This article was taken from the Januray 2012 issue of Wired magazine. Be the first to read Wired's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing online.
The weather doesn't just determine if we should be wearing a thick coat or not -- it can have profound effects on the way we behave.
You're warmer and colder towards people depending on the weather. In studies, warmer conditions induced: greater social proximity; use of more concrete language; and a more relational focus. (1)
People shop more on sunny days: as exposure to sunlight increases, negative effects decrease and consumer spending tends to increase... (2)
...And work more when it pours: on rainy days, men shift on average 30 minutes from leisure to work. (3)
The weather can affect which university you pick: an increase in cloud cover of one standard deviation on the day of the visit is associated with an increase in the probability of enrolment of nine percentage points. (4)
It also affects job interview performance: "We analysed the results of consecutive medical-school interviews at the University of Toronto between 2004 and 2009... Those interviewed on rainy days received a one per cent lower score than those interviewed on sunny days... The difference in scores was equivalent to a ten per cent lower total mark on the Medical College Admission Test." (5)
And although you may wish for warm summer days, be careful -- fists fly when it's hot outside: field studies clearly show that heat increases aggression.(6)
Sources: 1. Ijzerman, H 2009 'The Thermometer of Social Relations: Mapping Social Proximity on Temperature',
Psychological Science, vol. 20 issue 10, pp1214-1220
\2. Murray, K 2011 'The effect of weather on consumer spending', Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 3. Connolly, M 2008 'Here Comes the Rain Again: Weather and the Intertemporal Substitution of Leisure, Journal of Labor Economics 4. Simonsohn, U 2009 'Weather To Go To College',
The Economic Journal 5. Redelmeier, 'Rainy weather and medical school admission interviews', CMAJ 6. Anderson C, 1989 *'Temperature and Aggression:
Ubiquitous Effects of Heat on Occurrence of Human Violence'*,
Psychological Bulletin
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
