In Response to: Psychology and Public Affairs: Dress Codes
I imagine it was someone living in a cave who first noticed that clothing could bring on status judgments in an observer (“Dress Codes,” Feb. 12), but if it bears more study, knock yourselves out.
However, the idea that anyone doing any hiring should overlook such cues is a real head-scratcher. How a person dresses for a job interview is a huge data point, not something an interviewer should strive to ignore. You’d like to know that the candidate understands how important first impressions are.
As reported in PAW, it’s as if the researcher is saying, “I’ve found something important. Now let’s act as if it’s unimportant.”