Reference table
What instructor attire does to student perceptions
Five studies on formal and casual dress, competence and warmth
A summary of five studies on how what lecturers wear shapes what students think of them. Formal dress tends to raise perceived competence and casual dress perceived warmth, while preparation and attention to students matter more than either. Quality officers can use it when reading expertise and approachability items in course evaluations. Koji's course evaluation interviews follow up on ratings, so a competence score comes with the reason behind it.
What's in this reference table
| Study | Design | What students inferred |
|---|---|---|
| Oliver, Marder, Erz and Kietzmann 2021 | Three experiments, 1,361 participants | Formal dress raised competence and lowered warmth, and both shaped evaluations |
| Morris, Gorham, Cohen and Huffman 1996 | Teaching assistants taught classes in three dress styles | Formal dress rated more competent, casual dress more sociable and extroverted |
| Sebastian and Bristow 2008 | Business students rated professor vignettes | Formal dress read as more credible but less likeable, varying by gender |
| Dunbar and Segrin 2012 | Two instructors varied clothing and attention to students | Attention to students mattered more than clothing |
| Lavin, Davies and Carr 2010 | Casual, business casual and professional dress compared | Preparation and knowledge drove credibility whatever the dress |
Use this image
Free to use in your docs, decks and posts under CC BY 4.0, as long as you credit Koji with a link to this page. To embed it, paste this into your page:
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<a href="https://www.koji.so/visuals/instructor-attire-student-perception-studies"><img src="https://www.koji.so/visuals/instructor-attire-student-perception-studies/instructor-attire-student-perception-studies.png" alt="Table comparing five studies on instructor attire and student perceptions, showing each study's design and what students inferred from formal and casual dress." width="1200" height="848" /></a>
<p>Source: <a href="https://www.koji.so/visuals/instructor-attire-student-perception-studies">What instructor attire does to student perceptions</a>, Koji</p>
