The way you dress reflects your character, personality, style, mood, and ultimately how you think and behave. Since these factors all impact your health and wellbeing, your clothing is far more important than many people would have you believe. Your appearance also determines how others respond to you, which has a huge effect on your confidence, self-esteem, and personal poise. The social psychology of dress carries such importance that it has even been named Enclothed Cognition, and there’s a video about it on YouTube.
Here’s how styling keeps you smiling, and why it matters.
Intellectual Performance
Research published in the Journal of Social Psychological and Personality Science showed people who were dressed formally performed better in intellectual tests than those dressed casually. They showed a particular increase in creative and organizational abilities, proving that creativity and innovation are impacted by so-called “power dressing.” Wearing this type of clothing improves mental health, makes people feel more confident, and increases the hormones needed to display dominance. This, in turn, helps them to be better negotiators and abstract thinkers.
Communication Success
Our ability to communicate successfully also depends on how we feel about ourselves and the image we present. A study reported in the Journal of Experimental Psychology showed that people who wore business suits in negotiation meetings were better able to assert dominance over the person they were negotiating with. Those who dressed informally in sweatpants had lower testosterone levels and scored lower in persuasion skills.
Social Psychology
While power clothing helps us perform work-related tasks better, casual clothing allows us to relax and socialize more freely. For example, casual Fridays encourage workers to be more friendly and creative, take time out, and let their hair down on the last day of the week. In the same way, donning gym clothes increases the wearer’s levels of activity, even on a regular day. By cutting out the step of getting changed for exercise, it encourages many people to become more proactive about their health and wellbeing. It can help motivate you to actually go to the gym and do the exercises, and we all know how beneficial regular exercise is for good physical health.
Concentration Ability
Scientists dressed two groups of people in identical white clothing. They told one group they were wearing painters’ smocks, while the other group was told they were wearing doctors’ coats. The second group showed significantly better concentration and achieved better results in tasks that demanded their attention.
Color Cohesion
The color of your clothing not only improves your mental health but also influences your physical performance. Two research studies showed weightlifters wearing red outfits performed better than those wearing blue. In addition, the participants wearing red had a higher heart rate during training than those in blue and were more aggressive during combat practice. However, they didn’t appear to win any more victories as a result.
Surprisingly, even underwear has a psychological effect. Hidden items like color-coded socks or sexy underwear can improve your self-perception and boost your confidence, and it’s a well-known fact that good mental health benefits your overall health. If you aren’t sure where to start, try emulating the dress code of someone you consider intelligent and influential. You’ll find it helps you start living your best life by bringing your A-game to your work, social and personal activities. Changes to your style of dress does not have to be expensive. Kitty Ault, in Santa Fe, NM works with her clients locally and nationally to help them dress more confidently and efficiently. She helps you to “brand your professional and personal image and allowing one’s lifestyle to be authentic and complimentary to who you are!” For more information, https://kastylesantafe.com/.
For more information on ways to support your mental and physical health and wellbeing, please click here or schedule a time to chat with me.