Most people agree that looking good and feeling good go hand-in-hand. But did you know that this casual observation is actually proven scientifically? "Enclothed Cognition" coined by scientists Hajo Adam and Adam D. Galinsky refers to the affect that clothing has upon a person's mental process...the way they think, feel, and function.
In 2012, Adam and Galinski set out to prove the theory of "Enclothed Cognition" using none other than a coat! A white coat to be exact.
In the first experiment they sampled 58 people to take part in an attention test. Half of those samples were given a white "scientist" coat to wear and the other half were not. Those who wore the coat made 1/2 as many mistakes on the test than those who did not, proving that they were paying better attention to detail when wearing the lab coat.
In the second experiment they sampled 74 people. One third were given the same white "scientist" coat to wear, one third were given the same white coat to wear but were told it was an "painters coat," and one third were just told to look at the white coat as they performed the test. Once again those who wore the "scientist" coat were the most focused during the test.
Every year for Halloween, I love to share my favorite podcast episode entitled, the secret emotional life of clothes. In this series, NPR reporters investigate not only this story, but countless others on the transformational qualities found in clothing.
