Cognition

 Enclothed cognition. Now there's a fancy term for you. It took someone with several advanced degrees to come up with that one. I was made aware of that in a children's book written by Hans Christian Andersen. It was called the Emperors new clothes. Well, in the story it was the lack of any clothing that was amusing to me as a kid, he's naked. Something kids today wouldn't find all that unusual I suspect. But Hans had that story published in 1837 according to Google. That tells me this idea of Enclothed Cognition has been recognized for quite some time. I'm certain it was known long before Mr. Andersen wrote that tale. Clothes make the man has been around since the 15th century, also according to Google. Sounds right to me.

 I was thinking about this "enclothed cognition" as I watched the television. The ladies doing the news appeared to be wearing evening attire more suited to clubbing than to reporting the news. I understand that reasoning, visual appeal does attract viewers, although we certainly can't mention that out loud. I certainly haven't done any research into this, but my casual observation is there are very few "plus size" reporters, especially female ones. I guess that is the next big barrier to overcome. Or will it be the "openly gay" reporter to break that ceiling? I'll stick to this discussion of clothing however. It is something I have written about in the past. I view it all as just taking life a bit too casually. I mean, one should dress for the occasion. And daily life is an occasion. Enclothed cognition is a real thing, like it or not. It's real even when you attempt to deny it, ignore it or point it out to others. 

 Being a boomer, that is what I am often called because it is supposed to be an insult or disparaging in some way, I do remember when uniforms were prevalent. The gas station attendant wore one, the milk man, the post man., the store clerk, police men and any number of others. Today it will generally be a fast food worker that is wearing some uniform. The phycology behind that is they appeal to you as a chef; enclothed cognition. If you are dealing with anyone associated with the health care industry they are likely to be wearing scrubs. Scrubs of many colors and styles, enclothed cognition. Even the majority of doctors will be seen wearing those scrubs. Scrubs are associated with the operating room, the surgeons are the top dogs in the medical chain and by wearing scrubs we can create that illusion. Look at me, I'm important! 

 Yes I'm old enough to remember when professionals could be recognized by the clothing they wore. If you were a businessman, you wore a suit. If you were the working man you generally wore a uniform of some type, even if it was just "Dickies" work clothing. Green or tan the uniform was plain enough. If you were self employed coveralls or jeans were more likely, unless specialized attire was required, ie: a fisherman. I'm so old I remember when you met with your doctor he would be wearing a suit and tie. Doctors didn't walk around outside the operating room in their scrubs! Nurses didn't wear scrubs either, not unless they were actually in the operating room or delivering babies. Enclothed cognition. 

 The term enclothed cognition is defined as "the systematic influence that clothes have on the wearers phycological processes"  in other words how they make you feel. Don't we all feel a little better when we are all dressed up? The fashion industry worldwide is estimated to be between 1.7 and 2.5 Trillion dollars. That is how important clothing is to people, well I should say, what you want others to see is. Take the carrying of a purse worth thousands of dollars, what other purpose could that have other than to show off, to project that image of wealth and affluence. 

 Clothes are being used today to project our political and social ideologies. That wasn't the case years ago. I'm thinking that began with the sale of tee-shirts. During the 1970's "message" tee shirts became a big thing, selling in the thousands. It has spread from there to include all manner of clothing and dress. Take the example of Senator Fetterman. He defied the dress code of the Senate and it was changed to suit him. What does that really say about our society? It doesn't matter what you wear! Yes, that's what I tried to tell my mom when she wanted me to get dressed for church. But mom, in her wisdom explained to me about showing respect for others, and how God would appreciate the effort. And when that didn't work, I learned about corporeal punishment, tradition and respect for your elders. 

  Systematic influence that clothes have on the psychological processes. I was influenced! I'm not  certain all this systematic influence is having a positive phycological effect on the population. It appears to me that society has grown more aggressive, less civil in their demeanor than in years past. Could be that it is time to put on our best bib and tucker, straighten up and fly right! Time to shut up and listen!     Enclothed cognition is a veneer, nothing more than that, but the importance of that lies in getting the attention you want. Dress for success is a well known phrase that expresses that idea as well. Today it is a non-profit organization for helping women secure economic independence, according to their website. This can be achieved by wearing the proper outfit! Professional attire is how they describe that. Well there is nothing new about any of that. We have all known it for many years now. The only issue now is in putting forth the effort. Heck a tee shirt and shorts is good enough to represent my constituents in the senate, what's the big deal. Yeah, it is a casual affair isn't it. Good enough. Hey, look at me. But I have an advanced degree so I comprehend the intuitive influences that propagate this thought process. It is merely enclothed cognition. Yeah, clothes make the man.