A study published in the Journal
of Research in Personality
concludes that the shoes you wear say a lot about you. Just by looking at your
shoes, a complete stranger can apparently tell if you’re introverted or
extroverted, if you have a difficult time forming long-lasting relationships,
and so forth.
Personally,
I’ve been wearing Asics Gel Running Shoes for the past two years. I currently
have three pairs in rotation, and although I own other shoes, I almost never
wear them. What do other people think about my preference of footwear? I have
no idea, but I doubt if anyone would reach the right conclusion, which is this:
I have foot issues. Specifically, I have gout inflammations maybe once or twice
a year, and so I wear comfortable shoes at all times to be nice to my feet.
I do
support the idea that what we wear or the products we prefer can tell
others something about us. In The Art of Fiction, John Gardner quips
that the details and preferences authors give to their characters matters. Even a subtle
detail, that a character brushes with Crest instead of Pepsodent, writes
Gardner, gives readers a useful clue about the character’s personality. Does it
really? If so, I’m not sure how. I suppose Pepsodent is cheaper, but what if
you take two equivalent brands? Returning to shoes for a second, is a person
who prefers higher-end Nikes really all that much different from someone who
favors higher-end Reeboks? Chevy drivers may be different from Mercedes
drivers, but are BMW drivers really all that different from Jaguar drivers?
Since I
haven’t read the actual shoe study, I’m not completely sure what the authors
intended to prove. How are we to use the study's findings? I suppose that at
some subconscious level, all of us might look down at other people’s feet and
make a variety of conclusions about what we see. But then what? Should we
utilize this knowledge to shift how we communicate to other people, even if it
means throwing out all of our shoes and buying pairs that communicate the proper
message?
What
nonverbal cues are you communicating to other people – based on what you wear,
what products you use, what tattoos or piercings you have, what makeup you
wear, etc.?
"I still have my feet on the ground, I just wear better shoes." -- Oprah Winfrey
"I still have my feet on the ground, I just wear better shoes." -- Oprah Winfrey
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