Ceiling – plaster boarding an existing ceiling and locating pipes and electrics

I find that it's best to attach 1x3 furring strips across the joists. It's worth the extra cost. The 1x3 will give you 1.25 inches of screwing space, so you don't have to be quite as accurate with your cuts. Glue is not needed, but will reduce screw pops by making the assembly more 'solid'. I always use adhesive when I can (when there is no vapor barrier or insulation covering the wood).

Just because you can't see the joists doesn't mean you cannot use your beam approach for exposed rafters. The structure is essentially the same, except for a thin layer of sheetrock between the two, which has little impact on the forces involved. The best thing to do is distribute any concentrated load over multiple connections. Use a flat 2x4, or better yet 2x6 that's long enough to span 4 joists, about 4 to 6 feet. Place the chair connection at the center using a large through eye bolt, using an over sized washer to spread the load into the wood. The nut and bolt end will end up punching into the ceiling, but that's OK. Holes are easy to patch if the beam is ever removed, otherwise, it doesn't show anyway.

Attach the 2x beam to each joist with two 1/4" dia. lag screws. Use a screw long enough to penetrate 2 inches into the joist material, probably 4 inches. Drill a 5/32 inch pilot hole before placing each lag to prevent splitting the joist. The resulting 8 screws is more than adequate to support any adult and will not significantly weaken the joists.