This is the fifth in a series of posts reviewing last year’s stories, according to theme and topic. These are my favourites from a year of psychological research – quirky yet potentially important results that tell us about how susceptible our minds can be to small influences.

The properties we feel through touch – texture, hardness, weight – can all influence the way we think. Weight is linked to importance, so that people carrying heavy objects deem interview candidates as more serious and social problems as more pressing. Texture is linked to difficulty and harshness. Touching rough sandpaper makes social interactions seem more adversarial, while smooth wood makes them seem friendlier. Hardness is associated with rigidity and stability. When sitting on