It’s often been said that you are what you wear. The style, colour, shape,
and texture of clothes are said to determine personality traits. But do they?
Does your mood determine what you wear or do the clothes determine the mood –
and therefore affect your personality? Can wearing a particular colour make you
look smarter or even make you smarter?
Can colour psychology determine personality traits or make you smarter – i.e.
more intelligent?
Psychologists believe that people sum up your character and personality in
a matter of seconds just by looking at your clothes. This is called ‘thin
slicing.’ It’s called thin slicing because it’s a small window of time – from
seconds up to five minutes – where everything from your age, gender,
intelligence, status, sexual orientation, political affiliation, occupation, mood,
creativity, and more are determined and judged.
A Canadian study found that 90% of consumers’ first impressions are based
on colour. For example, lighter tones suggest friendliness and darker tones
suggest authority. Red evokes strong emotions, passion, and intensity, or even
aggression. A study in Biology Letters
documented that male athletes who wear red can inspire aggression and
competition, and a study from the University of Rochester in America found
waitresses who wore red lipstick received greater tips than waitresses who wore
no lipstick. Blue suggests knowledge, power, integrity, and seriousness, as
well as calmness and creativity.
Business Insider reviewed several studies on first impressions. The quality and cut of your
clothes can communicate your status and level of intelligence. For example,
people wearing brand clothes of well-known fashion designers or companies are
perceived as higher status than people wearing conventional or generic brands.
People who have their clothes custom tailored are considered to be more
successful than those who wear clothes that aren’t as tailored to their shape
and size.
A study in the Journal of Social
Psychology & Personality Science found that people in formal cothes
think more abstractly and experience more feelings of power – thus the ‘power
suit’ was born. Abstract thinkers are better able to solve problems, analyze
and evaluate complex subjects and theories, and understand relationships
between verbal and non-verbal ideas. Abstract thinkers make challenging tasks
seem easier, generate insight, gain emotional control and boost creativity.
Does this mean that putting on a suit can change the way you think? Harvard
University psychologists think formal is not always best – jeans and T-shirt
worn at formal occasions can often be perceived as a sign of non-conformity,
wealth, and celebrity.
Some psychologists think that we become what we wear. Psychology Today reported research from Adam Galinski – who coined
the phrase ‘enclothed cognition’ – where a person wearing a white coat can
improve their mental agility. This is also mentioned in Karen Pine’s book, Mind What You Wear: The Psychology of
Fashion. For example, the white coat that doctors and scientists wear
primes the wearers’ brains ‘to take on the sharper mental capacities they
associated with being a doctor.’ So if you want to feel more mentally alert and
smarter, wear a white doctor’s coat!
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