Pictograms, icons and graphics —understood as figures or symbols that communicate a concept or an idea— have always played a fundamental role in human communication, as a means of conveying a message in a direct, accessible and eye-catching way, and therefore easy to remember or, conversely, less likely to be forgotten. Now, in the age of social networks and the consumption of information at a glance and/or a click, they are experiencing a new golden age as a vehicle for transmitting information or simply provoking a reaction, in an attractive and immediate way. This is why they are being studied by communication and marketing researchers.
But their potential is much greater, or so it appears from a recent study by researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, who have discovered a new capacity or additional benefit of pictograms: they can induce optimism. Specifically, under certain circumstances and as a vehicle for certain messages, they can influence our mood by promoting a greater sense of optimism and confidence, or of pessimism and negativity.
How does it work? The authors of the study found that in the case of so-called frequency pictograms (those used to visually represent a percentage or probability), the presence of several identical icons or images grouped together produces a positive feeling of optimism and confidence in the recipient of the message about his or her possibilities. On the other hand, the use of isolated figures instils a feeling of pessimism, mistrust and negativity.
A very powerful example that allows us to fully understand the potential of this conclusion relates to the way in which the likelihood of overcoming a disease is presented. For example, when we talk about the health effects of tobacco use, if the message is, for example, “80% of patients overcome the illness,” and it is represented by a group of eight figures, it is possible to instil optimism and confidence in the treatment. On the other hand, if the message is “One in five smokers dies,” and it is presented as a single figure, it conveys a sense of pessimism and negativity towards smoking (even though the percentage reported is the same in both cases: 80% survive).
This has led the researchers to conclude that “sorted versus unsorted pictograms should be used strategically, depending on whether the message is promotional or prohibitive.” At the same time, future directions for this research are suggested: for example, whether repetition alone (the presence of grouped icons or images) creates a sense of optimism and confidence regardless of the concept that these icons embody; whether the effect is stronger when all the icons are the same or different, and so on.
The White Lab Coat Effect
In this respect, it would be very interesting to investigate whether this repetition of pictograms is behind the success of Hawaiian shirts (or Christmas sweaters, for that matter), garments about which there is almost unanimous agreement that they are inherently tacky, but which nevertheless fly off the shelves season after season: is there a parallel effect to the so-called white lab coat effect that explains why?
The white lab coat effect (or, in more academic terms, enclothed cognition) refers to how the clothes we wear can modify—enhance, fine-tune, optimise, orient… or however you want to put it—our cognitive abilities. This effect was first documented in a 2012 study by researchers at Northwestern University. In a series of experiments, they found that the scores of a group of volunteers on a test of attention and concentration improved significantly when they were dressed in a white lab coat, the kind often worn by doctors. However, another group of volunteers did not experience this improvement when they wore an identical white coat, but in this case presented as a “painter’s coat”. Nor did a third group of volunteers who completed the test with the same white lab coat hanging in plain sight.
According to the researchers, the results can be explained by a dual effect: the physical experience of wearing the garment, in this case the white doctor’s coat, and the symbolic meaning attached to it. In other words, the values, attributes and skills that are usually associated with those who wear it, in this case doctors.
Returning to the success of Hawaiian shirts, is it possible that their colourful patterns, based on repeated and grouped pictograms, are able to create a sense of optimism in those who wear them, that things are going well and that it is going to be a great day?
To begin to investigate this question, we propose a simple experiment consisting of keeping a small diary in which you write down what kind of shirt you wore in the morning (plain or Hawaiian/printed) and at the end of the day evaluate how your day went (positive, normal, negative) and how you felt (cheerful and optimistic, pessimistic and worried).
Or, alternatively, and more directly:
Put on a Hawaiian shirt in the morning and at the end of the day rate how your day went and how you felt.
Put on a plain shirt and at the end of the day do the same appraisal exercise.
And if you are not prepared to buy one of these shirts or go through the ordeal of wearing one all day, spend an afternoon in the shops trying on Hawaiian shirts and judge whether it has improved your mood.
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