Won-Young Song’s scientific contributions

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.

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 investigate the differences and interaction effects in impression formation according to eyeglasses, earrings, hair length, and clothing color worn by woman in Her 20s. A quasi-experimental method was used for this study. The experimental design was a (eyeglassesearringshair lengthclothing color) factorial design. The model of stimulus photographs was a woman with an oval shape face in her late twenties. She wore a tailored collared jacket with a white dress shirt. The subjects were 362 female college students. First, the women wearing glasses were found to be more potent but gave more negative impressions in terms of loveliness, politeness, and attractiveness than the women without glasses. Second, the women wearing earrings were perceived to have higher individuality, attractiveness, potency, loveliness, and elegance than the women without earrings. Third, the women with short hair were evaluated to have higher individuality, potency, and elegance, and to have lower loveliness, politeness, and attractiveness than the women with long hair. Fourth, the red clothes were perceived to have the higher individuality, loveliness, and attractiveness than the dark red or grey clothes. The light grey clothes were considered as the most elegant and the dark grey clothes were shown to have low attractiveness. Fifth, the women wearing the horn-rimmed glasses with short hair were evaluated to have high individuality. The women wearing glasses with short hair were evaluated lower in loveliness than those with long hair. The women with short hair, wearing glasses without earrings were evaluated very low in attractiveness.