Lawrence Williams, an assistant professor at CU - Boulder conducted a fascinating experiement where he found a connection between physical warmth and warm feelings towards others. Basically, he read a scenario about an individual to subjects and asked them to rate how likable the individual was. During this experiement, he was shifting some things he was holding and asked the subject to hold his cup of coffee for a few seconds. The ratings of likeability differed based on whether the coffee was hot or cold - those getting a warm cup rated the individual as warm and likeable and those holding the cold cup rated him as less likeable.
Our reaction may be based on biological responses - we trust those who are warm and physically connected to us and like them more (like our moms and dads). This is a very simple, but powerful, priming effect that can be used to your advantage in the workplace. For example, giving warm, and hearty, handshakes are usually associated with liked individuals. Or, having meetings over a cup of coffee (hot!) can produce positive feelings and associations.
You can find the original article in Science (2008):
Williams and Bargh
"Experiencing Physical Warmth Promotes Interpersonal Warmth"
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/sci;322/5901/606
