October 24th, 2008
Starbuck's is the place to score
With the market continuing to tank we need a little Christmas right this very minute.
Here is some.
Science Magazine reports that holding a warm cup in your hands makes you feel more generous and see others more favorably.
Warm hands, warm heart? Yes!
Which means that if you want that special someone to feel as you do, don’t go out for a Coke or martini. Head over to Starbuck’s, get a nice cuppa into their hands, and then make your move.
Don’t get it in those nasty paper cups, either. Get something in ceramic for the full effect. Sit down. Get comfortable. Inhale the aroma. Then go for it.
Now, a warning. The study took place among college students. Coffee shops are hotter among that crowd now than during the beatnik generation.
But to test that Lawrence Williams at the University of Colorado (go Buffs) gave 53 subjects warm or cold pads to hold, then offered candy as a reward, for themselves or a friend. Those who held the warm pad were more likely to give candy to a friend.
It’s science!
So pick up some coffee mugs. Hold your important meetings over some java. When you feel bad about people, try a hot cup of something yourself, you’ll feel better.
It won’t work with everyone, Williams warns, but you don’t want to deal with those other people.
Dana Blankenhorn has been a business journalist since 1978, and has covered technology since 1982. He launched the Interactive Age Daily, the first daily coverage of the Internet to launch with a magazine, in September 1994. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
Subscribe to ZDNet Healthcare via Email alerts or RSS.
