I read this article in the paper this morning. It was a reprint from the New York Times and the headline was Study: Clothing affects thought processes. Basically what the article was about was that we think with our bodies and not just our brains.
It seems that in a study when the participants wore a white coat they thought belonged to a doctor, their ability to pay attention was sharply increased. But if they wore the same white coat and thought it belonged to a house painter, there was no change in their ability to pay attention. Imagine that, their thought processes were affected by their perception of what they were wearing. Put on a costume and become the character, really.
The scientists call it enclothed cognition which means the effects of clothes on cognitive processes. In other words, this isn’t about a new dress making you feel differently; it’s about a new dress making you think differently.
It certainly opens a whole can of worms about dress codes. Is the behavior of those boys with gangster outfits of baggy pants and hoodies and weirdly situated baseball caps affected by their clothes? Would they be different kinds of students if they wore preppy outfits of khaki pants and oxford cloth shirts? What about the girls in tube tops and mini skirts? I know my usual reaction is what are they thinking in choosing those outfits. Now I really wonder how are they thinking because of their outfits.
The article also talked about how other people perceive someone based on their clothes. For example women who dressed in masculine fashions for job interviews were more likely to get hired. And teaching assistants who dressed more formally were perceived as more intelligent than ones who dressed casually.
But the study changes why that might be true. Maybe the women dressed in masculine fashions are affected by their clothes and actually do a better job. Maybe the teaching assistants are smarter in more business like attire.
Now I’m beginning to imagine a whole line of clothes that are designed to alter you. Kind of like a big game of dress up. Dress like a geek when you’re taking a test and you’ll actually do better. Or wear a copy of that white dress that belonged to Marilyn Monroe in The Seven Year Itch and you’ll not only feel seductive and glamourous, but actually think that way.
That study certainly gives me a new take on those old phrases about clothes making the man and putting on your thinking cap? It also makes me wonder about all the little girls I see at Disneyland dressed as Cinderlla, Snow White or Tinkerbell.
Any thoughts?
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16 comments:
Set up a study to prove something and you will.
We got a new colleague about a year ago. Her dress code is very formal, but very feminine, too. Everyone who meets her at first is convinced that she's just the best business partner they could have. Males, that is. Women aren't taken in by her clothing. Actually it's the other way around. They'd think that her clothing hides her incompetence. They are right. I never met anyone less competent for the job she had been hired for. Usually men take a few weeks longer to figure that out.
If you belong to a re-enactment group (the Society for Creative Anachronism, buckskinners, or Civil War) you know clothes change your personality.
In regular society, peculiar clothes spawn peculiar looks, which can in turn spawn paranoia or various other unpleasantnesses. Whether the clothes cause changed personality and behavior, societal reaction does it, or the desire to show you aren't one of them -- it's a chicken-and-egg problem. I vote for the egg, myself.
Very interesting Betty! This explains why I think/write better after a daily shower! Good natural remedy!
Anonymous, it sounds like your co workers clothes are affecting the brains of those around her.
Ellen, I personally think that the way you feel is connected to how you think.
Chrystle, I remember reading somewhere that a shower refreshes your aura.
Anonymous, I don't believe women take one look at the well-dressed colleague and think, "She's a fake!" Surely they quickly look beyond the outfits to her performance, perhaps more quickly than the men.
This is an interesting post, and I think it makes some valid and important points.
Very interesting, Betty. I think there's a lot to the "dress for the job you want" philosophy, and personally, I know I do better when I think my clothes are right for the appearance or task.
Hi Betty - I like the idea that a shower refreshes your aura. Thanks for sharing!
Monica, I agree that women would look beyond a collegues clothes, directly at her performance.
Camille, it is interesting to think about the concept of dressing for the job you want in light of this study. Maybe by dressing the part, you actually do start thinking like it.
Chyrstle, I thought the idea of refreshing your aura with a shower was a pretty neat concept, too.
Fascinating! I love your idea of creating a line of clothing to truly create the "you" that you want to be. You have something there!
So, Betty, did Adele participate in this study?
Interesting, Betty. We try to make our characters wear clothes that help to show who they are--and apparently we can do that for ourselves, too!
Planner, I am sure Adele would have a lot to say about the study. I was thinking last night about how I could incorporate it in my next book.
Linda, finding a style for our characters does say a lot about who they are.
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