Mind what you wear … because it could change your life.

We spend billions of pounds on clothes annually, so surely the cry 'I don’t know what to wear!’ should never be heard. Yet it is. 

A wardrobe crisis may seem like a minor dilemma in a day packed with important decisions, but it's actually not frivolous. Because the clothes we choose can shape the day ahead, determining who we meet, how we behave and how others react to us. No wonder the psychology of fashion is so fascinating.

That’s why my new book ‘Mind What You Wear’ helps you understand the impact of what you wear, on yourself.

Because clothing can literally be life-changing.

Mind What You Wear is just £1.99 from Amazon UK

The book includes the story of Meg who, on a whim, bought a hat, that made a man approach her at a party, that led to them marrying. It’s a poignant  reminder of how our apparently insignifcant choices have a huge impact on others. And where that can lead.

But the main focus of the book is on how what we wear changes us too.

We walk taller and act more confidently in the right outfit. When we’re dressed down we withdraw and hide away. Clothes speak to others but they have the power to speak to us too. Sensations and associations in the body lead to new ideas in the mind.

Every day we pull something from the wardrobe, or try on something in a store, that has life-changing potential. 

 - The suit that subliminally convinces an interviewer we’re perfect for the job. 

 - The red dress that stirs something in a future lover that leads them to ask for a date. 

 - Even the swimsuit that can strip us of our intellectual powers. 

(Yes, when Barbara Fredrickson gave a maths test to groups of women and men who wore either a swimsuit or a sweater, she showed that wearing a swimsuit diminished a woman’s maths performance).

This was a startling discovery - that what we wear can actually change the way our brains function. Later, researchers from Northwestern University in the US showed that putting on a white coat improved a person’s mental agility. By associating the white coat with a doctor their brain was primed to take on different mental capacities.

So in my lab we have been putting students in Superman t-shirts! We’ve found it makes them see themselves as more likeable and superior to other students, and even to believe they are physically stronger. Every day the brain’s functions are primed by sights, smells and experiences. Now we know our mental processes can also primed by a piece of clothing, which opens up exciting opportunities.

What we wear has cognitive, social and emotional consequences. 

The right clothing can change who we are, how we think and how we feel. So we should never underestimate this power. My research has revealed that when women are depressed they are more likely to wear jeans. What would happen if, on waking up feeling glum, instead of dragging on the sad pants the woman pulled on a favourite frock? The effect could be intrapersonal, priming her brain and lifting her mood. Or it could be interpersonal, the message her clothes send to the world determining others’ responses to her, triggering a positive feedback loop capable of changing her mood. 

The book has lots of tips to lift your mood with the right clothes. 

One day we may even see clothes prescribed as therapy, as an alternative to medication. In the meantime why not learn a little more about how the right clothes can impact on your life by getting hold of a copy of Mind What You Wear.

How do we change if we’re hard-wired for habits?

“The brain is a habit machine” one of the founders of Do Something Different, Professor Ben Fletcher, often tells us, before going on to remind us how recent scientific discoveries have changed views about the adult brain.

 

Professor Ben Fletcher says 'the brain is a habit machine'
but says doing something different is the antidote.

For many years it was thought the brain was fixed and immutable, that it was incapable of restructuring itself. Then, in the early twentieth century, evidence emerged showing that the brain is more malleable than ever thought possible. It can and does change.

Novel stimuli cause the brain to create new neural pathways or reorganize existing ones.

We’re talking here about the principle of neuroplasticity. It is now recognised that the brain is constantly changing in response to new experiences, new behaviors and different environments. Novel stimuli cause the brain to create new neural pathways or reorganize existing ones, fundamentally altering how behaviour is created and how information is processed.

A ground-breaking study into neuroplasticity involved scanning the brains of London taxi drivers (Maguire et al., 2000). Typically, a London taxi driver spends around two years studying the complex layout of the city and its myriad of streets. This long, rigorous period of training causes structural changes in the taxi drivers’ brains. When their brains were exposed to fMRI scanning, the taxi drivers’  hippocampuses were found to be significantly larger than those of a control group of 50 healthy men. The hippocampus is the brain area involved in memory and navigation. And the longer the time spent as a taxi driver the larger it was.

Repetition of an activity (in other words, habits) results in the brain falling back on the same set of existing neural pathways.

Further examples of brain neuroplasticity are less dramatic, but they demonstrate the same principle. They have shown that some activities impact the brain more than others (Mechelli et al., 2004; Gaser and Schlaug, 2003; Draganski et al., 2006) and that repetition of an activity (in other words, habits) results in the brain falling back on the same set of existing neural pathways. Therefore, to continue changing, the brain must be challenged to work in new ways. It must be exposed to novel experiences and new behaviours.

To continue changing, the brain must be challenged to work in new ways. It must be exposed to novel experiences and new behaviours.

DoSomething Different draws on this idea, by helping everyone on our programmes to create experiences that challenge their existing habits. Because brain science also tells us that experiences change the brain, not thoughts. It’s about acting, not thinking.

The Do’s we create tackle the individual’s habitual ways of behaving and responding. Doing something different exposes the person to regular, novel experiences. This reduces the likelihood of the brain falling back on old neural pathways. Not only does this mean that life gets better, it also means old maladaptive behaviours – overeating, excessive drinking, bias, stress - are less likely to get repeated. This is behaviour change in action, one Do at a time.

This is a copy of a blog I (Karen) wrote for the Do Something Different website over at http://dsd.me. Many of the principles discussed here apply to people's money habits too!

3 ways to control your spending in 2014

Science has thrown up some fascinating facts about how the brain operates when we're in consumer mode, and the processes at work when people over-spend. 

Apply some science to control your spending

There are three main factors at work - and to watch out for - if you want to keep spending under control in 2014:

1. Biological Factors: Don’t go shopping if you’re hungry, pre-menstrual or have just emptied your bladder.

You may not realise that your physiology is affecting your behaviour. But when you're hungry you will buy more food and make higher calorific choices at the supermarket. When in an anxious state you will be more likely to impulse-buy. That's because the physical state of high arousal leads to a depletion of the resources that govern self-control. And fluctuations in activity in the brain’s orbitofrontal cortex during the menstrual cycle will make you more likely to go on a spending spree when premenstrual. And more rational and controlled post-ovulation. Even an empty bladder affects your brain’s control mechanisms. Science has shown you’ll be more likely to (sorry) splash out if you’ve just spent a penny. So pay attention to your body before hitting the shops, it may be telling you to hold fire.

Try timing shopping trips with your menstrual cycle and avoid the pre-menstrual phase

2. Emotional factors: Don’t shop if you’ve just had a row, a stressful day or been dumped by your boyfriend.

People experience a range of emotions (anger, fear, sadness) in their daily lives and engage in all sorts of behavioural responses to keep them in check.  Some women find shopping gives them an emotional outlet, the way that alcohol or drugs can do for others. It distracts them from negative feelings and provides comfort in the form of a treat or reward. In fact studies of compulsive buying have shown that its prime function is to repair mood. So spot when emotions are running high and find an alternative way of releasing them. Find  distraction through exercise or relaxation, or seek social support by spending time with friends. Concentration, whether on gardening, painting or rock-climbing, is also a good way to absorb negative emotions. And the Do Something Different approach to behavioural change could help see you through the tough times because it's all about about breaking habits and increasing behavioural flexibility.

Buyer's remorse is like a shopping hangover

3. Cognitive factors: Don’t go shopping with low self-esteem and an “I deserve it attitude”.

Impulse purchases can trigger a lot of self-justification in the consumer, to assuage the guilt of over-spending. Their thoughts echo with the messages that have been implanted by constant brain-washing and bombarding marketing campaigns. Thoughts such as “Why shouldn’t I have it?” “I work hard I deserve it” “My friends will love me for it” and so on. Self-talk can also shift the focus onto the wrong things, “I’m saving £100 by buying this in the sale” (instead of, “I’m spending £200 I don’t have") or even "I'll show him!" Some cognitive reframing can help here. Relabel your credit card your debt card. Silently answer the ad-men back. Recall when you last had buyer’s remorse and tell yourself how you’ll feel tomorrow. And find ways to boost your self-esteem so that you can resist the constant bombardment of persuasive messages. 
Few people greet a large credit card bill with the words, “Because I’m worth it”.