Social Behavior and Personality 2001 29 (3), 277-288

Clothing Interest, Clothing Satisfaction and Self Perceptions of Sociability, Emotional Stability, and Dominance*

By Sarah Cosbey (Northern Illinois University, IL, USA)

The purpose of this study was to examine clothing interest as a mediating factor in self-perceptions of sociability, emotional stability, and dominance when either satisfaction or dissatisfaction with clothing was specified. A questionnaire was designed to measure five dimensions of clothing interest as well as each of the three traits both with, and without, a "clothing satisfaction variable," or reference to whether the subject felt satisfied or dissatisfied with her dress. A MANOVA analysis revealed that specific dimensions of clothing interest suggesting a risk-avoiding orientation toward dress were most likely to mediate self-perceptions of sociability, emotional stability, and dominance when one was either satisfied or dissatisfied with one's clothing.

* Reproduced with permission of Robert A. C. Stewart Editor of Social Behav and Personality