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"Her gaze was cold as ice." "A cold wind blew between us." "He gave me the cold shoulder." Such expressions are often used to describe the feeling you get when the person you have a crush on does not return the feeling. And it turns out that we actually do feel cold when we are lonely after being rejected by another person.
A team of researchers at the University of Toronto led by Prof. Chen-Bo Zhong published a report in the September edition of Psychological Science magazine showing two psychological test findings that supported this phenomenon.
In the first experiment, the researchers had half of the 65 participants recall an experience when they were ostracized by society. Then the other half was instructed to remember an incident when they were warmly welcomed. Then the participants were asked what they felt the temperature was in the building they were in.
The participants gave a wide range of temperature estimates, ranging from 12 to 40 degrees Celsius. But participants who had experience being ostracized in society gave estimates that were an average 3 degrees lower than the actual temperature.
In the second experiment, 52 participants played a computerized game that involved throwing and catching a baseball with a group. But the researchers were able to control the characters in the computerized ball game. Half of the participants received the ball throughout the game, while the other half were left watching others play catch, with nobody throwing the ball at them after just a few initial exchanges.
Next, researchers said they were conducting a marketing survey and had participants choose between cold Coca Cola, apples, crackers, warm soup and coffee. Participants who were ostracized during the computerized ball game chose warm foods, as if they felt cold.
Professor Zhong said although neuro-imaging tests need to be conducted, the test results suggest that the part of the brain that detects temperature appears to be linked to the portion that recognizes social relationships.
The test is expected to help find cures for depression, which soars during the winter. Until now, patients were told to get as much sunlight as possible, under the reasoning that depression stemmed from a shorter daylight period during winter. But the researchers deduced that it is the cold temperature itself that makes people depressed.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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