Wobbly Chair

A wobbly chair is more than just annoying. Believe it or not, it can influence your values, or beliefs about others. Past studies have shown a [link:linkage] between physical objects and our emotions. Carry a cold drink at a party and you're likely to consider other guests cold and off-putting. Hold a warm drink, and you tend to [perceive:notice] those same people as warm and welcoming. In a new study, subjects sat either on wobbly chairs or stable chairs. While seated, they were asked to [gauge:nudge] the stability of several clarity celebrity relationships, for example, Jay-Z and Beyonce. Subjects in wobbly chairs judged the celebs to be more likely to break apart, while those who sat on a solid chair felt the [celebrity:clarity] relationships were also solid and more likely to remain intact. The study is in the journal Psychological Science. The participants were also asked to prioritize what traits they admire in a romantic partner - things like being trustworthy, reliable or adventurous.