Study: Female students' attire affects exam performance

In addition to the number two pencils and extra erasers most students use to prepare for test days, LSA first-year student Margaret Battersby makes sure to have her flannel pajama pants and a sweater.

Battersby said she wears the outfit because it is comfortable.

"I need to be relaxed," Battersby said. "I do better when I don't stress out."

While many people might not think that what is worn during a test can affect the outcome, a recent study finds a woman's comfort level about their appearance during a test can impact the results.

The research was conducted by University Associate Professor of psychology and women studies Barbara Fredrickson, as well as Rackham graduate students Diane Quinn and Jean Twenge.

The study, which appeared recently in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, contained two main experiments, one of which used 40 male and 42 female students from the University.

Participants were told they were participating in a consumer behavior study.

After trying on either a sweater or a swimsuit and evaluating the product, participants were instructed to keep the clothing on to answer further questions about the products' comfort.

During that wait, participants took a math test, which they were told was for another researcher.

Based on their high school standardized test scores, men's scores did not vary based on the clothing they were wearing, whereas women who wore the swimsuit during the test did worse than women wearing sweaters.

The results were exactly what the group hypothesized, Fredrickson said.

"There is a peculiar orientation toward not appreciating yourself from your perspective, but from the perspective of an observer," Fredrickson said. "Seeing yourself from another perspective is taxing and attentional resources are finite. As a result, other tasks are going to suffer."

While dressing comfortably allows some students extra pride in test-taking abilities, others use an opposing strategy.

LSA junior Viticia Thames said that when she does not feel prepared for an exam, she will dress-up in an effort to boost her confidence.

"Dressing-up gives me more confidence," Thames said. "No matter what, I've got it together."

But some students said they do not believe self-consciousness affects academic performance.

LSA sophomore James De Vaney said he thinks women are more self conscious than men, but he assumed it only impacted them socially.

"I didn't think girls would be affected academically. I thought it just determined whether they were shy or out-going," De Vaney said.

Fredrickson said she is conducting further tests of the academic affects of self confidence.

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