Socological Eperiment

OBSERVATION ASSIGNMENT 2

For my observation assignment I visited my dollar general.

I stood there doing nothing for ten minutes and observed people shopping for household goods and also walking around aimlessly looking for something that drew their attention. I did get a sense of different peoples socioeconomic status because I witnessed people who were dressed in worn and tattered clothing who I could either guess did not have much money or maybe did not care for their appearance. I also witnessed a man who looked as if he had just had a long day’s work, covered in grease/sweat mixed with sawdust and he was getting the minimal household necessities. I could not get a sense for religious status in this short time. I did notice that people were very impatient with others when they would turn down the same aisle or were trying to get in line to check-out. They would get almost an irritated stature about themselves in their rush. There was a mother with two small children, one in the shopping cart and one following the mother, and she scolded the child in the shopping cart quite a bit because he wanted to pull things off the shelf into the cart. Something that I found usual is the use of common courtesy, and I noticed that it was not present in this short time. If I was shopping and accidently run into someone or over step them I would always apologize but I noticed no one did this and people neither cared nor acknowledged such rudeness. I did find a lot of the peoples interactions odd but what I initially realized about this brief moment of pause that I had given for this assignment was that I myself probably seem obnoxious almost in my everyday interactions. I always am goofing off and acting boisterous in public for example between me and my husband when we are grocery shopping in Wal-Mart or out eating in a restaurant. I talk openly as if no one could be listening and state my opinions and interact in such a manner that if someone was watching me, they...