Audiences' Perceptions of Sources' Credibility in a Television Interview Setting

This experiment examined the differences between older and younger men and women's evaluations of differently dressed sources' credibility. 165 subjects viewed simulated interviews for television in which male and female sources dressed either conservatively or casually. Subjects then rated them according to semantic-differential scales which measured targets' competence, character, and dynamism. Subjects were categorized by age and sex. Over-all, younger women (those between the ages of 18 and 34 years) gave high ratings of competence, character, and dynamism to all sources regardless of clothing style, while older women (those 35 years and older) gave the lowest ratings. This was especially noted for their evaluations of female sources. Men, regardless of age rated all sources similarly.

Communication Length as a Function of Dress Style and Social Status

In a 2 × 2 factorial design of dress style (smart vs casual) and status (high vs low) of a male E, it was found using length of communication on a questionnaire as a dependent measure that another's style of dress had more impact on the quantity of information presented to him than did his social status for a sample of predominantly middle-aged housewives ( ns = 18, 17, 20, 20).

Influence of Style of Dress on Formation of First Impressions

Within a university, students of various colleges dress differently. Our purpose was to verify the influence of style of dress on formation of first impressions. Subjects were 30 women of three colleges from a university in Sao Paulo. Subjects rated on a 7-point scale three photographs (without faces) of male students from each one of the three colleges. The first model dressed in a socially formal way, the second one in a socially informal way, and the third one sportively. The three models were rated comparably on intelligence and culture. The model who dressed in a socially formal way was considered less handsome, extroverted, sympathetic, charming, and attractive than the other two models. Subjects tended also to attribute to the first a rightist ideology. No interactions were found between subjects' and models' colleges.

The Effects of Apparel on Compliance

Past research indicates that apparel influences our behavior and our impressions of others. One type of apparel that is both salient and symbolically significant is the uniform. Few studies, however, have examined the influence of uniforms on behavior, especially with female authority figures. In this study a female confederate who was dressed in a uniform, professional attire, or sloppy clothing told subjects to give change to a person who was parked at an expired parking meter (Bickman, 1974). The results showed that compliance was higher when the confederate was dressed in a uniform. Verbal reasons given for complying also differed across conditions. The study shows that a uniform is a certificate of legitimacy (Joseph & Alex, 1972)for females as well as males and that both sexes are influenced by a female dressed in a uniform.

THE EFFECT OF CLOTHING VARIATION ON FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF FEMALE JOB APPLICANTS: WHAT TO WEAR WHEN

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.

THE EFFECTS OF CLOTHING STYLE UPON THE REACTIONS OF A STRANGER

Our reactions to a stranger can often be influenced by the clothes he wears. In this study a male experimenter, whilst posing as a market researcher, dressed either smartly or untidily. Style of dress was found to have a significant influence upon the number of agreements from both older and younger women to answer the interviewer's questions. Dress did not have a significant influence upon men and older individuals were more influenced by clothing than were the younger ones. The results of this study are believed to have implications for many kinds of interview settings.