Enclothed cognition is the systematic influence that clothes have on the wearer’s psychological processes.
More simply, what you wear affects how you think and feel.
In one study, researchers had participants put on a lab coat, and then perform a task that required paying attention. Those who were told it was a doctor’s coat performed better that those told it was a painters smock!
Many studies show that the clothes you wear can affect your mental and physical performance. Although such findings about so-called enclothed cognition are mostly from small studies in the laboratory that have not yet been replicated or investigated in the real world, a growing body of research suggests that there is something biological happening when we put on a snazzy outfit.