• DOI:10.1027/1864-9335/A000187
• Corpus ID: 17644730

Replication of “Experiencing physical warmth promotes interpersonal warmth” by Williams and Bargh (2008).

@article{Lynott2014ReplicationO,
  title={Replication of “Experiencing physical warmth promotes interpersonal warmth” by Williams and Bargh (2008).},
  author={Dermot Lynott and Katherine S. Corker and Jessica A Wortman and Louise Connell and M. Brent Donnellan and Richard E. Lucas and Kerry S. O’Brien},
  journal={Social Psychology},
  year={2014},
  volume={45},
  pages={216-222}
}

• D. Lynott, Katherine S. Corker, +4 authors K. O’Brien
• Published 2014
• Psychology
• Social Psychology

We report the results of three high-powered, independent replications of Study 2 from Williams and Bargh (2008). Participants evaluated hot or cold instant therapeutic packs before choosing a reward for participation that was framed as a prosocial (i.e., treat for a friend) or self-interested reward (i.e., treat for the self). Williams and Bargh predicted that evaluating the hot pack would lead to a higher probability of making a prosocial choice compared to evaluating the cold pack. We did not replicate the effect in any individual laboratory or when considering the results of the three replications together (total N = 861). We conclude that there is no evidence that brief exposure to warm therapeutic packs induces greater prosocial responding than exposure to cold therapeutic packs.