Halloween Costumes and Psychology

**Amy Kim (ISB G11)**

Amy is not only a *Buddy!* staff writer, but also an psychology enthusiast who enjoys reading psychology articles. She recounts her joyous childhood memories of Halloween in her article.
In her debut piece, she dives deeper into the psychology behind wearing costumes on Halloween and uses her favorite movie “Wonder” to provide an example.

One year has passed since October 2019, and it is already Halloween. Halloween is a magical time for children and even adults to dress up and pretend to be their favorite character, superhero, or maybe even demon! It has been a steadily popular event for the past many years, and now it is globally celebrated. During this time of the year, there may be a considerable amount of people who are planning to go trick or treating with a variety of costumes and makeup, which is what I found quite interesting. Psychologically speaking, disguising into a particular character or individual allows people to try out different stuff according to their wants and interests. Well, what is the true meaning behind wearing a Halloween costume, and how can it relate to our inner minds? Psychologists have constantly conducted studies to demonstrate how the category of the costume we find appealing can say a lot about ourselves. They suggest that people tend to choose costumes that do not reflect their true selves. Rather, people prefer to explore some alternative sides of their personality by acting like something else that possesses different identities, qualities, and characteristics. Now let’s look at the different costumes people wear and their representations of their personalities and interests.

image (1).png — **Monsters, zombies, and vampires**

People who prefer scary characters for their costumes have a tendency to express their characteristics of being repressed by “scary” aspects in life. They demonstrate their fascination and emotions towards horror, violence, and death by wearing a scary character, which expresses their desire to control or become familiar with ominous and threatening feelings.
(Image courtesy of Pinterest)

image (2).png — **Fairy princesses**

People who choose to wear costumes related to fairies or princesses tend to express their desires to go back to the stage of life where they had childhood innocence and where things were simpler and easier to handle. Fairy princesses do not have to deal with heavy issues that people face in their real life, which helps people get away from the responsibilities and burdens of regular life, at least during Halloween. Adults may experience emotional fulfillment and provide themselves with a positive view of their current life.
(Image courtesy of Pinterest)

Celebrities
People sometimes choose celebrities for their costumes, which seem to appear “up-to-date” and “hip.” By choosing costumes related to celebrities, people express their knowledge of popular culture, trends, and current events. In addition, by disguising as a celebrity, people can feel the sense of intelligence, wealth, bravery, and attractiveness inside them, which in some cases may reflect people’s deeply held desires, which could not be fulfilled in reality. Well, in general, why do people wear a costume? What do they value by disguising themselves as something else?

Why do we wear a costume?
There are several reasons why people enjoy wearing a costume on Halloween. First, people value sheer enjoyment that comes from their experience of wearing a costume, which provides them with fantasies, feelings, and fun. Most people would argue that their past Halloween experiences are quite pleasant due to fond memories of costumes and spending time with other friends who are dressed up as interesting characters or figures: witches, Frankenstein, Minions, and more! People mainly connect their happiness with dressing up in their minds, which would elicit a positive response to costumes. Second, people tend to show off their creativity during Halloween. One great advantage of participating in Halloween events by wearing a costume is that people could flex their creative muscles. You might have noticed that some of the most popular costumes are the most creative and inspiring ones. By incorporating their creative and artistic brain, as well as having an opportunity for transformative play and taking up new roles, people are able to catch the chance to learn more about themselves. Third, Halloween costumes may be important when it comes to fitting in with your circle of friends. This is derived from the fact that everyone in your circle of friends wears one and celebrates together, and you don’t want to be the one left out. Despite the negative aspects of peer pressure, it could also benefit you during Halloween; if all your friends are costuming up, why don’t you consider doing so yourself? Last but not least, we could try out a new identity by disguising ourselves into a different age, race, gender, or even different species. Even in social media, we can curate posts to produce and communicate a desirable image of yourself which differs from your actual self. Accordingly, many of us want to experience the feeling of being powerful and special, so superhero costumes and princess costumes may sometimes be popular choices for people. The movie (and book) Wonder could be one example of an individual’s experience and emotions towards Halloween

Wonder (2017)

As mentioned previously, Halloween costumes help us form a desirable image of ourselves and become a new kind of person for the day. This is clearly represented by the movie Wonder, which is originally a book written by R. J. Palacio.

“I wish every day could be Halloween. We could wear masks all the time. Then we could walk around and get to know each other before we got to see what we looked like under the masks”

— Auggie

The quote above highlights Auggie’s (the main character) desire to be known for something other than the way he looks; he is different from the other kids on the outside since he was born with a rare medical facial deformity and has undergone approximately 27 different surgeries in order to see, smell, speak, and hear properly. He was home-schooled, but when he approached fifth grade, he got to attend a public school. Despite the fact that there were kind kids, there still were classmates who called him a “freak,” which hurt Auggie a lot. Only when Halloween season came, Auggie expressed his confidence since by wearing a costume, he could cover his face. He states that Halloween is the best holiday in the world and even beats Christmas because he could go around like every other kid with a mask, and nobody would think that he looks “different.” Nobody would take a second look, and nobody would notice him. Nobody would know him. Obviously, Halloween was a great opportunity for Auggie to have experiences that he is unable to during regular days, which may help increase his confidence to get in front of people and move forward from the challenges in life. Similar to Auggie, you sometimes might feel unconfident and insecure. Why not try wearing a costume that could uplift your self-esteem and help you enjoy Halloween? Happy Halloween to everyone, but remember to avoid getting close to anyone wearing a tremendous white serial killing shark!