Gabrielle Plucknette for The New York TimesA new study published in the Journal of Research in Personality says that we can accurately judge others based on the shoes they wear. The abstract of “Shoes as a Source of First Impressions” states:
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.
Naturally, we had to put this to the test in our own office. Can you tell which person in these pictures is squeamish about looking at exposed breasts in magazines? Can you tell who spends too much time thinking about sports? What footwear betrays the literary cowardice that pretends to have read “Infinite Jest”? Which shoes walk in fascination after trophy hunters?
We can’t, but maybe the authors of the study can. Take our quiz below and write your guesses in the comments section.
Of these nine people, which was born behind the Iron Curtain?
Gabrielle Plucknette for The New York TimesWithin this group, who is the design director of the magazine?
Gabrielle Plucknette for The New York TimesOf these nine, who is the inveterate gambler?
Gabrielle Plucknette for The New York Times