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    63 views15 pages

    Comm Nonverbal Final Paper

    Uploaded by

    api-348565458

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    of 15
    Running Head: THE OUTFITS WE WEAR AND THE MESSAGES THEY SEND “The Outfits We Wear andthe Messages They Send: Research Within Nonverbal Communication Spencer Graf Karl Case ‘Wheaton College ‘THE OUTFITS WE WEAR AND THE MESSAGES THEY SEND 2 Abstract bout a person, Not only can messages be about the ‘Outfits ean communicate a great deal person and the outfit they are wearing, but could potentially communicate a message from the person to other people as well. By documenting someone's outfit and comparing it to others, -bapie many messages canbe rete, afd, and communicated. The purpose ofthis stay is data, Through the documentation, and subsequenly the rating of ovee 208 pictures, it was found that messages ‘communicated through outfits alone ean be strong andfcomplex. The findings suggest that, answer o-the sesearel: questions-age isnot a determining factor in dressing professionally, sex docs have an isct on approachabilty as previously thought, and dress outfits are typically seen as taking more effort to create in comparison to casual looks. Keywords: outfit, approachable, casual, dress outfit, A eco VER 90 HE HAE TD : So saga tin emt rc pena en Ht po dene at tet tn wi pk ei a cece wa tet os pr ert sophie ont bene come i? ee qt otc ea ne ei consider to be a dressier outfit or a more casual, laid back type of outfit. Beginning withthe definition, an outfit is “a set of usually matching or harmonious garments and accessories worn together, coordinated costume; ensemble”, # how detain, ‘Comparing casual outfits to dressier options ean be seen in the workplace as well as the pas struggle over what defines theo. Nearly 75 pereent of U.S. workers say that clothing oF personal appearances influence attitudes about professionalism, according toa casual-dress-in- the-workplace survey from CareerBuilder Inc. (Leonard, 2001). Casual dress inthe workplace always has/a subject of contention among corporations, CEO"s, and other leaders in today's workplaces. If workers are allowed to wear less formal lating, wl ths have an effect on their work etic? [According to Anne Pasley-Stuan,the president ofa human resource fim that helps companies draft dress codes, yes it oes. “Managers say that when employees dress casually, they also perform more casually when it comes othe quality oftheir Work, their manners and ‘heir punctuality, says Pasley- Stuart” (Wileox, 1998). With an inerease of young workers inthe ‘marks and young college students who have not haa professional ob until afer graduation, ‘his can be a tough transition. In the fall of 2016, some 20.5 million students were projected to vio (sg ‘THE OUTFITS WE WEAR AND THE MESSAGES THEY SEND 4 enrol in American colleges and universit (US Department of Education, 2016). With many students nearing graduation in four years, the precedent for dressing well could be expected 10 start early in preparation for working after graduation (Ki eae eft fi ar qu ‘reset ROL: Does age affect how people dress professionally? ? ‘The 20.5 eer 2 phyasing) ee, Se ep errr er Re ee; es ee eee ee oe ann an een eee sn ser De his make em rsa SHE ANY Consider yearngexsualcothing)Pd women apear tobe more approachable or are they still perceived as tandofT- stb Professional appearance is a major factor for both genders, just like having profesional ook that goes wih one's carers mus (Tandy, 2014). When teting ready for cout, both men and women ae advised oe he es ok singe noting too ashy, nd easy to epi, Women are avised aginst wearing color, instead opting for smote muted tones and color like navy, whit, and gray. Men are advised to never wear black suits as well as to only wear black or navy shoes (Tandy, 2014), Ia certain outfit structure is Va ‘THE OUTFITS WE WEAR AND THE MESSAGES THEY SEND 5 consistently used, will that make a man or Woman more or less approachable? This led to the gencration-oFthesecond research question: i. Does sex affect approachability? a4 Another large component of outfits and the messages they communicate is how much yeematy, preparation was needed to communicate the intended look. The message a professional hockey player sends in his pre-game suits quit diferent from someone who wakes up and throws on sweatpants, Much like the outfits people choose to wea, the messages they choose to send can be interpreted diferently based on how much effort has been pu into ther look that day. As “MeCoy pus i, “An analysis of your professional image always begins with grooming. Small eas create big impressions. If frinstance, one shows that they donot care about the way they look then customers and co-workers may assume they have an indifferent atitude towards ‘your work as well” (McCoy, 1996). Mach ike the expectations of someone who is due in court (Tandy, 2014), the beforchand preparation thats needed to look good canbe tremendous (MeCoy, 1996), A strong recommendation for men workin the professional business setting is to gt their suits tailored. Even small changes to thei clothing that show a beter fit can exhibit ‘a smarter sense of fashion, dependability, and responsibility (Lutz, 2014). I it possible to Nua 0 erplan Loc ap Pee, achieve a sense of effort with just casual ook? AWhich look do people mote “effort” to create? This led tothe final research question: [RQS: Do casual outfits or dress outfits take more effort to create? “THE OUTFITS WE WEAR AND THE MESSAGES THEY SEND 6 aged students and were made up of sgh Weston Clee Stans and hal non-Woeton College siden. To ater the fx geupot dt pris wor asked to sbmit apie of ems sing on of 0 prompts The it prompt asked “what ct rok oyu kt wear and the send romp sed“ oui rok do you hin est eet yours” Participants were then. givene participant number and ustmg the participants Prctare asin twee then asked o compete short gestions toga Sheed. This queso nde queso rearing independance ede and ctl enotinentas well as taste alethod they woul wear the chosen ot wo BRL ‘aso avioamens San Baym ina profesional sein. andatbome. WALA) ofthe 213 qunonmie print and picture submissions, 49.8% were women (16 some) an 50.2% wee men (10 ie), Regain sehotaendaes, 80.7% of pias aco Her ans colege (146 pupa) 15% of pins tend a sate schol 8 s),and 1.7% participants), 22% of pricipantatend a rade or community college (4 partic ofpanicipansatend resional college (3 pricipants) 83.3% of participant ae fll time students (175 pricipant), 13.8% of paints ae not eet students 29 paricipnt), and 2.9% of panicpants are prt time students (6 parieipans). The parisipant ge ranges fom 18- 29 years old witha mean age of 21.28 and 75.6% of participants between 20-22 yeas of age (161 participants). Aen Siitomeresiserod in COMMAD4, Nonnstbal Communication coded cach submited picture first into one of the seven overarching clothing style categories: Athl Lounge, Casual, Dress, Occasion, Prescribed, and Other as seen below. J _/ THE OUTFITS WE WEAR AND THE MESSAGES THEY SEND 7 eae eereaprat] Po ve bt ld RATT Ta RT = nts RT RT ste SH i-ting aycom beT Bie oni. te cig a eal, ph rey OSS TAB rere Fesonlexenrid, ag Tints eT Tas] en Fs Gry inte TAT Tiina ono) — [Nina cas pats aoa] ae aig wade dopa bein, go] 1 steal Sie ci apap ie wo peta pan toe por oa or oT shin De i, bon forcad raay SRT esa CART [ipl sndardo ni more ret oS a a SST ag Weng oad) i Tong or we juopei acer Sag] in [Suits worn for specie remonl [fiened Cota astened os = Sead oreo RSET co Tes norte mabesatene ode SST — od [andar ded Yorn of ohn lo es con Trier Feil wrk bates pteional) = peal char akaal ppl st Posie rliiswon 7 RN orn ar neyo protectin, Tata wt ao Then within each overarching clothing style category, each picture was coded ino a specific subeategory based on the given criteria such as ‘Lounge’, ‘Casual’ or ‘Statement. Secondly each submitted picture was then rated on twelve factor seals within thee overarching categories being Stlishness factors, Efonfl factor, and Personality factors. For cach scale, clothing was rated 1-6 based on its affinity to either end ofthe scale. Within Stylishness factors, clothing was rated by its Trendiness(1 being ‘classic’ and 6 being “trend Modesty being body hiding’ and 6 being ‘body scentuatng); Movability being elastic’ ot ‘THE OUTFITS WE WEAR AND THE MESSAGES THEY SEND 8 sary an 6 eigntasi! rid): an is Vibra bring meso ‘pin and 6 ‘being “colorful or ‘patterned) Within Efforiful factors, clothing was rated by its Comfortableness (Strueture)( 1 being rae and bing ‘srcted) Slopins( binge’ an ein “ea (iy) Inrionaliy rng fren and 6 eng efonti) and Detaled being simple’ and 6 being “complex} Lastly, within the Personality factors, clothing was rated by is DistinctveIdentifableness{ 1 being standard and 6 being “uniqu) Socil Dstancing@ being “approachable and 6 being ‘standofFisi} Authoritative! beng ‘submissive and 6 being “authoritative and Confdence(t being “reserved” and 6 being “pold) This date was compiled and used to answer the research UESTOnS— * Results: . rar: Wrud He Qe eat ‘Rexiewing-the-daia there was noldifference in professional dress between participants over and under the age of 21, The Authoritative, Comfortably Intentional, Soppiness, and Movebiity factor sales were taken and applied 1921 yer old and>21 year old participants Bosh were coded nearly identically, which an be seen in Table 2 hed ko har vo0wrts Dee) — Ear ipuacre Gor woere, ‘Table2 [Factor Seale [Participant Age [Number of [Mean Rating [Participants [Professional [ear lear pa hae la-35 iuthoritative ican los 2.6642 [pan haa. la.6582 Icomforability [ear fe.0563 bax bsg 9536 ‘THE OUTFITS WE WEAR AND THE MESSAGES THEY SEND ° fnentionaly ‘ft fs bat ae [oppines Fas ios ban las ova Fear es bat isa Ror: Queen ? or gabon tod hes ided orapw foun ‘There were 107 men and 106 women that participated. Of the 106 women, the mean average of social distancing was 2.6851. In comparison to the men, the mean for the men that participated ‘was 2.3993, The scale from one to six displays that as the number increases, so does the amount 1 person is viewed as standoffs. This can be seen in Table 3. dunt ed Table g Social Distancing, 1 2 3 4 5 6 [approachable aoa —0 86 ps Iien = women f RQ: Qveat~ coo € re SP eek a res tees feed get remienersiee semana calueloutfits This” can be seen in Table 4, based on the various factor scales: Detaled, Sloppiness, Intentionality, Authoritative, and Fashionable. ‘Tables Z Fecorscate [sual Raperhines reap of Cong [peat asa basta bres 007 pps asad hoe f7su4 ress bs fas rientonalty [Casual hes 154 ‘ie OUTFITS WE WEAR AND THE MESSAGES THEY SEND 10 Cc [Dress bs [iaso2 iuthoritatve Icasual hos aoa [Dress es. [3.8702 [Fashionable (casual h6a l27965 [Dress bs 1999 Inevery Factor Scale, the Average of Coding was higher for dress outfits as well as towards the cod fhe peta wich states more ft putin ing 1-9 diressie™ Discussiony, Summary of Results ‘stein oft on ns pasoml expen alate outsiders’ perspective is displayed, itis important understand the supporting reasons and information. The findings ofthis study display unique information that may come ito play ‘throughout daily life. First, sex does play a ole in approachability. When looking at the specific diterences beeen th approachabilty of women versus me, twas found tht women are MAKE 72 pereivedassighily moe stanofFish than men ina vaveyof outfits, This study alo reveled that people perceived one to have put mor effort into her ott when they fell into the “dressy” style clothing category as compared tothe “casual” style category of clothing. Lastly, it as found that age played no role in determining one’s level of dress professionalism. Regardless of ‘where on is throughout the day, these findings may play a oe in one form or anther Cr wpe) Amplications: data recondd ond comriled to produce the result provide answers tothe thee reser questions Fhe frevous esearch come fr hit alluded tothe difficulty for the younger generation entering the workforce to adjust to the professional dress expectations in {ne OUTFITS WE WEAR AND THE MESSAGES THEY SEND " reference tothe first research question. This study, however, displayed that there is no difference inthe level of dress professionalism between those that are under the age of 21 and those that are > 4 cover, Therefore, even though age does not playa factor in the level of dress professionalism, iis! oof OY Nv sil an important factor inthe professional wold in regard to respect and thoy. 1-1" ‘Next, previous research explained various dress and outfit expectations regarding the approachability of men and women in various contexts in regard tothe second research question. jt G) ‘This particular study displayed that women are considered torbe less approachable, or more ee ‘standoff-ish, than man, Perhaps this is due to the social stereotypes and expectations for each , ™! sender, Lastly, previous research has shown tat effort inthe way one look sin part reflected in the makeup of ther outfit. This information is in reference to the third research question and is supported by this study's results as it was found that “dressy” outfits were thought to be more effortful than “casual” outfits. Therefore, when looking to influence others i particular setting, andy Took to “dressy” styled clothing to appear more effortful, } W.

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