Never Mediate During a Heat Wave!
Phyllis Pollack
Commercial | Civil Mediator at PGP Mediation - specializing in Employment, Personal Injury, Real Estate, Lemon Law, and Trademark disputes and Lecturer in Law at University of Southern California's Gould School of Law
Every day we read and/or see news of how climate change has affected or is impacting our daily lives. Well- an article in Live Science suggests that heat may cause us to be more aggressive (if not sleepy!)
In an article published in early September 2023 entitled “Hot Weather Could Boost Aggression- but only in certain Conditions” by Stephanie Pappas, the author reports on a working paper that suggests that under certain conditions, people may become more aggressive when they are in a very hot room or climate but only if they are feeling marginalized. (Id.)
In a new study, the researchers recruited about 900 participants from Berkeley, California and about 1,000 participants from Nairobi, Kenya.? The volunteers were placed either in a room in which the temperature was 71.6 degrees Fahrenheit (22 degrees Celsius) or 86 F (30 C). The experiment consisted of putting these volunteers through a battery of decision-making and cognitive tests. (Id.)
Comparing how the two groups (ones in the cooler room with the ones in the hotter room) performed, the researchers found that there were not many differences. As one might suspect, those in the hotter room complained of being sleepy but their decision-making abilities were not affected by the heat. (Id.)
However, the researchers did find that in Nairobi where the room was hot, the participants “…were more ruthless.” (Id.) That is, they were more aggressive. The researchers on closer investigation found that this ruthlessness was actually caused by the participants who were part of an ethnic group being marginalized during a hotly contested ongoing election in Kenya. (Id.)
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In follow-up research in which participants in Berkeley were kept in 86 F rooms for two hours rather than one hour, the researchers noted that while there was not a huge decline in one’s cognitive abilities, there was some decline in certain kinds of reasoning and in overriding one’s gut impulses. (Id.)
So, while heat may not have a great impact on a party’s behavior, it is definitely something to consider when considering the location of a mediation or negotiation. At worst, if stuck in a hot room, the participant may either become aggressive or sleepy. Neither may result in reaching a resolution.
…. Just something to think about.