The effect of wind on the behavior of living organisms is difficult to describe. At low temperatures its noxious qualities cause sled dogs to roll up in a ball, domestic and wild animals alike to seek shelter, and men to raise their coat collars and turn their backs in the direction from which the wind is blowing. In summer, high winds signalling the approach of a thunderstorm send birds and farm animals into hiding. And even before the cooling effects of high-velocity air are felt under automobile airconditioning, a universal practice of reducing the blower speed is observed.

From empirical studies with animals, it has been hypothesized that all winds of 880 ft/ min (10 mph) are unpleasant regardless of temperature and that winds of 440 ft/min (5 mph) and less have a differential affectivity in that they are unpleasant at high and low temperatures and pleasant under comfortable or moderate thermal conditions. The test of this hypothesis has been conducted with non-human primates; however, its support from human subjects has only been conjectured (1,2,3). Thus, the purpose of this study was to determine the affectivity or thermal sensations of sedentary human subjects when exposed to various conditions of air movement at different ambient temperatures.