Enclothed Cognition happens when clothes change how you feel and act.
Origin Of Enclothed Cognition
The Journal Of Experimental Social Psychology first published the enclothed cognition phenomenon in its February, 2012 publication. Researchers began studying test subjects wearing lab coats with no professions attached. The results showed that the test subjects’ attention increased. Next, they studied the test subjects wearing lab coats associated with professions: painter or doctor. The results showed that when the test subjects wore painter lab coats, there was no difference in attention. However, when the test subjects wore doctor lab coats their attention increased.
Additional Research
In a study published in August, 2013 named City Employee Perceptions of the Impact of Dress and Appearance: You Are What You Wear, researchers studied the impact of clothes (casual vs business casual vs business formal) on city employees. They specifically look at:
- Creativity
- Productivity
- Trustworthiness
- Authority
- Friendliness
- Confidence
They concluded “You are what you wear.” Test subjects felt more confidence and authority when wearing either formal business or business casual, more trustworthy and productive when wearing business casual, and least friendly and creative when wearing formal business attire.
Next, a study published in the December, 2014 issue of Journal of Experimental Psychology: General concluded wearing informal clothes could hurt negotiations. Men wore either suits or sweats. The men played a game which they had to negotiate on a one-on-one basis. The men who wore the suits negotiated more profitable deals than the other group.
Finally, a study published in August, 2015, called The Cognitive Consequences of Formal Clothing found wearing formal work clothes increases enclothed cognition. It concluded that clothes change abstract thinking which suggested a correlation between the subjects’ feeling of power and wearing formal work clothes.
Test it for yourself. When you wear clothes that reflect your Body Elements, how do you feel? Do you feel like you can take steps toward your passions, create impact and make the world a better place to live?