hey seeing it is so hot today it started to get me thinking about how different people deal with the heat and other uncomfortable situations in general. So just a bit of brainstorming about the different things that may effect what people perceive as hot. so where they are from can sometimes effect it but not always, i know people who have all their life lived in the cold and felt comfortable but when they came into the hot they loved it! perhaps maybe a bigger influence could be how people are conditioned by those they grew up with to deal with the heat, often people whose parents love the heat will love the heat too and vica versa.
The expectation of whether it is going to be hot plays into people's strategies, if you know it is hot then you may be able to make precautions, on the other hand if you know it is going to be hot and you dont like the heat then maybe knowing it is going to be really hot will make you on the lookout for heat in a negative way, so already in a bad mood and complaining about it.
Such physical conditions as age and health could help determine a persons resistance. So what other things, if you are tired the heat will often make you feel more irritable or sleepy when if you have slept sufficently the night before there is an increase in the ability to deal with the situation. Also how long the heat lasts is important because we may love the heat at the start but if it is after over a week of high 20s/low 30s then it may just wear away at the person until they crack.
So what are the main things that happen when people get too hot, often their current mood is exacerbated, for example if they are feeling a little bit hyper they will probably act even more hyperactive than normal, or if they are cranky they will be even more cranky than usual.
So when people do think of hot they think of such things as sunning themselves by the beach, and when they think of cold they think of snow up a mountain. However this sunning can lead to such negative consequences as skin cancer, while if enjoying yourself at the beach you also have to be careful when swimming. You think of lazy days with a cocktail or having a barbie rather than rugging up with hot chocolate in front of the fire, often people have alot more social activities in the warmth.
Anyway enough banter, just wondering what your thoughts are on people's and animals reactions to weather :)
3 comments:
hi - i really do think that the heat can affect behaviour. i mean, in the last couple days, myself (and the people i talked to) were feeling lethargic, a little bit frustrated/easily irritated/etc and just physically uncomfortable. i think a decent example is when you are driving in your car on a VERY hot day, especially if you don't have air conditioning...you can easily understand how people get a little bit quick tempered and impatient. by the way, my blog is kayeb.blogspot.com if you feel like checking it out (there is a poll and that's about it right now...but my blog topic is religion).
Hey everyone,
According to the text, violent crime is positively correlated with hotter weather. This is a bit scary considering global warming!
Hi Breona,
Weather is actually the topic that i have decided to do my 2nd blog on. Consequently i have been looking into the influence heat has on behaviour.
As Mike pointed out, the text, and other research by Baron & Bell (1976) and Anderson (2001) suggest that hot temperatures increase aggression (which in turn leads to an increase in violent-crimes).
Mike also brings up an important point in the effect that global warming may have on crime-rate. Anderson (2001) discuss that exact problem and according to his findings:
"we see that a 2 degree Fahrenheit increase in average temperature predicts an increase of about 9 more murders or assaults per 100,000 people, or more than 24,000 additional murders and assaults per year in a population of 270 million" (pg. 37).
However, on another note, Cunningham (1979) found that sunshine and hot weather was a strong predictor of helpful behaviour.
So when the sun is out and things get too hot people get aggressive and commit crimes... while at the same time in sunny weather other people become more helpful.
That is just something i found interesting...
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