Next time a customer comes to your office, offer him a cup of coffee. And when you’re doing your holiday shopping online, make sure you’re holding a large glass of iced tea. The physical sensation（感觉）of warmth encourages emotional warmth, while a cold drink in hand prevents you from making unwise decisions—those are the practical lesson being drawn from recent research by psychologist John A. Bargh.

Psychologists have known that one person’s perception（感知）of another’s “warmth” is a powerful determiner in social relationships. Judging someone to be either “warm” or “cold” is a primary consideration, even trumping evidence that a “cold” person may be more capable. Much of this is rooted in very early childhood experiences, Bargh argues, when babies’ conceptual sense of the world around them is shaped by physical sensations, particularly warmth and coldness. Classic studies by Harry Harlow, published in 1958, showed monkeys preferred to stay close to a cloth “mother” rather than one made of wire, even when the wire “mother” carried a food bottle. Harlow’s work and later studies have led psychologists to stress the need for warm physical contact from caregivers to help young children grow into healthy adults with normal social skills.

Feelings of “warmth” and “coldness” in social judgments appear to be universal. Although no worldwide study has been done, Bargh says that describing people as “warm” or “cold” is common to many cultures, and studies have found those perceptions influence judgment in dozens of countries.

To test the relationship between physical and psychological warmth, Bargh conducted an experiment which involved 41 college students. A research assistant who was unaware of the study’s hypotheses（假设）, handed the students either a hot cup of coffee, or a cold drink, to hold while the researcher filled out a short information form: The drink was then handed back. After that, the students were asked to rate the personality of “Person A” based on a particular description. Those who had briefly held the warm drink regarded Person A as warmer than those who had held the iced drink.

“We are grounded in our physical experiences even when we think abstractly,” says Bargh.

How to Stop Laughing at Inappropriate Times

Although laughing at inappropriate times can be embarrassing, it’s actually a natural reaction for some people when they’re facing a highly stressful situation. It can help you relieve stress and release your own tension. 【小题1】 Here are some ways to stop laughing.

Distract yourself from your urge to laugh. 

It takes time to learn how to curb your tendency to laugh, but distraction is an easy way to stop yourself, in the meantime. For example, you can pinch yourself. The slight pain will distract you from your urge to laugh. 【小题2】 Choose any color and see how many places you can spot it in the area. This small goal will shift your focus from laughter and your emotions.

【小题3】

What can you do instead of laughing nervously? For example, nod, lick your lips, exhale slowly, or click a pen. What you decide to replace your laughter with depends on the circumstances that are causing your laughter. For example, you may laugh nervously during work meetings. 【小题4】 If you tend to laugh at serious moments, take a deep breath at moments when you’d typically laugh.

Identify what makes you laugh inappropriately.

Do you laugh out of nervousness, or do you laugh to cope with painful feelings? Maybe you laugh because you have a lot of energy or have trouble finding the words you want to say. Whatever your reasons for laughing, write down when your laughter is causing you issues. Consider the time, location, occasion, and people who could be causing your laughter. These are called your triggers. 【小题5】