Our appearance affects not only how others at work perceive us, but how we perceive ourselves. This means that the way we look and carry ourselves has an external as well as internal effect. But what if, what we wear at work could change the way we think and so too, our work performance?
Whether we like it or not, appearance is the first thing people notice when meeting someone new. In as little as 30 seconds your prospective employer or prospective business partner makes assumptions about your education, success, personality, sophistication, trustworthiness, sense of humour and social heritage. That is not even enough time to warm your milk in the microwave, let alone enough time for someone to get to know you.
Although, it does provide sufficient time for them to scan over your outfit and reach a conclusion. Many opportunities are lost on the basis of first impressions. Those first few moments set the stage for the rest of your interaction or progress in a company. So how do we regain them? Unfortunately we cannot retrieve time spent, but we can take the necessary precautions to avoid missing future job opportunities.
Thankfully, we can control the way we portray ourselves. That is, in terms of the clothes we wear at work, grooming and nonverbal communication. Through a combination of these elements we can carefully craft the exact image we want others to see and the image we ourselves, want to be. In her book, Dr. Baumgartner, psychologist and author of You Are What You Wear, she explains why work clothes are a link between our internal and external selves. She continues to explain that only once this connection is fully understood, can we begin to improve our whole person.
You Are What You Wear touches on the psychological motives behind the clothes we wear at work and how we can heal through a change of wardrobe and outlook. However, Professor Adam D. Galinsky from the Kelogg School of Management at North-western University, wanted to take this notion further by conducting a scientific study. The study was conducted in the quest to find out whether work clothes alter the way in which we interact with the world. In other words, whether the garments we wear could not only change our perception, but improve our cognitive processes as well.
Prof. Galinsky conducted a scientific experiment in which he divided students into three separate groups and had them complete a series of tests. The first group wore lab coats described to them as a doctor’s coats while completing the tests. The second group wore lab coats described to them as painter’s coats while completing the tests and the third group did not wear the lab coats, but looked up at them hanging in front of them while completing the tests. Prof. Galinsky repeated the experiment with different students each time.
The results revealed that the groups who wore lab coats described to them as doctor’s coats had the highest results in the test scores. Whereas the groups who wore lab coats described as painter’s coats and the groups who just looked up at the lab coats’ results were remarkably lower. Subsequently, the phenomenon enclothed cognition was born. Prof. Galinsky concluded that enclothed cognition involves the co-occurrence of two independent factors, namely the symbolic meaning (I.e the association) of the garment and the physical experience of wearing it.
So does this mean we should go to an interview or business meeting in a doctor’s coat? Preferably not. It does however support the expression of dressing for the job you want and not dressing for the job you have. Consider how you portray yourself at work and maintain your appearance, it might be a while until science goes out of fashion.
