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Jack Nicholson, playing the crazed caretaker in The Shining, makes me reach for a blanket. Now a study finds that people we find, well, creepy can actually make us feel colder. The research will be published in the journal Psychological Science.

Researchers interviewed 40 college undergraduates. During each interaction, the experimenter was either chummy with the student or very stiff and professional. The investigator¹ also alternated between mimicking² students’ posture—a signal of rapport—and not doing anything at all.

Participants then completed a questionnaire designed to find out how hot or cold they felt. The results showed that the subjects actually felt colder when the investigator acted inappropriately or sent mixed signals.

The researchers conjecture³ that because the brain tries to interpret social cues and purely⁴ physical ones simultaneously⁵, people unconsciously associate icy stares and chilly⁶ interactions with actual physical coldness.

So the next time you have to visit your doctor with the creepy receptionist, bring a sweater.

Thanks for the minute for Scientific American 60 Second Science, I am Amy Kraft.

chummy: quite friendly

rapport: relation marked by harmony, conformity

conjecture: a conclusion deduced by surmise or guesswork

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1 investigator
n.研究者，调查者，审查者
参考例句：
He was a special investigator for the FBI.他是联邦调查局的特别调查员。 The investigator was able to deduce the crime and find the criminal.调查者能够推出犯罪过程并锁定罪犯。

2 mimicking
v.（尤指为了逗乐而）模仿( mimic的现在分词 )；酷似
参考例句：
She's always mimicking the teachers. 她总喜欢模仿老师的言谈举止。 The boy made us all laugh by mimicking the teacher's voice. 这男孩模仿老师的声音，逗得我们大家都笑了。来自辞典例句

3 conjecture
n./v.推测，猜测
参考例句：
She felt it no use to conjecture his motives.她觉得猜想他的动机是没有用的。 This conjecture is not supported by any real evidence.这种推测未被任何确切的证据所证实。

4 purely
adv.纯粹地，完全地
参考例句：
I helped him purely and simply out of friendship.我帮他纯粹是出于友情。 This disproves the theory that children are purely imitative.这证明认为儿童只会单纯地模仿的理论是站不住脚的。

5 simultaneously
adv.同时发生地，同时进行地
参考例句：
The radar beam can track a number of targets almost simultaneously.雷达波几乎可以同时追着多个目标。 The Windows allow a computer user to execute multiple programs simultaneously.Windows允许计算机用户同时运行多个程序。

6 chilly
adj.凉快的，寒冷的
参考例句：
I feel chilly without a coat.我由于没有穿大衣而感到凉飕飕的。 I grew chilly when the fire went out.炉火熄灭后，寒气逼人。