Want Serious Answers? Weigh Someone Down.

Political pollsters, take note:

Do you have a weighty matter on which you need to gauge public opinion?

Here's how to get thoughtful, carefully considered answers: Make the weighty matter actually weigh something. Put that metaphor to work.

In a study in the September issue of Psychological Science, researchers found that survey respondents gave more studied, consistent answers when they were filling out a questionnaire attached to a heavier clipboard.

Psychology researchers Nils B. Jostmann, Daniël Lakens and Thomas W. Schubert asked respondents to answer questions holding either an unweighted clipboard (1.45 lbs.) or a board that weighed in at 2.29 lbs. Not a dramatic difference -- nothing that would aggravate carpal tunnel syndrome or make a survey respondent give up. Just enough for people to take time and respond in a measured, consistent manner.

Jostmann says the participants didn't change their attitudes because the clipboard they were holding was heavier. "It's not like they became more conservative just by holding the heavier weight," he says. But they did think more thoroughly about the issues. For one series of questions on the mayor of Amsterdam and on city politics more generally, the people who held the heavier board gave answers that made more sense: Their evaluations of the mayor were more consistent with their evaluations of the city.

Where did you think that expression -- weighty matters -- came from in the first place? The work is part of a line of research in psychology called "embodiment" that explores metaphors we use in daily language. They are not, Jostmann says, just linguistic artifacts but tools to help us understand how the mind represents abstract concepts. The association of weight with importance stems from childhood experiences in which we learn that dealing with something heavy often requires more care. And, he notes, it's a metaphor that exists in many languages, including his native German.

Of course, there are exceptions to this rule. Schlepping around outdated electronics for the sheer tonnage wouldn't help anyone. "I wouldn't say we should all buy heavy laptops so we feel that our work is more important," Jostmann notes.

And he isn't sure that all pollsters going door to door should make sure their clipboards are weighed down.

"If you are interested in attitudes that are built on more elaborate thinking . . . use a heavy clipboard," he says. "If you want gut feelings, use the light one."

-- Rachel Dry