intake increases it. Cutting out artificial additives, especially salt and caffeine, works wonders for capillaries!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisthe reason WHY raw plant foods are so good? It's elementary: our DNA evolved on an ape's alimentary nutrition scheme...
I think the explanation why we find it so
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisdifficult to function mentally well under extreme weather conditions can clearly be found in our origins: After all, our genomes came out of equatorial African highlands! I happened to sample the wonderful climate in Uganda, forty years ago, with its natural air'conditioning', indeed our 'ideal' climate, all the year round , in the same temperature range, between about 23 and 27 degrees Celsius, and never too humid- because of its altitude; in fact, our original Paradise- -on- Earth climate.
But 'we' made the tree change, took the risk, survived the Ice Ages , and, wow, we came out of them with bigger & better brains having got us into this 'Global Warming' mess..
Here in Perth / Western Australia, we are currently breaking all weather records, with dry heat waves of 40-plus degrees for weeks on end, and if it was not for the sanctuary of the Indian Ocean right on our doorstep, with its divine 23 degrees Celsius, it would be unlivable; but even the Indian Ocean temperatures have increased in these past few years,by between two and four degrees, in the North West, with see weeds found dying, and sharks and whales shifting their habitats...
So much for talking about the weather! Political correctness ain't what it used to be either.
Tony,
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIf the weather change that you are talking about involves a change in barometric pressure you may be suffering from blocked eustachian tubes or sinuses. Not being able to equalize pressure can lead to a headache. You can get this checked out by a doctor.
Our ancetors functioned well enough to run big game into heat exhaustion on the hot African savanna. But men were men then. They didn't pamper themselves with air conditioning and they didn't feel entitled to the world on a silver platter.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIt appears someone is merely trying to fill their quota in the "publish or perish" business. A small amount of stress excites the body and revs the engine. A large stress overwhelms the body, so neither approach offered would be effective. If you want to hammer out the
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this"next big thing," get your lazy butt out of bed on a cool, crisp day as the sun first rises over the horizon.