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should come as no surprise that we should pay close attention to how we appear in order to
make the greatest possible impression. In the workplace, there is frequently a defined dress
code that is mandatory in some circumstances.
In interpersonal communication, the appearance of the participants establishes their
social identity. By our appearance cues, we often send messages designed to construct a social
reality or social identity for ourselves that we could not and would not want to construct by
verbal means (Kaiser, 1990). Thus, the judicious person will not say to another person, “I am
trying to impress you” or “I am trying to dominate you,” but the same person will routinely and
repeatedly communicate such messages visually by the kinds of clothing the person chooses to
wear and the way the person grooms himself or herself.
3.2.1. WHY IS PERSONAL APPEARANCE IMPORTANT?
Studies show that personal appearance matters much, and personal grooming plays a
huge part in our perception of a person‟s attractiveness for both men and women. Attractive
characteristics are defined as “those characteristics that make one person appear pleasing to
another.” Even though we may say that we should not judge people by their looks, it is apparent
that the opposite is exactly what we do.
Our personal appearance has a pervasive impact on our self-image and on the image
we communicate to others. As such, it is a major factor in shaping our behaviour and the
behaviours of those with whom we interact. Indeed, we seem not only to place a significant
value upon personal appearance but also to do so with amazing consistency and across cultural
perspectives (Langlosis et al., 2000).
There is a prevailing physical attractiveness stereotype in our society that is based on
the assumption that beauty is one of the standards for assessing a person. Indeed, the
stereotype extends to include professionals, college students and both genders equally, and
various job contexts (Hosoda, Stone-Romero, & Coats, 2003).
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