Content uploaded by Sharron J. Lennon
Author content
All content in this area was uploaded by Sharron J. Lennon on Mar 15, 2014
Content may be subject to copyright.
Influence of Age, Body Type, Fashion, and Garment Type on Women's Professional Image
Abstract
The purpose of this research was to extend implicit personality theory in an attempt to explain further the inferred relationship between a person's physical characteristics and personal traits. Specifically, this study examined business and professional men's and women's perceptions of the professional image of women as a function of the women's physical characteristics, the type of garment worn, and the fashion detail of the garment. Participants (N = 207) viewed six black-and-white photographs of females wearing either suits or dresses. Re sponses to six 7-point, unipolar adjective checklists were then summed to obtain a score indicating the degree of professional image perceived. A 3 (age of model) × 3 (body type of model) × 3 (fashion detail) incomplete randomized block design was used. Men's and women's responses to models in suits and dresses were analyzed separately using analysis of variance. Results indicate that (a) suits convey a stronger professional image than dresses for women of any age or body type; (b) when judged by business and professional men, older women convey a stronger professional image than younger women when wearing dresses; (c) gar ments with innovative fashion detail contribute to a weaker professional image than garments with contemporary or classic fashion detail; and (d) thin women convey a stronger professional image than larger women.
... Clothing is an important vehicle that an individual uses to provide himself or herself with symbolic meaning and to create non-verbal communication between wearers and viewers (Johnson, 2005(Johnson, , 2013Kwon, 1994;Thurston, Lennon, & Clayton, 1990). The color of clothing plays an important role in the formation of the symbolic meaning and has a considerable impact on self-perceptions of the wearer (Gundersen, 1978;Johnson, 2005Johnson, , 2013. ...
... Past research supports that clothing affects occupational self-perception with respect to such traits as responsibility, competence, trustworthiness, professionalism, and efficiency (e.g., Kwon, 1994;Thurston et al., 1990). Based on these notions, the current study evaluates how such attitudes of self-perception relate to consistent HVSA use. ...
The purpose of this study is to investigate how law enforcement officers’ attitudes toward occupational attributes of safety, appearance, and comfort affect their wearing behavior related to High-Visibility Safety Apparel (HVSA). The results suggest that attitudes toward safety and appearance positively affect HVSA wearing behavior, while attitudes toward comfort do not. In addition, environmental factors such as providing organizational safety culture, regulation, and training are found to be necessary for changes in an individual’s attitudes and behavior toward HVSA.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Citation:
Song, S. Y. and Kim, Y-K. (2015). Law Enforcement Officers’ High-Visibility Safety Apparel: The Effect of Their Attitudes on Wearing Behavior. Journal of Textile and Apparel, Technology and Management, 9(2).
doi: http://ojs.cnr.ncsu.edu/index.php/JTATM/article/view/5719
... An individual can express an appropriate image for interpersonal relationships by changing his/her appearance and hairstyle. As women's appearance cue such as garment and body type conveyed different level of professional image to perceivers (Thurston et al., 1990), appearance of men also may influence judgment of professional image and favorable impression. The results of the study conducted on male subjects showed that career type could be inferred by clothing, and clothing and hairstyles provided clues for evaluation of an individual's competence (Kim & Ryu, 2004;Lee & Koh, 1995a, 1995b. ...
... To evaluate the stimuli, 7-point bipolar adjectives of semantic differential scale were used, and the items were collected in the previous research (Joo & Lee, 1999;Lee & Kim, 1998;Thurston at al., 1990). It was composed of five professionalism items and one preference item. ...
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of perceiver`s gender, clothing, and hairstyle on the visual evaluation of men`s professionalism and preference. A quasi-experimental method by questionnaire was used. The experimental design was a 2\times8\times2 (perceiver`s gender \times clothing \times hairstyle) factorial design by 3 independent variables. The stimuli were 16 photographs of a man in his twenties. The upper clothing of the man included tailored collar jackets in beige and dark blue colors, and jumpers and sweaters in beige, dark blue, and red colors. The lower clothing of the men included jean pants. Two types of the hairstyles included short hair and medium length hair. The subjects were 208 men and 223 women in Seoul, Korea. Wearing a beige sweater with jean pants was evaluated high in intellectual image, a red jumper was perceived low in intellectual image, and a beige tailored collar jacket was evaluated low in potent image. Men`s short hairstyle was evaluated to be more professional than the medium length hair. Male perceivers liked short hair more than medium length hair, but female perceivers evaluated both hairstyles similarly. In the case of women, the preferences of tailored collared jacket and soutien collared jumper were similar, but jumper was preferred to jacket in the case of men. Male perceivers showed more positive feedback towards jean pants with soutien collared jumper than jeans with tailored collared jacket, which indicated that men showed more conservative attitude towards the outfit than women. The man who was wearing a jumper with short hair was evaluated positively and the man who was wearing a jacket with medium length hair was evaluated negatively when the attires were coordinated with jean pants. In conclusion, medium length hairstyle with a beige jacket and short hairstyle with a red sweater were evaluated as professional image; and the results indicated that clothing and hairstyle interact with each other and influence the evaluation of professionalism.
... The common thread though all the revelations of the participants was that clothing conveys different levels of perceived job appropriateness. As Burns and Lenon (1993) reiterated that a common theme of many studies (Christman & Branson, 1990;Davis, 1984;Thurston, Lennon, & Clayton, 1990) has been to investigate perceptions of women's professional image based on the clothes they wear. ...
The objective of the paper is to comprehend the parsimoniously explored phenomenon of novelty seeking in the fashion apparel consumption through the lived experiences of fashion apparel innovators in the context of adult career women of emerging market. Interpretive phenomenological analysis is used to explicate consumers’ everyday lived experiences of fashion apparel consumption. Based on the interpretation of the findings of the qualitative data, we endeavored to conceptualize novelty seeking as a multidimensional second-order construct comprising of four main dimensions of themes with three subdimensions viz. sensory appeal (Fairy tale experience, Stress anecdote, Self-confidence booster), finding the niche (Idiosyncratic attire, Self-expressing through clothing, Red carpet dress), clothes-aholic (Hoarding of the clothes, Ever lacking wardrobe, Impulse clothes purchase), and socially bound (Varied persona, First impression, Balancing effect). The conceptualization encapsulates how novelty seeking is driving innovative behavior in fashion apparel context. Novelty seeking is an interdisciplinary concept. Apart from psychology domain, several studies have been conducted across various industries in the consumer behavior domain, especially in tourism, hi-tech products, and telecom. However, in-depth research on novelty seeking in fashion industry is limited. Value of this article lies in developing a theoretical base of novelty seeking in fashion industry through lived experiences of consumers in emerging market.
... In addition, women wearing provocative clothes are usually targets of negative evaluations and more likely to be blamed if they happen to be victims of sexual harassment, rape or domestic violence (Loughnan et al., 2013;Pacilli et al., 2017). On the contrary, women wearing a masculine outfit, such as a suit, are perceived to be more professional, as having better managerial skills and a higher likelihood of succeeding in a manager career (Forsythe, 1990;Thurston et al., 1990). ...
This research investigates how female students choose their graduation outfit and how clothing affects observers’ judgments. In Study 1, we manipulated the students’ graduation outfit so as to look professional or sexy. Female peers, adults, and professors formed a first impression about the students, their thesis work and guessed their graduation scores (thesis points and final mark). All participant groups judged the professionally dressed students as more competent, as having put more effort in their thesis, and as having obtained better scores than when the same students dressed sexy. In Studies 2 and 3 we replicated previous findings by using photos portraying real students in their actual graduation outfits. We found that sexy clothing, considered inappropriate for the occasion, affected estimated and actual graduation scores negatively and that this effect was mediated by perceived incompetence. Results are discussed with respect to women’s evaluation on the basis of their appearance.
The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships between businesswomen’s choice of professional dress and four dress perception variables (ie comfort, employment orientation, appearance labor, availability of professional dress). The choice of professional dress is viewed along the fashion continuum, which ranges from “classic dress” to “innovative dress.” A model was developed based on systems theory, and variables were selected from previous research that relate to an individual’s perception of and attitude toward their professional dress as well as an individual’s population characteristics. Data were collected via an online survey managed by a marketing research company. Results of the multiple regression analysis and mean comparisons testing indicated significant relationships between businesswomen’s choice of professional dress and comfort, appearance labor (ie effort devoted to attire), and availability of professional dress (ie limited store availability) as well as age and education. Based on the findings, academic and practical suggestions as well as recommendations for future research were provided.
This study examined the trends in clothing that female university students followed and the kind of impression they intended to give their interviewers on being asked to take an interview dressed in attire that reflected their virtues. The following three hypotheses were examined: First, there is significant difference between student's impression management in everyday life and the impression that they wish to leave interviewers with. The students' impression management centered around their desire to prove their competence for the job. Second, the attire selected by students for job interviews differs from what they usually wear. They tend to choose a more elaborate dressing style for a job interview. Finally, students manage their impression by carefully selecting their attire for a job interview. The results showed that all the three hypotheses were valid. Further, the results revealed that students associated the clothes they chose for job interviews with a certain impression that they wished to make and that they managed their impression by independently choosing their outfits for job interviews.
This study examines the influence of fashion accessories on how men of different ages are perceived, as well as how the social values of the perceiver affect the image evaluation process. For the purpose of this study, men`s accessories were limited to glasses, ties, and hats. A quasi-experiment was conducted in which 358 female university students in Seoul examined two men, one in his 30s and the other in his 60s. The social value included materialism and hedonism with higher and lower group. Factor analysis revealed three main factors with regard to men`s image based on age and accessories: professionalism, morality, and preference. The findings indicated that wearing accessories can affect how men are perceived, and the perceivers` social values are at play throughout the process. Glasses enhanced a professional image in men, while ties amplified professionalism and morality. Morality and preference for the older man were heightened when he wore a fedora and a hunting cap. Taking social values into account, perceivers with a higher level of materialism associated a man with a navy blue tie more strongly with professionalism. Perceivers who possessed more hedonistic traits preferred a man wearing a cap. The subjects considered the man in his 60s as having a higher level of professionalism when he wore casual hats such as a cap or a cloche. The results of this study suggest that social values such as materialism and hedonism play a part in how people perceive men wearing accessories.
The purpose of this study was to identify images of saleswomen by uniform and body type and to determine if the images have an effect on customer satisfaction and revisiting intention. This study was conducted between February 10th and February 23rd 2015, using a questionnaire to collect data from 608 adults from Seoul, Deajeon, and Chungnam Province. A (body ) factorial experimental design was used. Frequency, factor, and reliability analysis, analysis of variance, one-way ANOVA, Tukey test, and multiple regression analysis methods were used to analyze data. The study results were as follows: First, images of saleswomen with different uniform and body types were classified based on the following three factors: professionalism, kindness and attractiveness. Second, the saleswomen`s uniforms had significant impact on perceived attractiveness, with women who wore skirt suits being identified as more attractive than women with pant suits. The saleswomen`s body types had significant effect on professionalism, kindness and attractiveness. Women with average body types were perceived positively in terms of professionalism and attractiveness, whilst women with large body types were perceived positively in terms of kindness. Third, the combination of uniform and body type had a significant effect on perceived professionalism. Women with average body types wearing pant suits were perceived to have high degree of professionalism and women with large body types wearing skirt suits were evaluated to have high professionalism. Fourth, the images described as attractive and kind for both uniform and body type had a positive influences on customer satisfaction and revisiting intention.
This study aims to examine the differences in impression formation according to the accessories and hairstyles worn by men, and to investigate the relation between men`s appearance and occupation inferences. The subjects were 320 female university students residing in the Seoul metropolitan area. First, wearing eyeglasses gave an impression of more intelligent image and less mild image. It was evaluated that the men wearing neckties have a high dimension of intelligence, and men wearing no necktie have a high dimension of progressiveness. Men with classic hairstyles had a high dimension of intelligence, while men with sports hairstyles had a high dimension of progressiveness, conspicuousness, and attractiveness. Second, metal rims on glasses had a high dimension of empowerment and attractiveness when a red necktie was worn, while horn-rimmed glasses with no necktie had a high dimension of conspicuousness and progressiveness. The men with sports hairstyles, with no eyeglasses had the highest dimension of progressiveness when a red necktie was worn. Third, it was evaluated that wearing a cloche hat or baseball cap had a low dimension of empowerment, while wearing a necklace had a high dimension of empowerment, conspicuousness, and progressiveness. Fourth, the men who wore a suit, eyeglasses, and a necktie with a classic hairstyle were deduced to be professionals, with high-ranking or white-collar jobs. It was found that when men wore a suit with a sports hairstyle, no eyeglasses, and no ties, they were inferred to be engaged in a service job. The baseball caps were strongly associated with technical or simple labor job.
Most empirical work on product symbolism has paid relatively little attention to how products are used by consumers in everyday social life. This paper argues that the subjective experience imparted by the consumption of many products substantially contributes to the consumer's structuring of social reality, self-concept, and behavior. Moreover, the consumer often relies upon the social meanings inherent in products as a guide to the performance of social roles, especially when role demands are novel. While marketing theory traditionally views products as post hoc responses to underlying needs, the focus here is on conditions under which products serve as a priori stimuli to behavior. By integrating concepts adapted from symbolic interactionism, this approach stresses the importance of product symbolism as a mediator of self-definition and role performance.
In a 2 × 2 × 2 × 3 (subject's sex, stimulus-person's sex, stimulus-person's sex-role as inferred from sex-related clothing, and stimulus-person's sex-linked occupation) complete factorial between-subjects experiment, 120 female and 120 male subjects viewed a slide of either a male or female stimulus-person wearing either masculine or feminine clothing. Stimulus persons were also said to be employed in either a masculine, feminine, or sex-neutral occupation. Subjects then recorded their first impressions of the stimulus-person on a person-perception questionnaire. Analysis indicated that persons wearing masculine clothing were perceived as more successful in their occupations than persons wearing feminine clothing for both the masculine and feminine (business) occupations. No differences were found for persons in the sex-neutral occupation. Additional analyses are discussed and conclusions drawn regarding the effect of clothing in sex-role stereotyping in first-impression situations.
Sex-typed college students (16 males and 16 females) and androgynous college students (16 males and 16 females) evaluated the resumes of fictitious applicants for a managerial position described as requiring interpersonal competencies. The applicant's physical attractiveness, qualifications, and sex were systematically varied in the resumes. Five-way analyses of variance were performed on the hiring decisions about the applicants and the perceived attractiveness, masculinity, femininity, and social desirability of the applicants. Hiring preferences were shown for attractive over unattractive applicants, for wellqualified over less qualified applicants, and among these preferred groups, males were favored over females. The subject's sex-role orientation predictably moderated the effect of the applicant's attractiveness but not the effect of the applicant's sex. Sex-typed subjects committed “beautyism” more than androgynous subjects did. The applicants' sex, qualifications, and attractiveness affected how they were perceived in terms of sex-role attributes as well as sex-irrelevant, socially desirable traits. Theoretical implications and suggestions for further research are discussed.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the mediating effect of situational and personality characteristics on the acceptance of normative and informational influence by career women from reference persons on their career dress. Questionnaires were returned by 588 career women. Factor analysis reduced the dependent variable data to four influence factors. Regression analyses were performed on eight situational and personality characteristics as the independent variables with each of the four influence factors. Demographic variables also were investigated.' Findings indicated career women accepted more influence when they felt clothing was important, were anxious in their careers, felt there was an expected dress code in their workplace, had worked a short time in their career, were less confident in dressing professionally, and were high self-monitors. Also, they were younger, had no children, had higher incomes, and spent more on their wardrobes than those who accepted less influence on their career dress.
Two studies explored reactions to the overweight by isolating the effects of weight from other characteristics of the job applicant. The first study, which established the existence of a stereotype, shows that the overweight are viewed consistently more negatively than others on variables considered important for successful job performance. The second study experimentally investigated occupational discrimination in a simulated hiring setting. Overweight applicants were less highly recommended than average-weight persons despite objectively identical performances. The findings are discussed m the context of current research on cognitive processes.
A study was conducted to determine whether the images of "standard" or "acceptable" thinness that women suffering from eating disorders strive to achieve come primarily from advertising. A questionnaire was administered to 19 college women in counseling for anorexia, a control group of 29 college women, and to 30 high school women. The questionnaire was designed to elicit attitudes on physical attractiveness, awareness of an "ideal" body shape, and media influence in promoting that ideal body shape. An experiment on model selection using print advertisement photographs of women was conducted at the end of the questionnaire, in which subjects rated the success of the models in the photographs. Significant findings fell into expected patterns: the anorexic subjects were less happy with their shapes and more influenced by an "ideal body shape." Surprisingly, though, they did not judge others by body shape standards as much as was expected. There was strong agreement that an "ideal body shape" exists in American society to which women are expected to conform. The anorexics were found to be significantly more media conscious and more influenced by the media on body images than the other two groups. The influence of television programs and movies was stronger for high school students than for the college control or anorexic groups. (The questionnaire and other materials used in the study are appended). (HTH)
The major purposes of this study were to investigate whether devaluation of obese persons, a phenomenon demonstrated exclusively in laboratory settings using reactive measures, generalizes to a nonreactive field setting. Seventy public health administrators were asked, via the mail, to help a college junior assess her chances of getting into graduate school and finding employment in this field. Subjects received a cover letter, a standard résumé∼, and a questionnaire. A picture of the student was affixed to some of the résumés. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of three picture conditions: obese, normal, or no picture. Forty-six percent of the questionnaires were returned. Significantly fewer forms were returned in the obese condition than in the normal and no picture conditions. On both the graduate school and employment questionnaire items, forecasts were considerably more pessimistic than in the other two picture conditions. Implications of these findings are discussed.
Male and female subjects rated a standardized, professionally drawn female in each of 12 outfits as to impressions they would make in job interview situations. The 12 jobs represented combinations of high- and low-status and male-dominated and female-dominated occupations. Formfitting outfits were rated more favorably than loose outfits, and the layered look more favorably than the nonlayered look. High necklines were seen as more appropriate than moderate or low necklines, except when seeking a low-status, male-dominated job. Regardless of outfit, the woman was seen as likely to make a more favorable impression when applying for a female-dominated rather than male-dominated job, and her relative disadvantage in the latter situation was seen as particularly pronounced by male subjects.