'Coping mechanism'

Dr Chen-Bo Zhong, who led the research, which is published in the journal Psychological Science, said: "We found that the experience of social exclusion literally feels cold.

"This may be why people use temperature-related metaphors to describe social inclusion and exclusion."


Some evidence supports the idea that reduced temperature also contributes to an increase in depressive experience
University of Toronto researchers

The team suggests the findings could be used to treat people's feelings of sadness or loneliness.

Writing in the journal, published by the American Association of Psychological Science, they say: "An interesting direction for research would be to determine whether experiencing the warmth of an object could reduce the negative experience of social exclusion.

"Such an implication has been used metaphorically in the self-help literature, but our research suggests that eating warm soup may be a literal coping mechanism for social exclusion."

They also suggest that raising the temperature could help someone who is feeling low - in the same way that people with seasonal affective disorder (SAD) are helped with light therapy.

They added: "Research on this disorder has predominantly focused on the connection between reduced daylight and increased likelihood of winter depression, although some evidence supports the idea that reduced temperature also contributes to an increase in depressive experience.

"Our research suggests one reason why that may be. Perhaps cold temperatures in the winter serve as a catalyst to the psychological experience of social exclusion."

Dr Lesley Prince, a lecturer in psychology at Birmingham University, said: "This is very interesting, and shows there are physiological correlates to emotions."

He added: "I particularly like the idea that if people are feeling despondent or lonely, you could help them feel better by putting the temperature up."