We conducted a pilot study before our Pilot Studies 1 and 2 to ascertain that the house selected in Pilot Study 1 (and Study 1) was a neutral house in terms of communality ratings to maximize potential variability of our "warmth" effect.
Via Qualtrics ten houses were evaluated by participants. These were ten random houses gathered from realtors websites, with prices ranging from € 225.000- € 300.000, showing some general information and multiple pictures. The outcome of the pilot was reliant on the same rating scales as our final study.
In order to minimize the chances that participants in our later (pilot) studies would know the house, we selected houses from Zuid-Holland, Noord-Holland, Groningen, Limburg, Friesland, Gelderland and Zeeland, all far away from Tilburg University.