The naked truth

It's no secret people have separate wardrobes for job interviews and happy hour, but a recent university study showed that both men and women who wear revealing clothing are seen as sensitive bodies rather than intelligent individuals.

The study — conducted by university psychology professor Kurt Gray along with Yale University and Northeastern University professors — isn't the first to suggest people are more objectified when they show more skin.

But Gray said it is the first to demonstrate onlookers categorize people as either thinking — "agency" — or feeling — "experience" — based on their attire.

"Agency is doing, acting and planning, while experience is just feeling and sensing," said Gray, noting people are seen less as agents when they slip into Saturday night getups.

The four-year study disproved previous findings that people are completely objectified when they wear skimpy clothing, Gray said. Instead, it showed they are identified with different types of minds.

"On one hand, you'll think of a person as having less of a capacity for thinking, but on the other hand you'll see them as having more capacity for feeling," said study co-author Joshua Knobe.

These views have important implications for students.

"The most obvious thing is don't wear revealing clothes to interviews," Gray said. "It makes intuitive sense that you wear those kinds of clothes to the bar."

However, the advantages of revealing clothing extend beyond picking up a date, Gray said. A person showing skin conveys sensitivity and vulnerability — key qualities in avoiding blame.

"If you did something bad and want to escape blame, maybe one way to do it is to show some more skin because we have a hard time assigning blame to someone we associate with experience," he said. "When you hand in your assignment three days late, emphasize your vulnerability. ... You don't have to wear a low cut tank top."

Highlighting sensitivity is not the same as being sexually suggestive, Gray noted, although the two are often blurred together.

Past studies have focused on how clothing choices affect women, but Gray said this study showed both sexes are perceived differently depending on dress.

Gray said the study could make people more aware of their looks

"I don't think it'll change any social dynamics, but it might change clothing choices," he said.

saravia@umdbk.com