This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Johnson, K. K. P. Articles by Yurchisin, J. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Appearance and Dress as a Source of Information: A Qualitative Approach to Data Collection

240 McNeal Hall, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108-6136

Nancy A. Schofield

Division of Technology, University of Wisconsin - Stout, Menomonie, WI 54751

Jennifer Yurchisin

240 McNeal Hall, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108-6136

A content analysis of 39 women’s responses to open-ended interview questions revealed a) what impressions they formed of others based on appearance and dress, as well as what cues they chose, and b) that they believed that others also used appearance and dress cues when forming impressions of them. Neither participants’ impressions of others nor participants’ beliefs regarding others’ impressions of them contained information that extended beyond the perceived person to include other people or things associated with the perceived person. Instead, the content of the information inferred included personality characteristics, information about behaviors, biological traits, health and hygiene, and social roles. Most participants believed that both they and others were accurate at decoding information from general appearance and dress cues, although some participants believed that accuracy was dependent upon the situation or related to specific appearance or dress cues.

Key Words: appearance • communication • dress • social perception

Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, Vol. 20, No. 3, 125-137 (2002)
DOI: 10.1177/0887302X0202000301


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				H. Park and S. J. Lennon Beyond Physical Attractiveness: Interpersonal Attraction as a Function of Similarities in Personal Characteristics Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, October 1, 2008; 26(4): 275 - 289. [Abstract] [PDF]

				K. K. P. Johnson, J.-J. Yoo, M. Kim, and S. J. Lennon Dress and Human Behavior: A Review and Critique Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, January 1, 2008; 26(1): 3 - 22. [Abstract] [PDF]