When rich and powerful men such as Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and T-Mobile Chief John Legere make public appearances, they’re not draped in snazzy suits and expensive accessories. They’re “dressed down” in rumpled jeans, boring ol’ t-shirts, and funky sneakers. Quartz explains why they can get way with it in a new analysis that looks at how “third party observers” perceived high-status individuals who partake in “non-conforming behaviors,” such as dressing casually for public appearances..
“Engaging in behaviors that present the risk of losing status gives off the impression that someone has plenty of status to spare,” Quartz found in a recent experiment they conducted.
For example, in one of the experiments a Harvard Business School professor taught a class wearing red sneakers, which is not something most people would wear in such a distinguished setting. In another scenario, investigators examined shop assistants in luxury boutiques in Milan and their perception of poorly dressed customers.
Quartz’s investigation found that participants were more likely to perceive individuals as rich, despite the hoodie and sweatpants, under three conditions.
First, the participant must be well-acquainted with the social norms of a particular environment. For example, the shop assistants at high-end boutiques can tell whether a customer that’s wearing frumpy gym clothes is wealthy in comparison to an elegantly dressed woman.
“Since they are more familiar with the context, the shop assistants are capable of finer, more articulated discrimination in that specific environment and rely less on prototypical product symbols to discern status,” Quartz said.
Pedestrians recruited at Milan’s local train station, on the other hand, were more likely to perceive the elegantly dressed woman as wealthy, in comparison to the poorly dressed customer.
Second, observers must perceive this non-conformity as intentional; the poor dresser deliberately chose his attire because his bank account speaks for itself. “We found that participants perceive a guest wearing a red bow tie at a black-tie country club party as a higher-status member of the club…” Quartz said.
Lastly, observers must value uniqueness and believe this goes hand-in-hand with high-status. The red sneaker-wearing professor, for example, was seen as someone from a higher class, despite the oddity.
It’s all ironic, isn’t? While society consumes expensive brands to look rich, not even the rich look rich!
