'Generalising the black clothing stereotype'

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Title 'Generalising the black clothing stereotype'

Abstract

The black clothing stereotype suggests an association between black clothing and aggressiveness and deceit. The present study was devised to investigate whether this stereotype was applicable to areas more subtle than aggression. A counselling scenario was devised and the colour of the counsellors clothing was manipulated. It was hypothesized that the counsellor in black clothing would be regarded more negatively than the counsellor in light clothing. The study employed an Independent groups design, which included 50 participants. 25 participants were assigned to each condition. The results proved to be not significant. Therefore the hypothesis was rejected. The results demonstrated that the black stereotype has a limited generality.

Introduction

Within psychology, the impact of stereotypes has been extensively addressed (Boon, 1988; Brown, 1995; Fiske and Neuberg, 1990, as cited in Psychology, Crime & Law). These include gender stereotypes (Eagly, 1994; Eagly and Stephen, 1986, as cited in Psychology, Crime & Law), physical attractiveness stereotypes (Eagly et al., 1991, as cited in Psychology, Crime & Law), racial stereotypes (Brown, 1995, as cited in Psychology, Crime and Law), as well as stereotypes of the elderly (Snyder & Peter, 1994, as cited