The way you present yourself can have a profound effect on the way you act. A little effort put into your clothing can make you think a certain way and have a positive — or negative — impact on your performance.
David McRaney, author of You Are Now Less Dumb, points to a study that demonstrates how we act differently based on what we wear — or even what we think we’re wearing. In the study, participants dressed in everyday clothing but half of them wore lab coats. The people in lab coats made far fewer mistakes than those without.
In another experiment, both halves were given lab coats but one half were told they were actually paint smocks. Again, the people with lab coats outperformed those in the “paint smocks”. The findings pointed to a simple conclusion: when we dress smart we think we are smart. If we don’t, we become more error-prone.
While certainly not the only factor that determines how we think about ourselves and approach our work, don’t think your clothing has no impact on your performance. Check out the video above for a fun look at this study.
Enclothed Cognition [You Are Not So Smart]
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