FEELING HOT BUT ACCEPTING IT: RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THERMAL PERCEPTION-ACCEPTANCE DISCREPANCY & PHYSICAL SYMPTOMS

Sep 28, 2026

Uploaded by Logic

Increasing hot-weather severity is treated as an emerging public health threat, particularly for older adults. Prior work highlights harmful effects of high temperatures, yet it remains unclear whether subjective thermal perception predicts physical well-being beyond objective temperature, and whether the mismatch between thermal perception and thermal acceptance adds further explanatory value. A time-sampling study in Hong Kong (May–September 2021–2022) assessed symptoms, perception, and acceptance repeatedly while sensors measured immediate ambient temperature. Multilevel models show distinct predictions from perception, acceptance, and their discrepancy after controlling for objective temperature.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages1

Reading Time3 min

AccessFree to download

Background

Methods

Participants and setting

Measurements and sampling design

Results

Predictive effects on physical symptoms

Factors shaping the discrepancy

Implications

FAQs

What does the study investigate about thermal perception and physical well-being?

It examines whether thermal perception predicts physical symptoms beyond objective temperature, and whether the discrepancy between thermal perception and thermal acceptance provides additional predictive value.

How was the time-sampling study conducted and what data were collected?

Participants aged 60+ in Hong Kong reported physical symptoms, thermal perception, and thermal acceptance three times daily across ten days during May–September 2021–2022, while sensors tracked the instantaneous surrounding temperature.

What did multilevel models show regarding perception-acceptance discrepancy?

Thermal perception, thermal acceptance, and the perception-acceptance discrepancy each predicted physical symptoms after controlling for objective temperature, and a larger discrepancy increased the likelihood of reporting symptoms.

Sep 28, 2026

Uploaded by Logic