The influence of affect on black clothing stereotype

• Main Author: Lai, Stanley Wei Jie
• Other Authors: Ho Moon-Ho Ringo
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2020
• Subjects: Social sciences::Psychology::Affection and emotion
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/139604
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

According to the black clothing stereotype (Vrij, 1997), people perceive individuals dressed in black clothing more negatively than those dressed in white due to an association of the colour black with negative concepts. However, past studies have mainly focused on explicit measures such as explicit ratings of an individual which, while significant, overlook the fact that people may feign their explicit responses in real-life high stakes situations (e.g. job interview). The present study proposes that positive affect can increase the effects of the black clothing stereotype detectable by both explicit and implicit measures even with context controlled for. The present study demonstrates that both explicit and implicit measures were able to measure the effects of the black clothing stereotype. Inducing a positive affect in participants has also resulted in a trend of increased black clothing stereotype as opposed to inducing a negative affect, but not to a significant level. The present study has potential implications in the understanding of prejudice and snap judgments.