Oral hygiene effects verbal and nonverbal displays of confidence

Taylor, Paul; Banks, Faye; Jolley, Daniel; Ellis, David; Watson, Steven; Weiher, Lynn; Davidson, Brittany; Julku, Juliaana

Abstract

Although oral hygiene is known to impact self-confidence and self-esteem, little is known about how it influences our interpersonal behavior. Using a wearable, multi-sensor device, we examined differences in consumers’ individual and interpersonal confidence after they had or had not brushed their teeth. Students (N = 140) completed nine one-to-one, 3-minute “speed dating” interactions while wearing a device that records verbal, nonverbal, and mimicry behavior. Half of the participants brushed their teeth using Close-Up toothpaste (Unilever) prior to the interactions, whilst the other half abstained from brushing that morning. Compared to those who had not brushed their teeth, participants who had brushed were more verbally confident (i.e., spoke louder, over-talked more), showed less nonverbal nervousness (i.e., fidgeted less), and were more often perceived as being “someone similar to me.” These effects were moderated by attractiveness but not by self-esteem or self-monitoring.

Citation

Taylor, P., Banks, F., Jolley, D., Ellis, D., Watson, S., Weiher, L., …Julku, J. (2021). Oral hygiene effects verbal and nonverbal displays of confidence. Journal of Social Psychology, 161(2), 182-196. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224545.2020.1784825

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jun 9, 2020
• Online Publication Date: Jun 27, 2020
• Publication Date: Mar 4, 2021
• Deposit Date: Mar 10, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: Mar 15, 2022
• Journal: Journal of Social Psychology
• Print ISSN: 0022-4545
• Electronic ISSN: 1940-1183
• Publisher: Routledge
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 161
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 182-196
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00224545.2020.1784825
• Keywords: Social Psychology
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/7546095
• Publisher URL: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00224545.2020.1784825
• Additional Information: This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in The Journal of Social Psychology on 27 June 2020, available online: https://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/00224545.2020.1784825