Woo! I feel good! Do you ? Nothing makes me feel better then throwing on my best outfit and stepping out like DANG! I look good. Let’s get serious now… can clothes affect our cognitive ability? can it improve how we perform on task?

Well , well, well, have the no fear. The answers to all your questions are here, and it’s called Enclothed cognition:the systematic influence that clothes have on the wearer’s psychological processes. To make it simple the term describes the emotions a person feels when their wearing certain items of clothing. It is scientifically proven that clothing not only affects how others perceive us but how we perceive ourselves. Researchers from Northwestern University, Hago Adam and Adam Galinsky, conducted  two experiments, in which they tested the affects of wearing a doctor’s lab coat versus a painters lab coat versus no lab coat

In the first experiment that Adam and Galinsky conducted there were 58 undergraduates (41 females , 19 males) the age average was 20.29 years. “They were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: wearing a lab coat vs. not wearing a lab coat.” As Andrew mentioned in class the x-variable is the predictor or independent variable, so in this case that would be the lab coat. Anyways, The task participants were asked to perform is called the  Stroop task. Stroop effect (which it’s often referred to as) is defined as: “an outcome of our mental (attentional) vitality and flexibility. The effect is related to the ability of most people to read words more quickly and automatically than they can name colors. If a word is displayed in a color different from the color it actually names So the participants were directed to perform this task as quickly and as accurately as they could. There were 50 trials. The scientist measured whether the participant indicated the right color as well as the length of time they took to complete the trial. The results are shown on the graph below:

The result showed: Participants in the wearing-a-lab-coat condition made around half as many errors as participants in the not-wearing-a-lab-coat condition.

Experiment 2: The importance of symbolic meaning. The goal of experiment two is to show that both wearing the clothes and knowing the symbolic meaning are two components thats are necessary in order for enclothed cognition to occur. To test this  the scientist again manipulated the predictor which was the lab coat by either associating  it with medical doctors or painters.

For this experiment they got seventy-four undergrad students .  They were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: wearing a doctor’s coat vs. wearing a painters coat .

In order to test these conditions the participants were asked to perform a task. The task was kind of like an i-spy game. Participants had to look at a side by side of a picture and quickly spot and write down the difference between the two pictures. They were told that their were four differences in the pictures. The scientist measured the number of different participants found as well as the time it took them to complete the task.

Results are in!! In the case of the symbolic meaning of the lab coat being essential. Scientist found DING! DING! DING! Their hypothesis is consistent with the results. “Participants in the wearing-a-doctor’s-coat condition found more differences than participants in the wearing-a-painter’s-coat condition. Due to heightened attentiveness while wearing the doctors lab coat.

So, now you know what you wear can affect how well you perform. My advice dress the part at all times and your performance will match it !