The color black and situational context: Factors influencing perception of an individual's aggressiveness and respectability

Abstract

The article is focused on the influence of black colored clothing and situational context on impression formation. We examinated whether individuals are evaluated as more aggressive (1) when they are wearing black clothing, (2) in an aggressive situational context. Furthermore, we examinated whether individuals are evalued as more respectable (1) when they are wearing black clothing (2) in more respectable situational context. The sample consisted of 475 high school students who assessed individuals displayed in computer-modified photographs wearing randomly chosen colors in randomly chosen contexts. We show that men unlike women are evaluated as more aggressive when wearing the color black. Black colored clothing does not have influence on the assessment of one's respectability. Both men and women are evaluated as more aggressive in aggressive situational contexts and also as more respectable in more respectable situational contexts regardless of the color of their clothing.