Abstract
Beyond breathing, the regulation of body temperature — thermoregulation — is one of the most pressing concerns for many animals. A dysregulated body temperature has dire consequences for survival and development. Despite the high frequency of social thermoregulation occurring across many species, little is known about the role of social thermoregulation in human (social) psychological functioning. We outline a theory of social thermoregulation and reconsider earlier research on people’s expectations of their social world (i.e., attachment) and their prediction of the social world. We provide support and outline a research agenda that includes consequences for individual variation in self-regulatory strategies and capabilities. In our paper, we discuss physiological, neural, and social processes surrounding thermoregulation. Emphasizing social thermoregulation in particular, we appeal to the economy of action principle and the hierarchical organization of human thermoregulatory systems. We close with future directions of a crucial aspect of human functioning: The social regulation of body temperature.
Highlights
Beyond breathing, thermoregulation—the regulation of body temperature—is the most immediate problem for many animals
We propose social thermoregulation to be a key feature of social life, and many existing findings can be interpreted in light of our framework
In subsequent sections we review how these systems and processes interact with others known to be involved in social contact and social regulation, as well as some conjectures about how the brain may be designed to minimize its own bioenergetic expenditures in maintaining desirable core body temperatures through proximity to reliable social resources
Summary
Thermoregulation—the regulation of body temperature—is the most immediate problem for many animals. Some empirical support reveals that social thermoregulation has broader consequences for social cognition, such as attachment (mental models of self and others), emotional functioning, and the degree to which people possess the capacity to self-regulate (consciously or not; cf Holt-Lunstad et al, 2008). We will discuss these higher order social cognitions in more detail at the end of this review.. Cognition still remain informed conjecture, but we set an agenda to investigate these important links
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