If you want to impress a would-be employer, try printing your résumé on heavier paper. That’s one conclusion from a series of experiments by MIT psychologists documenting how human feelings are altered by tactile input. In one experiment, volunteers were asked to interview job candidates; the volunteers who were given a heavy clipboard to hold viewed applicants as more serious than those who held a lighter clipboard. Similarly, when subjects were asked to envision bargaining with a car dealer, those who sat in hard wooden chairs were less likely to haggle than those sitting in comfortable chairs. The research builds on studies that have found links between touch and emotions, and helps explain the development of such metaphors as having a “rough” day or making a “weighty” decision. “These metaphors reflect a real connection between our physical and mental understanding of the world,” study author Joshua Ackerman tells Discovery News.
The Week Magazine
