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Hayes 1
Abstract
The difference between male and females was examined in five investigations in
a large, well known video store chain. Different genders were looked at in
groups of all male or all female, single men and single women, and then groups
of mixed gender. Differences between the two were measured in actions, words,
and attitudes. The findings were in sync with what society generalizes so
broadly as: men and women differ in everything they do. The research was
conducted not to prove this familiar concept wrong but to show how men and
women differ in a general setting of a video store. The data was quite rich in
that the customers did not hold back what needed to be said and actions tended
not to be restricted. The findings revealed that not only do men and women pick
out different movie titles but they go about the whole process differently as
well.
The belief that men and women differ in practically
everything they do is widespread throughout the United States. There have been
many studies on how they differ in certain aspects, which never seem to be a
surprise to the reader. We are so used to findings that prove time and again
the differences that we are ready to offer up a proposal such as a professor of
mine once said ?If you find in your setting that there is not a difference
between men and women then that is something that needs to be published right
away.? However, in the setting of the video store gender differences were
found.
Investigating the male-female relationship in a video store has a few different
aspects. First, all male groups
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that came in to the store were quite different from the all female groups that
came in to the store. They differed not only in the way they talked to each
other and what they said to each other but also the type of movie title they
chose.
Second, when a single (single referring to coming in alone) man or a single
woman came in there were considerable differences in the amount of time they
spent in the store to their conversations with the workers. A man was more
likely to know what movie he was looking for before he came in than a woman
was. This was proven in countless conversations that a woman would initiate
with a worker. A woman would spend a considerable longer amount of time in the
store than a man. Couples that came in were the same in that the woman and the
man of the couple would show the same actions as another woman or another man
in different couple.
In this paper I not only show the gender differences in customers at a video
store but I also back those findings up by the observation that was conducted.
The findings of the paper can also be taken outside the video
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store setting and can help us understand the age-old question of ?What makes
men and women different?? My thoughts going into the research was of course men
and women would differ to some extent. The extent to which they differ is what
powered the research and thus the paper.
First Investigation: Basic Gender Differences
The purpose of this first investigation in a large well-known video store in
Manchester, CT, was to scope out basic surface differences, establish what I
needed to look for, and get an overall sense of the setting.
Procedure
The first investigation was done in the middle of the week between the hours of
10am-12pm. This gave me a chance to really pay attention to specific details of
the first customers that I studied. At this point I did not know what I was
looking for so every detail was important. I recorded how the people were
dressed, whether they had wedding rings on, details of their features, whether
they had a child with them or not, and anything else that was visible to the
eye.
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Second Investigation: Length of Time in store
The second investigation came with more familiarity in the research setting. At
the end of the first investigation I began to notice a repetition in the
pattern of the length of time spent in the store between the two genders. I
focused in on this aspect during the second investigation.
Procedure
The second investigation I walked around the store more than the first one. I
browsed the aisles like a customer so I would have little or no effect on the
situations around me. I paid more attention to the amount of time that a man
spends picking out movies versus a woman. I didn?t write down in minutes how
long they spent but took more notice in how the women read more cover boxes,
which gave them a description of the movie. They took more time to look around
the store to see what was available than the men did. The men were very quick
in the store and if they spent even a few extra minutes it was to check out
video games, magazines, or video game cheat magazines.
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Third Investigation: Mixed gender groups
I decided that I needed to experience the video store on a busy weekend night
at peak hours. I went to the store on a Saturday between 6-8pm. There were so
many people in and out of the store that night that I focused on groups of
mixed gender. I observed groups that had about the same amount of men and the
same amount of women in it. I focused on who was leading the group, who was
making the movie decision, and who was paying.
Fourth Investigation: One-gender groups
This investigation was conducted during a weekday and weekend day. I focused on
female groups of ages ranging from early 20?s to mid 40?s. I listened to their
conversations, watched their actions, watched and listened to how they picked
out a movie for the group, and who took care of the bill. I also focused on
male groups who were mainly in their 20?s to early 30?s. I looked for the same
characteristics in these groups as in the female groups.
Fifth Investigation: Couples
Throughout the investigation process I took field notes on couples. I focused
on the attitudes of when they first
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walked in the store, who picked the movie, what type of movie they went home
with, and who paid for the movie.
Results
The results of male-female differences can be broken down into four main
categories: single men or women, one-gender groups, mixed gender groups, and
couples.
The findings of single men were on target with the stereo typing that we have
become so used to. The men typically were in and out of the store in 10
minutes, they very rarely asked for help, they knew what they wanted, and
almost always went home with an action movie. On my first day of investigation
the first customer I observed was a man who came in right when the store
opened. He proceeded to the action section without even stopping on the way. He
returned to the counter with two movies within two minutes of walking in the
store. He asked how the worker?s day was going and briskly left when the
transaction was completed.
On the other hand, it was during my second investigation that I experienced the
big difference between men and women in a video store. It was late around 11pm
when a woman in her early 30?s came in. She approached the counter
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immediately without even looking around. She asked one of the workers ?Has
anything good come in lately?? The worker listed off some new movies but the
lady was indecisive and asked to use the phone so she could call home to see
what she should get. After using the phone the lady was in the store
approximately 20 more minutes. Almost all of the women that came in engaged the
workers either right away or during their shopping experience. On average they
were in the store for 15-25 minutes at a time.
It was fascinating to see the similarities between the same gender groups that
came in. The all male groups had a similar pattern of how they shopped, as did
the all female groups. The male groups typically had 3-5 guys and as soon as
they walked in the door they split up. One would go to the new release section
to pick out a movie, another would go straight to the video games (even though
it was obvious they were there to pick out a movie), and the other would go to
the magazines or elsewhere. These groups had no qualms about yelling to each
other across the store. There was always one in the group who focused on getting
the movie and this same person was also the one who paid for
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the movie. More often than not the others in the group would have no money and
balances on their account. I witnessed one particular group during the fourth
investigation that fit every aspect of this generalization. Four guys walked in
and immediately split up. Two of them went to the new release section, one of
them went to the video game area, and the other poked around until he ended up
in front of the magazine rack. The two guys on looking for a movie shouted out
titles to the other two with responses like ?That movie sucked? or ?I already
saw it.? The other male groups observed were not far from this initial group of
men.
The all female groups observed were in direct contrast to the male groups. The
women never separated, there was a steady chatter among the group while looking
for a movie, and when they approached the counter there was always a slight
disagreement on who wanted to pay. The first female group I observed were mid
30?s and on their lunch break. They all came in dressed in business attire
around 12:30pm. They were all very lively and chatted while they looked around.
They were very intent on choosing a movie that all
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of them wanted to see but one that none of them had already seen. They always
chose some sort of romantic or drama movie. When they approached the checkout
counter they were all very adamant that they were going to pay. Money would be
thrown or shoved back and forth into hands with one of the women reluctantly
always giving in.
The mixed gender groups had the most surprising of results. In every split
gender group that came in there typically was a female who was the
self-appointed leader of the group. She was normally quite loud and boisterous.
She would lead the way, initiate the picking of movies, decide when it was time
to leave, and never pay. There was only a half dozen of these types of groups
to observe but the findings were consistent with the above.
There were some exceptions to the general findings of the couples that were
observed but most were the same. Couples either came in happy or from their
actions, visibly did not want to be there. The man almost always paid for the
movie while he usually picked out the movie but not without a struggle from the
woman. Typically a man and woman would check out the new release section and
the man would find a
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movie almost immediately that he would want. The woman would want to continue
looking just to make sure they didn?t miss a better movie. She would show the
man different cover boxes of other interesting movies all the while the man
would be clutching on to the original movie he picked out. Nine times out of
ten the couple would walk out with the original movie picked out by the man.
The woman however would seek an unspoken revenge by adding multiple items at
the checkout or asking for a certain stuffed animal off of the Disney cart. The
woman would always do this petulantly with an unspoken threat that she gave
into the movie now he must in turn fork over the money for what she wants.
The findings reported in this section came of no surprise to me because as
stated in the introduction, it is a universal belief that men and women differ
in many ways in everything they do.
Discussion
From the results we see that men and women do differ significantly in the way
they shop for videos. They not only differ in the videos that they watch but
also the
Hayes 111
process in the way they choose movies. The differences we see our not specific
just to this situation. We see these same differences in almost all settings
that we observe. Why we see these differences is what this paper just begins to
touch on. What makes almost every woman pick out the same type of movie and
what makes her spend a significant amount of time in the store? In contrast,
what makes men want typically only action movies and what makes them spend ten
minutes or less in the store? The findings of the research confirm that there
are gender differences but where and when these gender differences begin is the
question?