Let’s face it, life is one big popularity contest. Anyone who has survived high school can attest to this fact. You strive to be liked, accepted, and loved by everyone around you. Of course, this should matter less than it does with both younger and older individuals.
You might think wearing a luxury item will help with your popularity, help you appear more qualified for a job you are applying for, or help you get the spouse of your dreams. However, wearing Rolex Presidential Watches or any other widely recognized brand will not guarantee your acceptance in most situations.
Research
Back in 2015, a group of researchers from the Coastal Carolina University and the Yonsei University conducted a survey of students at the Urban University in Seoul, South Korea. The findings were published in the Journal of Business Research.
The experiment was to help determine if someone wearing a popular or recognizable name brand would be seen as more qualified or seem less capable of being hired after a job interview.
It’s All In The Logo
To test this hypothesis, the researchers conducted identical interviews with the same person wearing three different types of clothing. The clothing in each interview featured:
– no logo
– a brand named the luxury logo
– a non-luxury brand logo
In nearly all the cases, preferential behavior was extended to the person wearing the recognizable luxury logo.
Costly Signal Theory
The researchers, in this case, dubbed what happened the Costly Signal Theory. This theory deems that people who show off their luxury or status are signaling to others that they can afford to do whatever is required of them.
Wearing something expensive, like a Rolex Watch or high-end clothing, boasts to others that this person can afford whatever they are wearing. It also gives the wearer the hope to increase their standing or status with the person viewing their luxury item.
The First Study
The first group of 180 participants was given a photograph of a woman wearing a simple white polo-style shirt. They were asked to rate this woman on several levels, including attractiveness, wealth, trustworthiness, status, and several other characteristics.
There were three identical photos used. The only difference was the woman’s shirts either had a luxury logo, a non-luxury logo, or no logo visible to the participants.
It should be no surprise that the woman’s photograph with the luxury logo was deemed to possess the most status and wealth.
The second part of the test gave 150 participants a short video clip to view in which the woman was attending an interview to become an intern for future employment. Again, the woman in the scenario was identical except for the different logos or no logo on her shirt. The clip also stated the salary she would receive for her new position.
Again, the video with the woman wearing the luxury logo garnered the most votes for the job, as well as the one who should receive the highest salary. Viewers were asked what amount of pay, out of five different salaries, she should receive. The results gave the woman with the luxury logo a 12 percent greater salary than the woman with no logo on her shirt.
Analyzing the Results
Those that viewed the woman with the luxury logo believed she was the most suitable candidate for the job and deserved the higher salary. They were going on the assumption that she was wealthier than the other candidates and therefore deserved a higher salary. They also believed she deserved the job because she possessed a higher status than the other candidate.
The photo with no logo garnered the least amount of support for a new job for the subject. People as a whole, as a society have been conditioned to look for status, wealth, and perceived “better” things. Having a status symbol on your clothing, wearing a watch only a few can afford, or driving an expensive car are all desired as well as becoming a status to be admired.
There is no shame in striving to own the best watch, the best car, or a great house. This has been a part of human nature, for as long as people have been around. Human beings have been conditioned to be better, to obtain the best. Unfortunately, somewhere along the line, it has been acceptable to obtain status and wealth at the cost of others. Backstabbing, cheating, paying for favors, and upgrades are all acceptable ways to become better, to get the best in life.
What should matters is how a person gets their status and can afford nice things. If they use others as stepping stones to success, then they don’t deserve the status or nice things. But the majority of the entertainment industry, politics, and those who already possess status have taught us that success is worth any price, and is given to cheaters more than honesty.
Final Thoughts
Unfortunately, in a society that places such high regard on status, looks, and money, it is hard to compete when you do not have these items. In order to create a better world, it is important to help the children growing up now to realize these things do not matter. Parents and teachers need to place a higher value on how someone acts rather than how they look.
After a global pandemic, in which many people lost everything, it is more important than ever to create a world of acceptance that values honesty, helpfulness, kindness, and hard work above money and status. In order to get to this level of acceptance is to start with the young and make sure they grow up with the right values.
This is not to say that you cannot treat yourself after working hard and purchasing a great watch that happens to be synonymous with status. The idea is to continue to be a good person while you are wearing such a watch. This will help you get the job you want, the status and respect you crave and anything else you want in life.
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