Clothing Style Differences: Their Effect on the Impression of Sociability

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Abstract
This research examines the effect of clothing style differences on the formation of the impression of sociability. A two‐by‐four factorial experiment was designed to measure the effect of four costumes on the impressions of sociability formed by males and females of a female peer. The sample included 60 male and 60 female college students, from which 15 males and 15 females were assigned randomly to view each of the experimental costumes and to respond on an Impression Measure. Photographs of a female college student wearing two in‐fashion costumes and two out‐of‐fashion costumes were used to determine the degree of sociability attributed to her when she wore different clothing styles. Analysis of variance and the eta squared correlation ratio were used to determine the type and strength of the relationships within the data. Both male and female college students evalu ated a female peer when she wore in‐fashion clothing as being more sociable than when she wore out‐of‐fashion clothing. The effect of clothing style on the impression of sociability was found to be statistically significant and conceptually important.

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