Hi I'm often curious whether topics that come up here in a casual manner have a psychological literature associated with them, attire being one recent example. Indeed, "clothing" appears in the PsycInfo thesaurus and there are over 1,000 entries on the topic. When I ask about "clothing" and "culture," over 100 entries came up, including a dissertation on dress by Latina women. Here's the abstract:
"This dissertation is an exploration of how Hispanic women of different levels of acculturation communicate their individual, social and cultural identities through clothing and appearance. The purpose of this study is to help understand the way in which clothes, as objects, embody deeper cultural values, and how the meanings assigned to them are socially constructed and diffused in a bicultural context. This dissertation employs a cross-disciplinary theoretical perspective, bringing together concepts from social-psychology, symbolic interactionism, symbolic consumption, diffusion of innovation, and acculturation theories. Following the exploratory nature of this study, in-depth interviews and observations were employed to systematically examine the experiences of ten Hispanic women living in the United States. The study demonstrates that, when it comes to clothing and appearance, Hispanic women have more commonalities than differences. Hispanic women*regardless of the level of acculturation*retain over time a set of values and beliefs characteristic of the Hispanic culture. These values and beliefs are learned early on from their mothers and maintained through constant interaction with the Hispanic culture through friends and family. Hispanic cultural values drive the way Hispanic women communicate gender, attractiveness, age, ethnicity, and social class. Another important part of this work explains the competency that Hispanic women have in communicating the different roles of their identities through clothing and appearance. This competency allows them to balance the need to make a positive impression on others with the need for self-expression. Finally, this study illustrates the interconnection between the different aspects of the adoption of clothes by pointing out sensorial experience, fit, and interpersonal influence as the major drivers of adoption among Hispanic women. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)" Provocative dress also gets some attention, as in: "This study provides empirical evidence for the objectification of women and unearths factors that increase objectification. Objectification theory (Fredrickson and Roberts 1997) suggests that women from Western cultures are the targets of male gaze. Although this seems self-evident from a look at the media, little empirical evidence exists to document the phenomenon or unravel underlying processes. Undergraduate female participants (N=82) from the Midwestern part of the United States rated three photographs of well-known female Olympic athletes shown either provocatively dressed or in sport-appropriate outfits. Results showed that when shown provocatively attired the women were objectified. Furthermore, participants' own levels of social physique anxiety were significant predictors of objectification. Sexism and trait objectification were not significantly related to ratings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)" That provocative styles (e.g., short skirts) might have some systematic determinants was examined in this study: "Despite many speculations, there is no well-supported explanation for cycles of fashion in women's dress and scholars cannot agree whether fashions reflect societal changes. Generalizing from cycles of bodily attractiveness for women, it was hypothesized that dress styles are reflective of reproductive economics. Using data from 3 studies of dress fashion extending from 1885 to 1976 (J. Richardson and A. L. Kroeber, 1940; P. Weeden, 1977; M. A. Mabry, 1971), the prediction was tested that short skirts (signaling sexual accessibility) would be correlated with low sex ratios (indicating limited marital opportunity for women), with increased economic opportunities for women and with marital instability. Predictions for narrow waists and low necklines (which signal reproductive value) were opposite. These predictions received strong support indicating that dress styles, like standards of bodily attractiveness, may be partly determined by marital economics. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)" Another interesting article addressed relation between religiousness and willingness to wear revealing clothing. And there were a number of articles in clothing choices of Muslim women. As well dress in advertising (sex appeal) got some attention, including some interesting cross-cultural comparisons. Seems like an interesting area. Take care Jim James M. Clark Professor of Psychology 204-786-9757 204-774-4134 Fax [email protected] --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=5090 or send a blank email to leave-5090-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
