There’s no question that air travel has gotten more than a little out of hand. It feels like we see a new video of a passenger acting unruly and aggressive on an almost daily basis. Naturally, transportation officials want to remedy this to make the process smoother and safer for everyone. If you were thinking that they should mandate larger seats, more legroom, or anything that would make sitting on a plane more comfortable … think again. That would make too much sense.

Last week, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced a new era of flying called “The Golden Age of Travel Starts With You.” According to the Department of Transportation’s website, this is a “civility campaign” meant to ensure we all act a little better when we’re flying, especially during this busy holiday season. Duffy’s first target is a big one: people who wear pajamas on planes.

Although the campaign has multiple facets, Duffy seemed to emphasize the importance of dressing better when flying.

The announcement about the campaign on the Department of Transportation’s website included a short video that featured a compilation of footage from the early days of commercial air travel — what could be considered the real “golden age” of flying. Everyone could be seen wearing smart suits and business attire. While Duffy isn’t exactly suggesting we go this far again, he does want us to step it up.

CNN shared a clip of Duffy speaking at a press conference on TikTok. “I call this just maybe dressing with some respect,” he said. “You know, whether it’s a pair of jeans and a decent shirt. I would encourage people to maybe dress a little better, which encourages us to maybe behave a little better. Let’s try not to wear slippers and pajamas as we come to the airport.”

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Travelers seemed pretty ambivalent about Duffy’s proposal.

Jimmy Alexander from WTOP News asked some flyers at Reagan National Airport how they felt about the idea of dressing nicer on flights. “Are there travel dress code police that says what you need to wear?” Carla Sewer from the Eastern Shore of Maryland asked. “I like to cover myself up from head to toe.”

Brittany Thyarks from Cheyenne, Wyoming, said, “Yeah, don’t wear your pajamas, but please wear leggings or sweatpants. Be comfortable. But your pajamas are for your bedroom.”

When Alexander asked the travelers if they would be open to dressing like passengers did “back in the day with suits and dresses,” the responses were not promising. “Oh, absolutely not,” Thyarks said. “Jeans probably would be the max.” Another traveler, Terrence Dorsey from Alexandria, Virginia, didn’t seem to mind. “I really wouldn’t mind it because I look good in a suit,” he quipped.

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The general idea seems to be that if you dress better, you act better. But is that really true?

Duffy suggested that if you “dress a little better,” it directly correlates with “[behaving] a little better.” Is there actual evidence to back up the idea that dressing nicer affects your behavior, though? Very Well Mind seemed to imply that it is possible through something known as “dopamine dressing.” The whole idea of dopamine dressing is that certain pieces and, in particular, certain colors, can make you happier than others.

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The outlet quoted psychologist Karen Pine, who said in her book “Mind What You Wear,” “What we wear affects how we feel so much that it can distort and determine our thoughts and judgments.” 

Mental health practice Evolve Psychiatry added that there is research around this concept. “There’s growing research around enclothed cognition — the idea that what we wear affects our internal state,” they said. “This means your outfit can actually change how you feel.”

Of course, if you feel better about yourself, you may be inclined to act with more self-respect and dignity, which could certainly mean better behavior. But research seems to be limited to how clothing makes the wearer feel personally, and not on how they act altruistically. There’s really no scientific basis for Duffy’s idea. Plus, why make people even more uncomfortable during already grueling days of travel?

If he wants people to dress the way they did during the “golden age of travel,” perhaps passengers should be as comfortable on planes as they were back then, too. 

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Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer with a bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism who covers news, psychology, lifestyle, and human interest topics.