Who Says Thank You More Often, Males or Females?

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There is no disputing that while we are out and about we must walk through many doorways. Whether we are at work, school, the mall, a supermarket, a restaurant or the post office we have all been in the position where nearing the entrance to a building can have an effect on our day. When a person sacrifices a few precious seconds out of their busy schedule to reach back and hold the door open it has the tendency to induce a smile. But can it muster up a couple of words? It is one of the first phrases we learn as children, yet sometimes it seems that not enough of us have mastered it. An underestimated expression that when used can change your opinion of an individual. Two words make up this simple and straightforward saying: thank you. While the majority of people we come in contact with acknowledge the holding of a door as an act of kindness, a lot of people strut through as if it’s part of a job description. An analysis of the behaviors of average people entering and exiting through a door being held open for them will reveal who uses the expression of gratitude more often: males or females. Since saying thank you usually comes natural to people, the outcome will most likely be equal among males and females. Method Random people were observed over a four day span. The four day span consisted of two weekdays (Friday and Monday) and two weekend days (Saturday and Sunday). The observations were made for one hour per day (11:00am – 12:00pm) at the main entrance of the Galleria at Crystal Run in Middletown, New York. As people entered and exited the mall the door was held for individuals at random. If the person walked through the door, they were counted and their reaction recorded. Results On Friday November 1, 2013 be... ... middle of paper ... ...both males and females use the expression “thank you” after a door is held open for them equally. While the numbers are very close, according to this analysis more females use this term than males. While the purpose of this experiment was to see which sex used the phrase more often, it was also able to show that more people say it in general. This fact in itself is comforting Difficulties While performing this experiment a few difficulties were encountered. While holding the door for one person, other people tend to go through at the same time. Instead of these people saying it themselves they adopt the thank you that the person in front of them said. This could potentially botch the outcome of the results. Also, observing an equal amount of males and females probably would have produced a more accurate result.

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