A research conducted by a team of psychologists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University and Yale University has come out with an interesting finding that people who sit in soft, cushioned chairs are more willing to negotiate and compromise than those seated in hard, cushion-less and uncomfortable chairs.

The study goes on to suggest that the overall thought process, behaviour and the perception of the surroundings of these people often do not conform to the ground realities. These people are so obsessed with their own gains and achievements that they often are not influenced by the people’s sensibility. This finding significantly suits the Indian scenario. The planners and decision makers sitting in their cosy chambers utterly fail to understand the needs of the people, they are not influenced by sensations of touch. The reason is they are not willing to deal with hard issues and realities. That is the reason why their decisions and perceptions are at variance with the needs and requirements of the common people. The lead author of the study, Mr Joshua Ackerman, assistant professor may not be wrong in his assertion: "Touch shapes both the impressions we form about other people and the decisions that we make". Unless the decision maker or the planner touches the issue he would not succeed in evaluating the ground realities and find a right approach. The study also underlined that the participants sitting on hard chairs were found to be less flexible to negotiation than those sitting in cushioned chairs. Obviously it implied that a hard touch would produce strictness in a person, while a soft touch can make him tender. India too needs administrators who sit in hard chairs and not those who remain confined to cosy chambers.