Priming: Enclothed Perception

I found the article on enclothed cognition extremely interesting. The article talks about the effect certain clothes, or the perception of those clothes, have on those wearing or seeing them. This theory can be seen firsthand on any basketball court. When a player is wearing a jersey, cool shoes, and other accessories seen in the NBA, they have higher confidence and often seem as if they are a better player to the opponent. By wearing gear that is worn also by famous NBA players, anyone will have higher confidence about their game, when wearing the same items.  This is not the case when a player gets on the court in normal street clothes. This has an effect on the players own perception, and their perception of others of the game being played. This is also affected by which player’s gear you are wearing. Wearing the items worn by LeBron James has a different effect on wearing generic basketball gear. By wearing these items even a terrible player can think they are a lot better than they truly are.

An effect on the opponent can also be seen, as the gear being worn can make the opponent think higher of the player wearing the clothing. By having a high number of gear, the opponent will assume that player has higher experience, and uses the gear properly to advance their game. The article talks about how the theory works with a doctor’s lab coat. They look at multiple factors including, how the person wearing it is perceived, and if it has any effect on their psychological processes. The highest improvement seen was in attention. On a basketball court, the same effect would be seen in the player’s strength and confidence in their game.

I stand by this theory first hand. Any time I play basketball, I put on a pair of Jordan’s, a jersey, sweatbands, and high socks and arms sleeves. This may not make me a better player, but it makes me think I am, along with putting initial fear in the opponent. I may be terrible at basketball, but wearing the proper gear makes even a nonathletic, out of shape, Jewish boy like me seem good at basketball.