No full-text available
To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the authors.
Clothing as a symbol of status: Its effect on control of interaction territory
Abstract
Based upon status ratings by 154 adults, three types of attire (clothing typical of a student, a priest, and a businessman) were selected for use in a field study investigating control of interaction territory. Two male confederates, one neatly but casually dessed, the other dressed as a student, priest, or businessman, were situated in a department store doorway either 42 or 54 in. apart. During half of the 600 observations, the confederates were conversing. At the close distance, people tended to detour around all dyads; neither attire nor conversation affected the number of territorial invasions. At the far distance, shoppers frequently invaded the space between the nonconversing confederates; when conversing, however, dyads with a member dressed as a priest or businessman (higher status ratings) detoured significantly more shoppers than the dyad with a member dressed as a student (lower status rating). The results indicate that cues to the status of one’s social role provided by attire are important determinants of the sanctity of one’s interaction territory.
... Brands and products have long been perceived as a means to creating a person's social identity (Aaker, 1997;Belk, 1988), but little research on consumption's behavioral benefits in status-dependence social interactions has been undertaken. Bouska and Beatty (1978) show that clothing is a cue to social status important to a person's dignity in social interactions. In Bouska and Beatty (1978), however, status relates to the social role of the person wearing the clothes, not the cost of the clothes. ...
... Bouska and Beatty (1978) show that clothing is a cue to social status important to a person's dignity in social interactions. In Bouska and Beatty (1978), however, status relates to the social role of the person wearing the clothes, not the cost of the clothes. Status, in this case, is not related to conspicuous consumption. ...
... (2019) as second skin and bearers of symbolism. Clothing is the most investigated product category which imparts information (or misinformation) concerning sex, age, occupation, personality, opinions, sex desires, ethnic origin, cultural orientation, tastes, social class, and the current mood of its wearer (Ada Ozdil, 2021;Bouska & Bea'm'y, 1978;Lurie, 1981;Millan & Mittal, 2017;Stuart & Fuller, 1991). Clothing is considered one of the easiest ways to convey one's self-image to others (Millan & Mittal, 2017). ...
The goal of this research is to test the mediating effect of product symbolism on the relationship between conspicuous consumption and social identity formation in the branded clothing sector of young adults. Young adults between the ages of 20-35 who wear branded clothes in Sri Lanka were considered the target population. The data was collected through a survey to find answers to the identified research questions through a quantitative approach. The Snowball sampling method was used as the sampling method for this study. The Sobel Test was carried out using an online calculator to measure the statistical significance of the mediation. The results showed that the effect of conspicuous consumption on social identity formation mediated through product symbolism could be judged as statistically significant. The findings can help with market segmentation and brand positioning. Knowing these symbolic value attachments to branded clothes, marketers can create their marketing mix strategies to provide solutions for self-image enhancement and sustainable competitive advantage from both consumer and company points of view.
... Therefore, we use conspicuous consumption synonymously with status signaling. For example, people also signal status in culturally specific ways, such as "going green" (Griskevicius et al., 2010), altruistic behaviors (Berman et al., 2015), prestigious occupations, and other signs of achievement (e.g., business suits; Bouska & Beatty, 1978;Kraus & Mendes, 2014). In other words, individuals strategically signal status in different ways, depending on their expectations about the meaning of particular symbols to different groups. ...
The widespread demand for luxury is best understood by the social advantages of signaling status (i.e., conspicuous consumption; Veblen, 1899). In the present research, we examine the limits of this perspective by studying the implications of status signaling for cooperation. Cooperation is principally about caring for others, which is fundamentally at odds with the self-promotional nature of signaling status. Across behaviorally consequential Prisoner's Dilemma (PD) games and naturalistic scenario studies, we investigate both sides of the relationship between signaling and cooperation: (a) how people respond to others who signal status, as well as (b) the strategic choices people make about whether to signal status. In each case, we find that people recognize the relative advantage of modesty (i.e., the inverse of signaling status) and behave strategically to enable cooperation. That is, people are less likely to cooperate with partners who signal status compared to those who are modest (Studies 1 and 2), and more likely to select a modest person when cooperation is desirable (Study 3). These behaviors are consistent with inferences that status signalers are less prosocial and less prone to cooperate. Importantly, people also refrain from signaling status themselves when it is strategically beneficial to appear cooperative (Studies 4-6). Together, our findings contribute to a better understanding of the conditions under which the reputational costs of conspicuous consumption outweigh its benefits, helping integrate theoretical perspectives on strategic interpersonal dynamics, cooperation, and status signaling. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).
... Humans have a preference for bonding with wealthy and high-status individuals and thus treat them more favorably in social interactions [9,10]. Since neither wealth nor social status is directly observable, when bonding, humans rely on signals for these traits [11][12][13]. Obviously, according to the theory, the luxury signals provide benefits to both signalers and observers. ...
Costly signaling theory provides an explanation for why humans are willing to a pay a premium for conspicuous products such as luxury brand-labeled clothing or conspicuous environmentally friendly cars. According to the theory, the extra cost of such products is a signal of social status and wealth and leads to advantages in social interactions for the signaler. A previous study found positive evidence for the case of luxury brand labels. However, an issue of this study was that some of the experiments were not conducted in a perfectly double-blind manner. I resolved this by replicating variations of the original design in a double-blind procedure. Additionally, besides the luxury label condition, I introduced a “green” label condition. Thus, the hypothesis that signaling theory is able to explain pro-environmental behavior was tested for the first time in a natural field setting. Further, I conducted experiments in both average and below-average socioeconomic neighborhoods, where, according to signaling theory, the effects of luxury signals should be even stronger. In contrast to the original study, I did not find positive effects of the luxury brand label in any of the five experiments. Nor did I find evidence for a green-signaling effect. Moreover, in poor neighborhoods a negative tendency of the luxury label actually became evident. This suggests that a signaling theory explanation of costly labels must take into account the characteristics of the observers, e.g. their social status.
... One group of studies has investigated the effects of specific clothing manipulations on perceptions of personal traits and attitudes (e.g., Buckley & Roach, 1974; Conner, Peters, & Nagasawa, 1975; Douty, 1963; Forsythe, Drake, & Cox, 1984; Hamid, 1968, 1969; Holman, 1980; Johnson, Nagasawa, & Peters, 1977; Lapitsky & Smith, 1981; Mathes & Kempher, 1976; Nielson & Kernaleguen, 1976; Paek, 1986). Proceeding a further step, a second group of studies has investigated the impact of these perceptions on subsequent evaluative and behavioral responses to the target person (e.g., Bickman, 1971; Bousaka & Beatty, 1978; Darley & Cooper, 1972; Green & Giles, 1973; Hensley, 1981). ...
This paper represents Part I of a two-part paper which integrates theory and research in social cognition with research in clothing and human behavior. Part I addresses theoretical perspectives of social cognition including social perception, categorization, attribution theory, and impression formation. Issues from these theoretical perspectives are used to interpret existing clothing and human behavior research and to suggest possible future research.
... person (Barash, 1973). Additionally, Bouska and Beatty (1978) found that if one member of an interacting pair was high in status, subjects would tend to avoid walking through them more than if neither member of the pair were high status. The present experiment extends this line of research in seeking to determine if avoidance of a water fountain will increase as a function of increased status of a confederate stationed nearby. ...
The present experiment sought to determine if status would affect avoidance of personal space invasions. The drinking behavior of male passersby at a water fountain in an administration building was recorded by a female observer. Either a low status, high status or no confederate stood near the fountain. The results showed that there was a significantly lower rate of drinking 'at a water fountain when a high status confederate stood nearby than when no confederate was present.
... In spite of the fact that brands and products have long been recognized as a means for people to establish their social identity (Aaker, 1997;Belk, 1988), research on statusdependent, behavioral benefits of consumption in social interactions has been remarkably sparse. Early studies (e.g., Bouska & Beatty, 1968) suggested that people do indeed show a tendency for deference to outfits that are associated with high status. However, in this type of research, status was not associated with the price of the clothes, but with the social role of the person wearing them. ...
Drawing from costly signaling theory, we predicted that luxury consumption enhances status and produces benefits in social interactions. Across seven experiments, displays of luxury — manipulated through brand labels on clothes — elicited different kinds of preferential treatment, which even resulted in financial benefits to people who engaged in conspicuous consumption. Furthermore, we tested preconditions in which the beneficial consequences of conspicuous consumption may arise and determined the proximate mechanisms underlying them. The present data suggest that luxury consumption can be a profitable social strategy because conspicuous displays of luxury qualify as a costly signaling trait that elicits status-dependent favorable treatment in human social interactions.
Perceptions of clothing are complex, varying across individuals, situations, cultures, and time. Although there is very little research on the topic in our field, evidence from a wide variety of other disciplines points to the importance of clothing in the workplace. In this article, we review this evidence and identify three universal and distinctive clothing characteristics at work: formality, provocativeness, and fashionability. We also identify two other categories: uniforms and religiosity of clothing, which are tied to particular social groups. Drawing on attribution theory and the stereotype content model, we provide a cohesive conceptual framework in which clothing characteristics influence observers’ perceptions of wearer’s warmth and competence through observers’ dispositional attribution processes. These perceptions, in turn, influence facilitation behaviors, such as providing support to wearers, and harm behaviors, such as negatively biased performance appraisal. We conclude by offering suggestions for future research and implications for employees and employers with regard to managing clothing choices and avoiding potential biases.
The purpose of this article is to present a comprehensive review and analysis of published research that investigated relationships between the dress of an individual and how that dress affected others' behavior toward the individual. Existing published research was analyzed to determine the types of behaviors investigated, the types of dress manipulations, whether dress had a significant effect, theory used to guide the research, and who the participant population was in the research. Research methods were also reviewed. Sources of data were 93 studies published from 1955 to 2004. Researchers overwhelmingly investigated helping behavior. The most frequently operationalized concepts using dress manipulations were labeled “dress,” “status,” and “attractiveness.” Researchers using dress or attractiveness or attire as the primary dress manipulation did not necessarily control for other dress variables (e.g., makeup, hair-style) in their research. Most of this research was not guided by theory.
The purpose of the research was to examine the dynamic nature of a specific role, that of the Catholic priest, and to identify associations between clothing change and role change. Propositions concerning change in role clarity and role character provided the conceptual framework. Chasubles that had been custom designed at St. Francis Convent, Hankinson, North Dakota, were the data for the research. Diversity and type of vestment design were analyzed for 650 chasubles produced during three decades. The decades of the 1950s through the 1970s were associated with changes in the priest role, the liturgy, and priest-laity relations. Standard deviations, a measure of diversity based on the Pearson chi square, means, and frequencies were used to describe the data. Vestments from the 1960s, when the priest role was unclear, were more diverse in percent of area covered by embellishment, number of motifs per garment, and design organi zation than were vestments from the 1950s or 1970s. Lower percentages of em bellishment, fewer motifs per garment, and simpler design organization on 1970s than 1950s chasubles were considered symbolic of change in priest-laity relations. Questions are raised for future cross-role research.
Reports an initial attempt to investigate the amount of space which small groups of individuals can cooperatively control. 3 studies were conducted in which 2 confederates standing apart from one another at each of several distances held conversations in public halls. The number of passersby (N = 1,256) who walked between and around them at each distance was recorded. As hypothesized, when confederates stood at personal distances, but not at social distances, fewer people walked between them than a chance model predicted. The results are discussed in the context of human territorial behavior and the social-regulative function served by the cues implicit in the distance maintained by interactants. (French summary) (19 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Recorded interaction distances for 562 pairs of US Navy active duty individuals in military settings at the moment a conversation was begun. Interactions initiated with superiors were characterized by greater distance, and this distance increased with the discrepancy in rank. When interactions were initiated with subordinates, interaction distance was unrelated to rank discrepancy. It was hypothesized that superiors are free to approach subordinates at distances which indicate intimacy, while subordinates are not at liberty to do so. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Hypothesized that the size of a group and the status of its members reduce the permeability of a boundary around an interacting group. 2 or 4 interacting people of high or low status interrupted the traffic flow in a university hallway. The behavior of 339 passersby supported the hypotheses: Fewer passersby walked through the high-status groups than the low-status groups (p < .05) and fewer passersby penetrated the 4-person groups than 2-person groups (p < .05). A control condition where wastebarrels replaced the interactors was penetrated more than an interacting group (p < .001). Findings support S. M. Lyman and M. B. Scott's 1967 hypothesis that interacting groups develop territorial boundaries and S. Milgram and H. Toch's 1969 hypothesis that group boundaries vary in their permeability.
There are many research areas for which the data can only be obtained in terms of counts or frequencies within specified categories rather than in terms of measures. The techniques of analysis of variance are not amenable to this kind of data. However, the use of "multiple contingency analysis" permits the investigator to make use of factorial designs even though his data are in the form of frequencies. The development of the method and an illustrative problem are presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved).
Sidewalk pedestrians encountered a four-person group whose members were (a) apparently unassociated (control), (b) a passive audience gazing into a store window, (c) calmly conversing, or (d) agitatedly conversing. It was hypothesized that an audience would have a boundary of some impermeability, but that it would be less than that of an interacting group. The results supported these hypotheses. Although the results suggested that agitated groups had more impermeable boundaries than calm groups, a ceiling effect in the calm condition impeded the test of this hypothesis. Results indicating that pedestrians were hesitant to walk in front of the audience suggested that courtesy is a strong factor determining spatial territories. The results, and related literature, are discussed in terms of a social norms interpretation of territorial boundaries.
A neglected but important aspect of human territorial behavior is the appropriation of space by two or more individuals. In a previous study it was found that single individuals are extremely reluctant to intrude upon such group-shared space although the degree to which this was true depended upon the spatial parameters of the situation. In the present report studies investigating a number of variables influencing such intrusions are described. Variables found to influence reliably the frequency of intrusion were sex composition of groups, activiy of groups, and spatial parameters. In agreement with the earlier study intrusion was reduced only when distances maintained by groups were not beyond Hall's (1966) specifications for "personal distance." The implication of the reactions to such enforced intrusions as occur frequently in urban environments is discussed.
The hidden dimension Garden City, N.Y: Doubleday, 1966. KNOWLES, E. S. Boundaries around group interaction: The effect of group size and member status on boundary perme· ability
- E T Hall
HALL, E. T. The hidden dimension. Garden City, N.Y: Doubleday, 1966. KNOWLES, E. S. Boundaries around group interaction: The effect of group size and member status on boundary perme· ability. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1973, 26, 327-331.