Effects of clothing, body-type, perceived athleticism, & perceived GPA on impression formation of athletes and non-athlete

Ibrahim Ibrahim, The College of Wooster

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether clothing (sports specific or general street-wear) and body-type (large or lean build) could have an effect on impression formation of perceived athletic ability and perceived grade point average (GPA) of athletes and non-athletes. The sample population consisted of 235 participants (M age=34.4). Participants were asked to take part in a survey questionnaire and answered a number of questions by assessing, rating, and comparing photographs. The dependent variables being investigated were perceived athleticism (the likelihood of person winning a football game) and perceived GPA (how well a person will do in academics). The Likert-type scale was used for both measures. Athleticism was rated from 1 (not-athletic) to 5 (athletic), and GPA was rated on a 4-point scale (from 0.0 to 4.0). Data collection was obtained using a survey questionnaire through Amazon Mechanical Turk (amturk). Results revealed that both build and clothing influenced perceived athleticism and perceived GPA. Lean build individuals and those dressed in collared shirts were perceived to have higher GPA's, while the large build individuals and those dressed in football jerseys were predicted to be more likely to win a football game.