Pysch 309 Essay - Grade: A PDF

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Psych 309 Essay based on the article "Why Clingy People Feel Colder" by Maia Szalavitz...

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Clingy and Cold Alexis Griggs Eastern Washington University

Why Clingy People Feel Colder by Maia Szalavitz claims that people who feel anxious or insecure about their personal relationships tend to feel colder room temperatures. Szalavitz’s claim is backed up by a study conducted by psychologist Matthew Vess from Ohio University. This study went on to be published in Psychological Science. In this study, Vess conducted an online survey with 56 adult participants where he examined whether they were secure or insecure about their personal relationships. The participants were split into two groups. One group was asked to recall a past romantic break-up while the other group of participants were asked to recall an event in their life that was not heavy with emotions. Finally, all of the participants were asked to rate their desirability for a variety of foods like soup, coffee, or tea which are traditionally warm as well as foods like crackers and candy bars which are traditionally neutral temperatures. The study concluded that the participants desires for traditionally neutral temperature foods, like crackers and candy bars had no affect on their thoughts regardless of whether it was about a past romantic break-up or a boring event. However, those were determined to be highly anxious and insecure about their relationships claimed to have a strong desire for traditionally warm foods like soups, coffee, and teas. Szalavitz writes, “[…] the thought of losing a love probably made the clingier folks feel colder – physically or socially or both – in need of warmth” (Szalavitz). Then, goes on to write, “Prior research has also shown that social isolation and loneliness lowers perceived temperature” (Szalavitz). A second study was done, assuming it was done by the same psychologist, Matthew Vess, where participants, who were in long-term relationships, were examined to see whether

unconscious hints on coldness would have an affect on their personal relationships. The participants were given a list words, either related to coldness or warmth, and asked to use them in sentences. Later on, the participants were questioned on whether or not they noticed if the sentences they formed mainly had to do with temperature. They did not. The results of the study showed that only the participants who had anxious attachment styles were affected by these temperature-related words. In addition, when the participants were told to think about warmth, they thought more fondly about their relationships and when participants were told to think about coldness, they expressed less satisfaction over their relationships. The researchers concluded that people who are anxiously attached use temperature as a means to cope with their anxiety, “perhaps seeking warmth to soothe themselves” (Szalavitz). In addition, the researchers said that this coping mechanism could leave people feeling vulnerable to the effects of temperature whenever they evaluate their relationships. In other words, they could potentially feel more rejected on a cold day and warmer and safer when they are with their partner in a warmer setting, like in front of a roaring fire. Each of these studies appear to have good face validity, however this does not mean that their scientific validity is up to par. Their internal validity is lacking due to the fact that the researchers lack control over their independent variables. For example, in the first experiment mentioned, you cannot control whether a person is secure or insecure about their relationships. In addition to that, there could have been other explanations as to why participants who were said to have a strong desire for warmer temperature foods like soup, coffee, and tea might just have a strong liking for warmer temperature foods, like soup, coffee, and tea. Some of the participants also could have been suffering from an illness, like the flu. Typically when people are sick, they like to eat soup. Therefore, one can not assume that because someone prefers warmer temperature foods that they are insecure about their personal relationships. Another issue with these studies is the populations. In the first study, the researchers make it unclear whether or not their sample size is random. Szalavitz mentions in the article that “[…] those who were judged to be highly anxious about their relationships […]” however, there was no previous mention of participants being separated into groups according to their levels of anxiety. It only says that 56 adults were recruited to take an online survey and then split into two groups where one group was asked to think about a past romantic break-up while the other group was asked to recall a boring event in their life. The population size in the first study is also problematic because it is too small to make a generalized claim like people who are clingy feel colder. Furthermore, later on in the article, Szalavitz makes mention of the fact that “physicalemotional connections aren’t just found in relation to temperature” (Szalavitz). The example given is that employers considered potential employees to be more worthy of respect if their resume was handed to them on a heavier clipboard, this according to “previous research” (Szalavitz). The author fails to provide any real evidence, statistics, or credible source(s) to back up this claim taking away from its credibility. There is no real validity here. All that being said, there is no real correlation between “clingy people feeling colder” (Szalavitz). These studies struggle to make a casual claims, but as we learned, we

cannot make casual claims under specific correlational and statistical designs. These studies lack validity, generalizability, and they don’t take into consideration other potential third variables that could greatly impact their experiments. All of these criterias are important when conducting research because they give your experiment more credibility, making them more believable. It isn’t enough to say, “[…] according to previous research […]” (Szalavitz). Solid, reliable, believable, and true evidence is crucial to conducting a true and proper experiment.

References Szalavitz, M. (2012) ‘Why Clingy People Feel Colder | TIME.com’, Time Magazine. TIME.com. Available at: http://healthland.time.com/2012/04/17/why-clingy people-feel-colder/ (Accessed: 12 March 2015)....