A Hard Chair Equals a Hard Heart

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Want to talk tough? Sit on an uncomfortable chair - for the texture of objects around us affects our behaviour

THE NEXT time you are sitting in a car dealership negotiating a purchase, make sure you are sitting on a hard chair - you will drive a harder bargain.

Psychologists have found that the texture and feel of objects around us, even those we are sitting on, can affect the way we think and behave.

In an experiment in which volunteers engaged in mock haggling over the price of a car, those sitting in hard, cushionless chairs were tougher negotiators than those in soft, comfortable ones.

"It is behavioural priming through the seat of the pants," …