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![asch warm cold study asch warm cold study](https://econtent.hogrefe.com/cms/10.1027/1864-9335/a000179/asset/images/medium/zsp_45_3_153_tbl6a.gif)
The warm-cold assessment is the social perceiver's immediate “first-pass” as to whether the target individual (or social group) can be trusted as a friend ( 7), or at least as a “non-foe” (i.e., warm), or is instead a potential foe who might attempt to interfere with one's ongoing goal pursuits (i.e., cold). What does it mean, exactly, to perceive someone as a “warm” versus a “cold” person? According to recent theory and research in social cognition, interpersonal warmth refers to a constellation of traits related to perceived favorability of the other person's intentions toward us, including friendliness, helpfulness, and trustworthiness ( 5). 79) and make trustworthiness judgments of faces faster than for other traits, including competence ( 7). Of these two fundamental dimensions, warmth is primary, as “people are more sensitive to warmth information than to competence information” ( 5, p. Notably, the warmth and competence dimensions have been found to be the principal ones underlying every group stereotype studied across dozens of countries ( 2, 5). The warm-cold dimension has emerged as one of two main components of the first impressions (along with competence) we quickly form of other people ( 2, 5) together they account for a large proportion (82%) of the variance in people's evaluations of social behaviors ( 6).
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Ever since Solomon Asch's( 1) original demonstration of the transformational power of “warm” and “cold” as personality traits in first impressions of individuals, the concept of psychological warmth has been prominently featured in research on social perception and interpersonal liking ( 2- 4).