School Uniforms and Person Perception

Abstract

For this study of perceived behavior and academic ability in a secondary school setting, four clothing styles including two styles of school uniforms were photographed and manipulated. 270 students and 20 teachers from a public high school and a private school, in which uniforms are required, participated. A repeated-measures analysis of variance as well as a Tukey's test were used for data analysis. Independent variables were sex of the model, school, and style of clothing. Dependent variables were perception of behavior, scholastic achievement, and scholastic potential. Perception of school-related behavior and scholastic ability of the models dressed in four styles of clothing varied significantly by style of dress. There were also significant effects for sex of the model and status (teacher vs student) of the perceiver. Results were similar for the two schools in that a school uniform positively affected the perception of academic abilities and school-related behavior of the clothed models for students and teachers.