Effects of Harmony Between Personal and Apparel Coloring on Perceptions of a Woman's Employment Potential

Abstract

The hypothesis that a woman job applicant wearing appropriate colors for her personal coloring would be perceived as having greater employment potential than a woman dressed in inappropriate colors was tested. The purposive sample consisted of 120 corporate personnel recruiters. Respondents rated a fictitious job applicant on a Likert-scaled employment potential questionnaire. A 2 X 2 factorial design was used to assess the effects of color appropriateness and job sought on employment potential. Analyses of variance indicated no direct effects of color appropriateness on perceptions of competence, independence, creativity, leadership, or loyalty. Color appropriateness interacted with job to affect perceptions of creativity; however, managerial applicants dressed in appropriate colors were judged less creative than counterparts wearing inappropriate colors. Color appropriateness also interacted with both job sought and gender of respondent to affect perceived loyalty, with improved ratings accruing only to women seeking sales positions who were rated by females. It was suggested that benefits of color analysis may lie in the aesthetic domain rather than in the domain of economic organization.

References

Abramov, I. (1985). An analysis of personal color analysis. In M.R. Solomon (Ed.), The psychology of fashion (pp. 211-223). Lexington, MA: Lexington Books.

Back, K.W. (1985). Modernism and fashion: A social psychological interpretation. In M.R. Solomon (Ed.), The psychology of fashion (pp. 3-14). Lexington, MA : Lexington Books.

Bixler, S. (1984). The professional image. New York: Perigee Books.

Blumer, H. (1969). Symbolic interactionism: Perspective and method . Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall .

Cash, T.F. (1985). The impact of grooming style on the evaluation of women in management. In M.R. Solomon (Ed.), The psychology of fashion (pp. 343-355). Lexington, MA: Lexington, Books.

Cho, E. , & Lueders, H. (1982). Looking, working, living terrific 24 hours a day . New York: Ballantine Books.

Cooley, C.H. (1902). Human nature and the social order. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons.

Davis, F. (1985). Clothing and fashion as communication. In M.R Solomon (Ed.), The psychology of fashion (pp. 15-27). Lexington, MA: Lexington Books.

Forsythe, S.M. , Drake, M.F. , & Cox, C.A., Jr. (1984). Dress as an influence on the perceptions of management characteristics in women. Home Economics Research Journal, 13, 112-121.

10.

Forsythe, S.M. , Drake, M.F. , & Hogan, J.H. (1985). Influence of clothing attributes on the perception of personal characteristics. In M.R. Solomon (Ed.), The psychology of fashion (pp. 267-277). Lexington, MA: Lexington Books.

11.

Goffman, E. (1959). The presentation of self in everyday life. Garden City, NY: Doubleday.

12.

Hamilton, J.A. (1987). Dress as a cultural sub-system: A unifying metatheory for clothing and textiles. Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, 6, 1-7.

13.

Jackson, C. (1981). Color me beautiful. New York : Ballantine Books.

14.

Johnson, K.P. , & Roach, M.E. (1985). The influence of physical attractiveness and dress on impressions of a woman's employment potential. Unpublished manuscript, Arizona State University, Tempe.

15.

Johnson, K.K.P. , & Roach-Higgins, M.E. (1987). Dress and physical attractiveness of women in job interviews. Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, 5, 1-8.

16.

Kaiser, S.B. , Schutz, H.G. , Chandler, J.L. , & Lieder, W.M. (1985). Shoes as sociocultural symbols: Retailers' versus consumers' perceptions. In M.R. Solomon (Ed.) The psychology of fashion (pp. 127-141). Lexington, MA: Lexington, Books.

17.

Kaiser, S.B. (1985). The social psychology of clothing. New York: Macmillan.

18.

Kaiser, S.B. (1983-84). Toward a contextual social psychology of clothing: A synthesis of symbolic interactionist and cognitive theoretical perspectives . Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, 2, 1-9.

19.

Mead, G.H. (1934). Mind, self and society. Chicago : The University of Chicago Press.

20.

Mischel, W. (1968). Personality and assessment. New York: John Wiley.

21.

Molloy, J.T. (1977). The woman's dress for success book. Chicago: Warner Books.

22.

Nicholson, J. , & Lewis-Crum, J. (1986). Color wonderful. New York: Bantam Books.

23.

Revelli, C. (1982). Color and you. New York: Simon & Schuster.

24.

Simone-Miller, F. (1985). Commentary: Signs and cycles in the fashion system . In M.R. Solomon (Ed.), The psychology of fashion (pp. 71-81). Lexington, MA: Lexington Books.

25.

Stanley, J.C. (1971). Reliability. In R.L. Thorndike (Ed.), Educational measurement (2nd ed.) (pp. 356-442). Washington, DC: American Council on Education.

26.

Stone, G.P. (1962). Appearance and the self. In A.M. Rose (Ed.), Human behavior and social processes: An interactionist approach (pp. 86-118). New York: Houghton Mifflin.

27.

Winer, B.J. (1971). Statistical principles in experimental design (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.

28.

Workman, J.E. (1984-85). Effects of appropriate and inappropriate attire on attributions of personal dispositions. Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, 3, 20-23.