Enclothed cognition (hoodie wearing revisited)

Mine wasn't the first post in this thread to apply this research to a workplace.

But my point is that I am skeptical of the idea that clothes can have any strong impact on mental state (outside of the obvious situations of embarrassment or power).

Mental state is conscious. I might dress to impress, but it isn't the clothes that make me feel confident. My state of mind has much more to do with what I wear than my clothes have on my state of mind.

I don't believe that clothes have some mystical subconscious effect on performance or behavior. Isn't that the claim the original article is making? This is at odds with my personal experience. I think this study is flawed.

It has been my experience that the man grows into the job,
mentally, emotionally and in his sentiments.
The growth can be instantaneous, depending on the job.

When I was in practice as a trial lawyer, I dressed the part.
All of my suits were of identical architecture, so that I always knew
exactly where each article of my personal property was
( e.g., wallet, keys, credit cards, guns, Kleenex, coins ).
That comes from providing my tailor the same specifications
for all of my vested suits, in my sartorial desiderata,
but I never thawt about how I was dressed, on-the-job.
Except for variations in color, pinstripes or solid, etc.
there were NO differences in my attire on any day of the week.
I thawt about getting the job done right -- optimally,
rather than about how I was dressed.

When someone close to me became a trial judge,
putting on that black robe put him into that role 1OO%.
As entertainers say: thay "owned the room."
The concept of stage fright was entirely alien.

Its not just the clothes; its what u carry between your ears.
Knowledge of HOW best to do the job, and self confidence have something to do with it.





David

Agreeing, firefly, and thanks, Boom, for the interesting thread. I'll get my woolly blue curls together and post at some point. (Name of a plant - I like the name and like the plant).

photo from Yerba Buena Nursery -
latin name Tricostema lanatum


Why did I mention this -
clothes: sometimes woolly, can be blue: my mind flys around, ya know
thinking: mine is presently woolly, but relating to other comments; plan to post more later, after I clarify my thoughts on all this.

I see max's point - but take it differently - different people work better in different clothes.

I'm not sure on where I stand on it. As I've said, I'm trying to untangle my own thoughts. I certainly appreciate your point of view.

I'm just not so sure that my clothing isn't influenced by some motivation that I haven't' really examined. I do know that it is sometimes intentional, and sometimes counter intuitive to what the situation calls for. I'm not entirely convinced that the wardrobe I choose on any given day don't influence my mental state.

I kind of wear a "uniform" too, David.

Back in my real working days my uniform was intended to make me invisible, as invisibility benefits a photographer.

I agree that brains are what matters most.

Do you have synesthesia?

The connections you make are really fascinating!

I don't remember thinking I had it when I've read about it. Tartarin/McBeans of abuzz and a2k had it and the description didn't match for me.

The connecting word in all that was woolly, not blue, re my thinking on enclothed cognition (sort of like yours), the next word - clothes. Blue just happened to work. So do curls, as I used to have naturally curly hair. But those weren't primary - woolly was.
I just happen to be familiar with the plant, always liked the name, which popped up on the screen of my brain.

I do have a connecting kind of mind, which is either a good thing or a serious distractant. Also like word play.

I don't think this study has anything to do with dress codes, nor is it related to a workplace environment or productivity at work.

In the example you gave of the police uniform, what I'd wonder is whether the police officer is mentally or psychologically affected when they put on the uniform--do they, for instance, become more hyper-vigilant or hyper-alert than they are otherwise?

I know, from my own experience, that wearing different types of clothing does affect me psychologically--both in terms of my demeanor and my mental processes. I'm the same person whether I'm in my professional attire or my shorts and sandals, but I really feel quite different, and attend quite differently, in those different outfits---I even walk faster when I'm dressed for work, everything about me is just more focused and goal directed.

I used to own at least two coats that made me feel like a million bucks each time I wore them. I felt so self confident, and elegant, in those coats I wish I could have bottled the effect. And I think we all have, or have had, some items of clothing that just make us feel particularly good when we wear them, for one reason or another, and that positive feeling the clothing imparts likely affects us in other ways as well while we are wearing those items. If clothing can affect mood that way, why shouldn't it be able to affect other mental processes as well?

Are you sure? How can you be sure?

I'm not sure I can agree with this statement. I'm going to have to ponder this a bit.....

I can't imagine that a policeman could not feel different when in uniform. I haven't ever really known a policeman.

I have known a lot of firefighters and I know they are very different off duty than they are when they're on.

Even more, I know my brother, who is soldier. His whole being is different when he's in uniform. He's still my brother, but he's "other". I'm always surprised by it even though I understand it. He'll look at me and wink and I know he's in there but.....

I can't explain it. I've got more thinking to do.

I do agree that your mood effects your mental process. And I do think one's attire affects their mood.

There are a bunch of issues here.

I will sometimes use clothing intentionally to send a signal to people around me. If I have a hot date, I will dress nice. If I have an interview I put on a suit and tie. In both of these cases I am trying to impress other people rather than worrying about my internal mental state.

I had an intense phone interview recently that I was told would be an "hour long technical screening". I did it in my boxers and a t-shirt without having shaved. I made sure I had a good breakfast and spent time being mentally prepared. I chose to be confident and sharp during the interview in spite of the fact I was very poorly dressed (or would be for any visual contact). But since it was over the phone my physical appearance didn't matter at all. Getting dressed would have been a waste of time.

I now have a real interview scheduled with the same company. You better believe I will be shaved and dressed in my suit and tie. My mental preparation will be the same and I will choose to be just as confident and sharp. But my clothing will be for their sake, not for mine.

What matters to me is how other people see me. When other people can't see me, I don't waste time worrying about my physical appearance. It seems foolish to me that my mental state would be affected by clothing when it doesn't matter.

I see how for positions of authority, like police officer or soldier, the uniform can affect your behavior. In this case, the clothing acts as an extension of a "badge"; a symbol of authority and responsibility.

But I don't ever feel this in my profession.

I don't really care about my physical appearance either when absolutely no one can see me. But, even then, I will reach for some items of clothing, rather than others, because they are especially comfy or make me feel good in some way.

But this topic is not about how what you wear affects other people, or sends a message about you. It's about the effect of the clothing on you.

Maybe because women generally have a much wider range of options, and choices, in terms of clothing, and types, and styles, that might make us able to connect more easily with the idea of how attire influences the person wearing it. I can make myself feel more upbeat just by putting on a pair of red shoes, or by wearing any number of tops I think of as my "happy shirts"--and these things have nothing to do with with anyone but me, it's how these things make me feel.

Still thinking about this one. I read the original article too and thought it was interesting.

When I was working in a professional environment (as opposed to from home, as I do now), clothes helped me get in that mode, too. I had outfits that were not "lucky" exactly but that were my go-to outfits when I needed an extra dose of confidence. I have one steel-gray vintage (40's) silk suit (skirt and fitted short-sleeved jacket, so gorgeous) that was my battle outfit in L.A. (I think it would be overdressed for many situations here). I felt invincible in it.

But I'm not sure it's in a vacuum -- I think there was a feedback loop involved. The first time I wore it I got such reactions! Women loved it (it's an amazing, amazing suit, bought it before vintage really blew up at Goodwill for less than $20, absolutely pristine condition), men were impressed. Everyone just paid a little more attention and were a little more respectful.

So the next time I wanted to get that extra boost, I reached for the suit. And I'm sure I strode into the meeting with a little extra confidence. Which was rewarded... and on it went.

I think the feedback loop has a lot to do with it -- even in the research cited.

We know that doctors have years of education and additional training. We've all had some experience with doctors. We assume that their smart based on what we know and what we've observed and we use that "feedback" to ascribe a symbolic meaning to the coat.

If anyone's interested in the research, here is a pdf of the report as published.

http://cls.ucla.edu/doc/Enclothed_cognition.pdf

so argue with the science of it

Thanks much, ehBeth! I could only get the abstract and i really did want to read the original paper!

Thanks - now I have it waiting for me on my desktop.
Maybe I did it wrong - looks like the abstract.

Are you suggesting that I shouldn't question the claims of a single study even though the experimental method used wasn't very rigorous, the claims were overblown and the results contradict personal experience?

One of us doesn't understand how science works.