We take more Chances when we’re warm it seems…

Lundberg, Craig, and Peloza share that “Across four studies, we find evidence for a positive relationship between temperature and risk-taking, using multiple operationalizations of temperature and measurements of risk. . . . In particular, thermal imagery is promising, as the use of imagery is ubiquitous throughout the marketplace. . . . By leveraging the flexibility of warm thermal imagery, marketers may activate their patrons’ inclination toward seeking rewards and taking more chances. . . . temperature manipulations do not need to be extreme or induce discomfort, but merely make a given thermal state salient to consumers.”  The researchers collected information on days when outside temperatures were different, when study participants were touching heat packs or not, when ambient temperatures ranged from 66 to 78 degrees Fahrenheit, and after participants had seen “two 30-second slideshows to mirror one another while reflecting warm (e.g., desert, campfire) or cool (ice, snow) environmental temperatures,” (these are examples of thermal imagery), for example.

Josh Lundberg, Adam Craig, and John Peloza.  2023. “Strike While the Iron is Hot:  Temperature Affects Consumers’ Appetite for Risk.”  Psychology and Marketing, in press, https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.21905