This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map 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 Lennon, S. J. Articles by Miller, F. G. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Attire, Physical Appearance, and First Impressions: More Is Less

Department of Home Economics, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405

Franklin G. Miller

South Central Community Health Center, Bloomington, Indiana 47401

The present research modeled research on trait descriptive adjectives (Anderson, 1968, 1971, 1974, 1979; Zanna and Hamilton, 1972) and examined the manner in which the impact of a target physical appearance cue changes as a function of the number and type of other identifiable physical appearance cues available. In a procedure similar to that used by Zanna and Hamilton (1972), subjects viewed and rated 16 slides of stimulus persons, each of which varied in physical appearance. The 16 slides were developed from a factorial combination of four specific physical appearance cues identified in terms of deviations from a standard. Three separate experiments were conducted. The physical appearance cues were categorized into two types according to whether they were relevant for social situations or task-related situations. A 25 factorial design was used with repeated measurements on each factor. In accord with the basic theory, it was hypothesized that the impact of a single physical appearance cue will be affected by the presence or absence of other such cues.

An analysis of variance was conducted and results of the statistical analysis supported the hypothesis. The impact of any one cue was found to decrease in the presence of similar cues but was found to increase in the presence of dissimilar cues. These results imply that a given cue will have diminishing impact on first impressions when presented with similar cues but will have an increasing impact on first impressions when presented with dissimilar cues.

Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, Vol. 3, No. 1, 1-8 (1984)
DOI: 10.1177/0887302X8400300101


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

This article has been cited by other articles:

				S. J. Lennon and L. D. Burns Diversity of Research in Textiles, Clothing, and Human Behavior: The Relationship Between What We Know and How We Know Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, January 1, 2000; 18(4): 213 - 226. [Abstract] [PDF]

				S. J. Lennon, L. D. Burns, and K. L. Rowold Dress1 and Human Behavior Research: Sampling, Subjects, and Consequences for Statistics Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, January 1, 1995; 13(4): 262 - 272. [Abstract] [PDF]

				L. K. Lyon and G. O'Neal A Theoretical Framework for Clothing Awareness Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, January 1, 1994; 12(2): 32 - 37. [Abstract] [PDF]

				D. U. Behling and E. A. Williams Influence of Dress on Perception of Intelligence and Expectations of Scholastic Achievement Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, June 1, 1991; 9(4): 1 - 7. [Abstract] [PDF]

				L. A. Christman and D. H. Branson Influence of Physical Disability and Dress of Female Job Applicants on Interviewers Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, March 1, 1990; 8(3): 51 - 57. [Abstract] [PDF]

				S. J. Lennon and L. L. Davis Clothing and Human Behavior from a Social Cognitive Framework Part I: Theoretical Perspectives Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, June 1, 1989; 7(4): 41 - 48. [Abstract] [PDF]

				S. B. Kaiser Clothing and the Social Organization of Gender Perception: A Developmental Approach Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, January 1, 1989; 7(2): 46 - 56. [Abstract] [PDF]

				S. L. Paek Effect of Garment Style on the Perception of Personal Traits Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, September 1, 1986; 5(1): 10 - 16. [Abstract] [PDF]