This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Bushman, B. J. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Bushman, B. J. Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

The Effects of Apparel on Compliance

A Field Experiment with a Female Authority Figure

University of Missouri-Columbia

Past research indicates that apparel influences our behavior and our impressions of others. One type of apparel that is both salient and symbolically significant is the uniform. Few studies, however, have examined the influence of uniforms on behavior, especially with female authority figures. In this study a female confederate who was dressed in a uniform, professional attire, or sloppy clothing told subjects to give change to a person who was parked at an expired parking meter (Bickman, 1974). The results showed that compliance was higher when the confederate was dressed in a uniform. Verbal reasons given for complying also differed across conditions. The study shows that a uniform is a certificate of legitimacy (Joseph & Alex, 1972)for females as well as males and that both sexes are influenced by a female dressed in a uniform.

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?