Although the relationship between temperature and emotional states has been investigated in the field of haptics, it remains unknown if, or in what direction, temperature affects emotional states. We approach this question at the intersection of haptics and psychology using a custom-built thermal device and emotional responses based on photos from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS) library. Unlike past research, this study incorporates deception and a control (i.e., neutral temperature) condition. One hundred and twenty naive subjects reported their emotional responses to fifty-six images varying on normative arousal and valence ratings while being exposed to a cool~(30{\deg}C), neutral (33{\deg}C), or warm (36{\deg}C) temperature applied to the upper back. Participants exposed to warm temperatures reported higher arousal ratings in some image categories than participants exposed to neutral or cool temperatures. Valence ratings were decreased in warm conditions compared to neutral conditions. The emotion wheel was used as a complementary method of affective response measurement, and exploratory analysis methods were implemented. Although the valence and arousal showed statistical significance, the emotion wheel results did not demonstrate any significant differences between the temperature conditions.

翻译：尽管触觉领域已对温度与情绪状态之间的关系进行了研究，但温度是否影响情绪状态及影响方向尚不明确。本研究在触觉与心理学交叉领域，通过定制热刺激装置，并基于国际情感图片系统（IAPS）库中的照片诱发情绪反应来探讨该问题。与过往研究不同，本研究引入了欺骗实验设计及控制条件（即中性温度）。120名未受过训练的受试者在上背部接受冷（30℃）、中性（33℃）或暖（36℃）温度刺激时，报告了对56张在规范唤起度和效价评级上存在差异的图片的情绪反应。暴露于暖温度下的受试者在某些图片类别中的唤起度评级高于中性或冷温度条件下的受试者。相较于中性温度，暖温度条件下的效价评级有所降低。本研究采用情绪轮作为情感反应测量的补充方法，并实施了探索性分析方法。尽管效价和唤起度表现出统计学显著性，但情绪轮结果未显示不同温度条件之间存在任何显著差异。