Aggression and ambient temperature: The facilitating and inhibiting effects of hot and cold environments

Seventy-two undergraduate males received either a very positive or very negative personal evaluation from a confederate, and were later given an opportunity to aggress against this individual by means of electric shock. Ambient temperature in the experimental sessions was held at either a relatively cold (64°F), cool (72°F), warm (85°F), or hot (93°F) level. It was predicted that as the amount of negative affect induced among subjects by the experimental conditions increased to moderate levels, aggression toward the victim would rise, but that at more extreme degrees of negative affect, the intensity of aggression would level off and begin to decline. Results were consistent with these predictions, and a significant (p <.05) curvilinear relationship was found between negative affect and aggression.