Enclothed cognition

Abstract

We introduce the term "enclothed cognition" to describe the systematic influence that clothes have on the wearer's psychological processes. We offer a potentially unifying framework to integrate past findings and capture the diverse impact that clothes can have on the wearer by proposing that enclothed cognition involves the co-occurrence of two independent factors-the symbolic meaning of the clothes and the physical experience of wearing them. As a first test of our enclothed cognition perspective, the current research explored the effects of wearing a lab coat. A pretest found that a lab coat is generally associated with attentiveness and carefulness. We therefore predicted that wearing a lab coat would increase performance on attention-related tasks. In Experiment 1, physically wearing a lab coat increased selective attention compared to not wearing a lab coat. In Experiments 2 and 3, wearing a lab coat described as a doctor's coat increased sustained attention compared to wearing a lab coat described as a painter's coat, and compared to simply seeing or even identifying with a lab coat described as a doctor's coat. Thus, the current research suggests a basic principle of enclothed cognition-it depends on both the symbolic meaning and the physical experience of wearing the clothes.

Enclothed Cognition and Controlled Attention during Insight Problem-Solving

“…One means by which state attentional control may be increased is through the influence of an article of clothing worn by the individual-a phenomenon known as enclothed cognition (Adam & Galinsky, 2012). Enclothed cognition represents a specific case of embodied cognition, which recognizes that individuals' psychological processes are influenced by their physical experiences (Niedenthal, 2007;Wilson, 2002).…”

“…Specifically, the theory of enclothed cognition posits that the clothes people wear influence their psychological processes by leading the wearer to behave in ways that are consistent with the clothes' popular symbolic meaning. For example, Adam and Galinsky (2012) demonstrated that wearing a white lab coat, prototypical of scientists and doctors, is commonly associated with carefulness, attentiveness, and responsibility (i.e., deliberative thinking). In line with these symbolic associations, Adam and Galinsky found that performance on measures of selective attention (i.e., a Stroop task) and sustained attention (i.e., a comparative visual search task) improved when individuals were randomly assigned to wear a white lab coat.…”

“…In the current study, we examine the interaction between trait and state factors known to increase attentional control. We hypothesize that higher levels of attentional control may hinder insight problem-solving, whether produced by individual differences in WMC or a situational factor shown to increase controlled attention by eliciting deliberative thinking-wearing a white lab coat (Adam & Galinsky, 2012). Although greater attentional control is generally thought to be good for performance, it is possible that interventions designed to enhance controlled attention may restrict the ability to notice useful information that is important for some tasks, especially those that rely on creative or associative processes.…”

Self-regulatory processes underlying structural stigma and health

“…Similarly, Schubert and Koole (2009) found that making a fist led men to adopt more powerful self-concepts. Clothing, such as wearing a doctor's coat (Adam & Galinsky, 2012), and vertical position (Schubert, 2005) have also been used to nonconsciously activate power in an interaction.…”

Predicting Smartphone Operating System from Personality and Individual Differences

“…6,11 Hypotheses concerning specific differences should not be based on the current discourse for the simple fact that these are likely to have been derived from stereotypes, which are often inaccurate when compared to selfreport measures. 12,13 Any subsequent hypotheses concerning markers of smartphone ownership should instead be considered in the context of brand personality.…”