http://blog.freepeople.com/2013/08/hands/
http://www.nature.com/scitable/blog/mind-read/what_do_your_hands_say
Friday, 7 February 2014
Thursday, 6 February 2014
RESEARCH: Shoes as a source of first impressions
Journal of Research in Personality:
Shoes as a source of first impressions
Omri Gillath, Angela J. Bahns, Fiona Ge, Christian S. Crandall
Gillath, O., Bahns, A. J., Ge, F., Crandall, C. S., (2012) 'Shoes as a source of first impressions', Journal of Research in Personality, vol. 46, issue 4, August, pp. 423-430
'Surprisingly minimal appearance cues lead perceivers to accurately judge others' personality, status or politics. We investigated people's precision in judging characteristics of an unknown person, based solely on the shoes he or she wears most often. Participants provided photographs of their shoes, and during a separate session completed self-report measures. Coders rated the shoes on various dimensions, and these ratings were found to correlate with the owners' personal characteristics. A new group of participants accurately judged the age, gender, income, and attachment anxiety of shoe owners based solely on the pictures. Shoes can indeed be used to evaluate others, at least in some domains.'
'People need very little information - a mere thin slice - to form a judgment. Nevertheless, the consensus and accuracy in people's judgments are quite remarkable. Using thin slices people can generate judgments of others across domains, such as personality, political views, racial biases, and sexual orientation.'
'The speed of the decision or judgment, however, can and often does come at the expense of its accuracy. Accurate person perception is an important skill for understanding the social world. If "perceiving is for doing," then the ability to form accurate impressions based on limited cues is an adaptive social function. Knowing what someone is like based on their outward appearance can save resources and even one's life by giving him or her cues about potential harm doers.'
'Researchers have used different approaches to look into these issues. For example, researchers focusing on first impressions made while on a date, found that even after a relatively short period of conversation, people for a quick first impression and use it to decide if they would like to date a person or not. A different line of research based on the zero-acquaintance approach, showed that participants are capable of forming accurate impressions even without interacting with the target of the equation.'
'Physical appearance is thought to play a central role in the person perception process. To be able to evaluate the unique contribution of physical appearance, however, the amount of information available to the perceiver must be restricted.'
'Shoes are usually the single most expensive item in people's outfit, they have received relatively little attention in research. Shoes serve a practical purpose, and also serve as nonverbal cues with symbolic messages. People tend to pay attention to the shoes the and others wear. Variation in colours, shapes, and styles convey various messages about the shoe owner (such as his/her status or intentions).'
'Although various people have suggested that shoes can reveal information about their owners, such as their sense of security or insecurity, political ideology, and more recently, friendliness, intelligence, happiness, or being outdoorsy, there are actually very little data to support these claims.'
'One possible framework to explain why shoes might serve as an effective cue about their owners and how observers might use that information to form their impressions is Gosling and colleagues theory on identity claims and behavioral residue. Shoes have great variety of styles, brands, looks, and functions. Because of this variety, shoes can carry individual difference information, but do tey? Adopting Gosling et al's (2002) idea of an identity claim - a symbol displayed by the owners to reinforce their self image - we suggest that the answer is yes. For example, people who are extraverted may think black-and-white is dull, and tend to wear more colourful shoes as an expression of their personality. People with higher income may be more likely to wear shoes with high-end brands as a mean to exhibit their social status.'
'Conscientious people might clean and organize their shoes more regularly; their shoes may possess a newer or tidier look than shoes of others. Can we use shoes as an example of personally and socially meaningful static cues for accurate person perception?'
'People use shoes to infer others' characteristics. Owners wear shoes that represent a public image - but that image differs substantially from what the tell us with questionnaires. Observers generally pick up on the image the shoe wearer is conveying, but in doing so they might be fooled. Yet unless a shoe owner purposefully generates a deceptive image, shoes can be a reliable source of information.'
'Do people buy and wear shoes strategically to portray an image, and can observers detect the "acquired image?" These are fundamental questions in personality and social psychology, and they play out in many domains - shoes are merely one attractive alternative to research.'
I have really enjoyed this article and have found it really inspirational. I really like the idea of photographing shoes as there is so much more meaning behind it, I like the idea of this being again with the disposable cameras as I won't know who the owner is and too can make the assumptions, only the subjects will know that it is their own shoes. By giving the subject the camera to photograph the shoes themselves it works almost as an alternative self portrait and I really like the idea of it being an unconventional self portrait as it will be giving us an insight into the subject themselves.
Shoes as a source of first impressions
Omri Gillath, Angela J. Bahns, Fiona Ge, Christian S. Crandall
Gillath, O., Bahns, A. J., Ge, F., Crandall, C. S., (2012) 'Shoes as a source of first impressions', Journal of Research in Personality, vol. 46, issue 4, August, pp. 423-430
'Surprisingly minimal appearance cues lead perceivers to accurately judge others' personality, status or politics. We investigated people's precision in judging characteristics of an unknown person, based solely on the shoes he or she wears most often. Participants provided photographs of their shoes, and during a separate session completed self-report measures. Coders rated the shoes on various dimensions, and these ratings were found to correlate with the owners' personal characteristics. A new group of participants accurately judged the age, gender, income, and attachment anxiety of shoe owners based solely on the pictures. Shoes can indeed be used to evaluate others, at least in some domains.'
'People need very little information - a mere thin slice - to form a judgment. Nevertheless, the consensus and accuracy in people's judgments are quite remarkable. Using thin slices people can generate judgments of others across domains, such as personality, political views, racial biases, and sexual orientation.'
'The speed of the decision or judgment, however, can and often does come at the expense of its accuracy. Accurate person perception is an important skill for understanding the social world. If "perceiving is for doing," then the ability to form accurate impressions based on limited cues is an adaptive social function. Knowing what someone is like based on their outward appearance can save resources and even one's life by giving him or her cues about potential harm doers.'
'Researchers have used different approaches to look into these issues. For example, researchers focusing on first impressions made while on a date, found that even after a relatively short period of conversation, people for a quick first impression and use it to decide if they would like to date a person or not. A different line of research based on the zero-acquaintance approach, showed that participants are capable of forming accurate impressions even without interacting with the target of the equation.'
'Physical appearance is thought to play a central role in the person perception process. To be able to evaluate the unique contribution of physical appearance, however, the amount of information available to the perceiver must be restricted.'
'Shoes are usually the single most expensive item in people's outfit, they have received relatively little attention in research. Shoes serve a practical purpose, and also serve as nonverbal cues with symbolic messages. People tend to pay attention to the shoes the and others wear. Variation in colours, shapes, and styles convey various messages about the shoe owner (such as his/her status or intentions).'
'Although various people have suggested that shoes can reveal information about their owners, such as their sense of security or insecurity, political ideology, and more recently, friendliness, intelligence, happiness, or being outdoorsy, there are actually very little data to support these claims.'
'One possible framework to explain why shoes might serve as an effective cue about their owners and how observers might use that information to form their impressions is Gosling and colleagues theory on identity claims and behavioral residue. Shoes have great variety of styles, brands, looks, and functions. Because of this variety, shoes can carry individual difference information, but do tey? Adopting Gosling et al's (2002) idea of an identity claim - a symbol displayed by the owners to reinforce their self image - we suggest that the answer is yes. For example, people who are extraverted may think black-and-white is dull, and tend to wear more colourful shoes as an expression of their personality. People with higher income may be more likely to wear shoes with high-end brands as a mean to exhibit their social status.'
'Conscientious people might clean and organize their shoes more regularly; their shoes may possess a newer or tidier look than shoes of others. Can we use shoes as an example of personally and socially meaningful static cues for accurate person perception?'
'People use shoes to infer others' characteristics. Owners wear shoes that represent a public image - but that image differs substantially from what the tell us with questionnaires. Observers generally pick up on the image the shoe wearer is conveying, but in doing so they might be fooled. Yet unless a shoe owner purposefully generates a deceptive image, shoes can be a reliable source of information.'
'Do people buy and wear shoes strategically to portray an image, and can observers detect the "acquired image?" These are fundamental questions in personality and social psychology, and they play out in many domains - shoes are merely one attractive alternative to research.'
I have really enjoyed this article and have found it really inspirational. I really like the idea of photographing shoes as there is so much more meaning behind it, I like the idea of this being again with the disposable cameras as I won't know who the owner is and too can make the assumptions, only the subjects will know that it is their own shoes. By giving the subject the camera to photograph the shoes themselves it works almost as an alternative self portrait and I really like the idea of it being an unconventional self portrait as it will be giving us an insight into the subject themselves.
THINKING ABOUT IDEA 1
I am currently thinking further into my ideas to hopefully finally come to the decision of which project to move on with. For Idea 1, the outcome would be very specific as I would be telling the subjects what to photograph with a detailed step by step list of what to do. Before making a final decision, I thought it would work well if I began to brainstorm ideas of what I could get them to photograph. With this idea, I don't think it is necessarily that important as to the exact subjects I get them to photograph, the images could potentially be of quite banal things but the interest will lie in what they do with these steps and as a viewer we will see what we can take from these images to interpret who they are and what they are about.
Ideas
Ideas
- A portrait of the person you love the most
- Point the camera down towards you feet and photograph what you are wearing on them
- A close up of two green objects next to each other
- The font cover of what you are reading at the moment
- A close up of a pattern you like
- etc.
There is something I like about this idea, but it just feels as though there is something missing. Something that honestly, I don't feel all that interesting. I think I will carry on looking into this idea and the other ideas.
THINKING ABOUT IDEA 3 - A large amount of something...
I'm thinking about the possible subjects that I could get people to photograph for this idea showing a large amount of one thing. I am interested in showing something that could reveal something about the person behind the image, the person that would own that particular object. I really like the idea of the unknown, not knowing who exactly photographed it but having a sort of hint into the kind of person that could have photographed it.
I like the idea of doors, they can reveal a bit about the kind of person that lives behind that door.
Maybe something more specific could work too, an object, perhaps an object that everyone has.
Or maybe an image of peoples feet, what shoes they were wearing. I was recently reading an article about how you can learn about the kind of person someone is by the shoes that they are wearing. Shoes are often noted as a first impression and I could potentially give the cameras our asking people to take a point of view image of the shoes that they are wearing. The images will all be from the same point of view but the subject within them will be different. I am really interested in this idea of having a small insight into the person, but giving the audience the rest to work out.
I like the idea of doors, they can reveal a bit about the kind of person that lives behind that door.
Maybe something more specific could work too, an object, perhaps an object that everyone has.
Or maybe an image of peoples feet, what shoes they were wearing. I was recently reading an article about how you can learn about the kind of person someone is by the shoes that they are wearing. Shoes are often noted as a first impression and I could potentially give the cameras our asking people to take a point of view image of the shoes that they are wearing. The images will all be from the same point of view but the subject within them will be different. I am really interested in this idea of having a small insight into the person, but giving the audience the rest to work out.
EXHIBITION: A New Objectivity: The Dusseldorf School of Photography
As soon as I heard about there being a Dusseldorf School of Photography exhibition in London, I had to go. Not only for my interest in how it was being displayed but too for my love of the work. Exhibited in Sotheby's S2, the work was shown for 'a selling exhibition'. It was a very small exhibition but set within quite a nice white wall gallery space. With a range of work from Andreas Gursky, Bernd and Hilla Becher, Candida Hofer, Axel Hutte, Thomas Ruff and Thomas Struth. It was shown in a very simple way with all of the focus on the images. There was no name or information shown next to the image.
EXHIBITION: The Book: Materiality and Making
'An exhibition of bookworks by four artists, designers and illustrators who traverse various content, media and contexts. The exhibition focuses on the relationship between the book as a material object and the processes of making the final outcome.'
Working on this module and thinking about context, it is really interesting to see work in the context that the artist has agreed to it being shown in, whether this is the one intended when the work was made or not. It is really interesting to see the work and although this was not a photographic exhibition it was interesting to see how they exhibited not only the final outcome but the process as well, showing the importance of this. The part that really inspired me was actually one of the pieces where the process was shown on the wall with a large range of images, inspiration, experiments etc. It was almost as though they took all of their work from their workbook out and laid it out in such a way so it was all there to see in one go. There were pencil scawlings on the wall to explain what certain parts were which I think worked really effectively. It showed a lot in one go, much like I am interested in with my project, it was almost overwhelming with the amount that was there but it worked so well.
CURRENT THOUGHTS ON PROJECT SUBJECT
I tried to give myself a bit of time to decide on the exact subject of my project but in all honesty, I am still torn between a few ideas as I honestly would like to work with them all at some point. I have had a look and I currently have 7 cameras to work with but I can get more if needed. I am still picturing my work on a gallery wall as I feel this is the context this work would work the most effectively in.
Idea 1- a Detailed portrait in 27 exposures
Giving one person the whole camera to work with, with a detailed list of images to compose, in order, which can therefore act as a portrait of themselves due to their choices. I am currently imagining this shown in one long row, perhaps with their name at the beginning, a word they would describe themselves with, or something like that. I'm not really sure yet. I am also thinking about the possibility of showing the next person directly underneath, with a small gap in between. I like the idea of making the comparisons between the people and the images, although this could take away from the idea of the images being a portrait of the people.
Idea 2 - Beauty
Working from the ideas of a previous project, I am interested in what it takes to make people beautiful and the products that they use. I think that by getting people to photograph their products and showing them all in a large grid would give the effect that I am after as it would appear quite overwhelming. This links quite directly to myself, as a beauty blogger, and is also something I am really interested in. Do women need all of this?
Idea 3 - A large amount of one item
With this, I'm not really sure what the item would be yet but by giving the cameras out and asking for one thing could work really interestingly. I really like the idea of seeing a lot of one thing in one go, I just need to work out what that could be...
I'm a little undecided at the moment as to which way I will go with this, but I am sure that it will fit into a gallery context.
Idea 1- a Detailed portrait in 27 exposures
Giving one person the whole camera to work with, with a detailed list of images to compose, in order, which can therefore act as a portrait of themselves due to their choices. I am currently imagining this shown in one long row, perhaps with their name at the beginning, a word they would describe themselves with, or something like that. I'm not really sure yet. I am also thinking about the possibility of showing the next person directly underneath, with a small gap in between. I like the idea of making the comparisons between the people and the images, although this could take away from the idea of the images being a portrait of the people.
Idea 2 - Beauty
Working from the ideas of a previous project, I am interested in what it takes to make people beautiful and the products that they use. I think that by getting people to photograph their products and showing them all in a large grid would give the effect that I am after as it would appear quite overwhelming. This links quite directly to myself, as a beauty blogger, and is also something I am really interested in. Do women need all of this?
Idea 3 - A large amount of one item
With this, I'm not really sure what the item would be yet but by giving the cameras out and asking for one thing could work really interestingly. I really like the idea of seeing a lot of one thing in one go, I just need to work out what that could be...
I'm a little undecided at the moment as to which way I will go with this, but I am sure that it will fit into a gallery context.
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