Is Extreme Heat Correlated to Human Behavior?
(Lucy Billadeau)
Photo source: link
As you may have noticed, climate change is a thing and if you haven’t, then please, snap out of your illusion and into reality. It’s a problem that doesn’t just affect the earth we live on or the species that surround us, but data and studies have shown that the increased heat caused by climate change has a detrimental effect on human behavior. In short, heat tends to induce negative emotions such as irritability, aggression, and violence because human bodies are not fabricated to endure temperatures above 95 degrees. Although our bodies automatically activate homeostasis, ideally, we wouldn’t need to use it as often to acclimate to such high heats.
Original article source: link
3 Questions:
After reading this summary, how do you think we could combat this distorted behavior caused by high temperatures in low-income communities?
How do you think this affects jobs/the workplace/factory work/etc?
Do you notice a difference in yourself or others when experiencing exceptional heat?
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHi Lucy!
ReplyDeleteAfter heavily considering the solution to increasing heat, I have deemed that there is no convenient, one-solution, easy-fix answer to the issue. The increasing temperature is caused by climate change. One way to combat this would be to use excessive air conditioning, which many people don't have access to. However, this would also increase greenhouse gas emission rates, which would create a cycle of continued climate change and increasing temperatures. Even switching to modern technology to combat climate change, such as electric cars or solar panels, still involve a greenhouse gas, not necessarily carbon dioxide, footprint in the way that they are processed or used. However, I do think that whatever solution we do come with to combat increasing temperatures and climate change must involve an significant international community.
- Rachel
Hey Lucy,
ReplyDeleteI agree with Rachel in saying that there is no solid solution to this problem. We cannot simply eliminate climate change though we can do our best to slow is down or reduce it. This would affect jobs through the human behavioral changes that you had mentioned, where an increase in heat has a direct relationship with agitation or irritation.
I do notice a difference in myself when I am overcome by heat, and it can even be the smallest things. For example, when I wear clothes that came straight out of the dryer and the fabric is hot, I am overcome with the feeling of being overwhelmed.
-Niveta
Hi Lucy!
ReplyDeleteAfter reading your summary and thinking this over, I'm not really sure if there is any way to combat distorted behavior caused by high temperatures. Because we can't control temperature(aside from air conditioning/heating), I don't know of any other ways to fix this issue.
I think this is definitely a common issue. People working outside in hot temperatures most likely have more difficult times finding joy in their jobs and it may be harder to get work done in certain conditions.
I definitely get more irritated in the heat, especially in the summer when I'm running outside for cross country!
- Tali
I believe that Global warming is affecting the factories and other jobs by further restricting them. In order to prevent increased global warming rates many companies are being mandated to follow strict guidelines in regards to burning fossil fuels and releasing an abundance of greenhouse gases. This hopefully will help reduce the speed at which global warming is occurring. Whenever I am experiencing exceptional heat I do believe that I get irritated more easily.
ReplyDelete-Aditya
Hey Lucy!
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the summary of your article, I think that global warming has many deeper roots into society than we all realize. The effect that it has on jobs and the workplace such as factories seems to be extremely negative. The increasing heat will only make working conditions harder and I think we can expect to see a decrease in production if we don't get a handle on it soon.
- Jesse D.
Hey! Firstly I'd like to say that I've never considered the behavioral impact of global warming, but now that you have brought light to this it is definitely something that is to be considered. How to approach this problem is not as clear cut as many people have commented. Installing more air conditioning systems may be a possibility for some, but for many communities across the world this is simply not a economically wise choice. If anything I think your post highlights socioeconomic differences and just how privileged some communities are in that they can easily acclimate to situations like you mentioned.
ReplyDelete- Lucky Payala
DeleteIniya Swaminathan
ReplyDelete(these are comments from the class discussion)
It is actually really interesting that you found this article because I relate a lot to this! I prefer colder temperatures, or days when the sun isn't out. I always tend to get cranky and tired and I will just be in a bad mood when the temperature is too hot. I actually did a little experiment during my cross country practices. Towards the beginning of the year, we used to run about 3.5 miles everyday. Since it was closer to summer, the temperatures would usually be above 70, sometimes even reaching close to 90. And usually when the temperature is this hot, and there are no clouds, I feel super tired while running. I would usually need a break or need to stop within a mile or two in. But, one day, we had to run 3.5 miles on a colder day. It was cloudy, a bit breezy, and on the verge of raining. I was able to run the entire distance without stopping! And I run the same "course" each time, so things were pretty constant.
It is really fascinating to also hear about the correlation mentally. Hot weathers impact humans physically and emotionally!
We could combat behavioral issues in low-income communities caused by high temperatures by creating more green spaces, better insulating buildings with A/C and overall reducing carbon emissions to slow the heating of the earth. This affects the workplace by creating more anger and lower productivity in workers. I definitely notice a difference in myself when it is extremely hot; I feel sluggish, sticky and less physically active.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I do consider myself to have a fairly high heat tolerance, I do notice a change in my own behavior at high temperatures. When my body is performing actions as part of homeostasis, such as sweating, I have noticed a drain in energy that may lead to irritability or slower thought. Thus through my personal experience with heat, I can recognize the importance of battling it through eco-friendly temperature-regulation, as to not worsen our effect on climate change, to create environments in which people can operate more efficiently.
ReplyDelete-Embry Rickman
I think I am in agreement in many of the comments here. There is no one solution and the situation is much more complex than we realize, meaning that we can not longer put a band-aid on the issue and call it a day. There are things that we can do to make the situation better and I think this really ties into climate change. If we do not take action we will face more negative consequences like in the work pace.
ReplyDeleteAadhya Subhash
Hi Lucy!
ReplyDeleteI definitely experience a change in myself when experiencing exceptional heat. I've always wondered as to why but never dug deep into it until your presentation so this was really interesting for me! When I am in hot places, my mood significantly changes from happy to not so happy anymore. I also get lazier and don't have motivation to do anything productive. However, when I am in cool places, my mood improves a lot for no reason and I feel like conquering a lot on that day. - Ananya Senthilnathan