FASHION IN THE CLASSROOM - EFFECTS OF ATTIRE ON STUDENT PERCEPTIONS OF INSTRUCTORS IN COLLEGE CLASSES

This study was conducted to investigate contemporary effects of instru ctor attire (specifically, graduate teaching assistant attire) on stud ents' perception of college teachers in a live lecture context. Effect s of three dress conditions, formal professional, casual professional, and casual, were tested under tightly controlled experimental conditi ons. Results indicated that more formal dress (business suits, dress s hoes) was associated with increased ratings of instructor competence, particularly for female students rating female instructors. However, c ontrary to common assumptions, the most positive influences of instruc tor dress were found in the highly casual condition (faded jeans, T-sh irt,flannel shirt). Perceptions of homophily accounted for a small amo unt of variance in instructor ratings, but there was no significant ef fect of dress condition on ratings of homophily. Overall findings sugg est that caution be used in drawing conclusions regarding potential pa yoffs of professional classroom dress based upon literature not specif ically concerned with the classroom context.