We are happy to share that our article “A leader’s clothes: an experimental investigation of the role of cognitive processes for clothing-based leader status ascriptions” was published open access in the European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology.

Abstract: 

Ascription of leadership status is influenced by efficient cognitions that process visual cues, including a person’s clothing. The present research investigates the perceptual, attentional and higher-level cognitive processing (i.e. prototype activation) mechanisms underlying clothing- ased leadership status ascription. Drawing on Implicit Leadership Theory and Cognitive Load Theory, we examine how clothing style (formal vs. informal) and clothing distinctiveness (standout vs. balanced) influence leadership status ascription. In two experiments – an online experiment (N = 304) and a laboratory eye-tracking experiment (N = 60) – participants assessed the leadership status of professionals participating in virtual meetings. Results show that individuals dressed in formal clothing were more likely to be ascribed leadership status, with this effect being amplified when formal clothing was distinctive. Reaction time analyses suggest that formal clothing facilitates faster leadership status ascription, indicating prototype-consistent cognitive processing. Eye-tracking data further reveal that formal clothing attracts greater visual attention, which mediates its effect on leadership status ascription. These findings highlight the dual role of bottom-up visual attentional capture and top-down leadership prototype activation in leadership status ascription. Our research contributes to leadership and social cognition literature by demonstrating the perceptual, attentional and higher-level cognitive mechanisms through which clothing influences leadership status ascription.

The full article is available open access at: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1359432X.2026.2624587