PART 1
I conducted my experiment this morning in the hallway between the sports center and the wood commons when people were coming in to school. This was a busy hallway, and most people were focused on finding their friends, getting to their lockers, or meeting with teachers, so most people didn't even notice that I was standing there. Even when my friends or people I knew walked by they just said Hi and kept walking. I got the question a few times about what I was doing, and because some of my friends are really persistent, they stuck around trying to figure it out. Eventually they left however, so I just kept standing there, unnoticed by the rest of the swarm of people and feeling really embarrassed. Whenever a friend did notice me I felt extremely grateful, but it usually passed into disappointment when they thought I was simply waiting for someone and didn't ask me what I was up to. The frustrated looks I got from people I didn't know was also embarrassing because they thought I was blocking the hallway.
PART 2:
I can't really know how my appearance affected the experiment because I don't have a comparison, but it was only girls who gave me looks when they thought I was blocking the way. Maybe if I was a guy, they wouldn't have shown their frustration or maybe if I were a minority I would have gone even more unnoticed, but I can't really know for certain. The people that reacted were mostly people I'm acquainted with. The ones I didn't know as well usually gave me a questioning look but kept walking and a few of my friends stopped and asked, but mostly everyone's reaction was the same. They just walked by. One security guard did come over by me and looked angry but eventually something else got her attention and she didn't end up saying anything. The adults were definitely the ones who noticed and reacted more because their job was to watch the students. No adults, however, actually came up and asked me what I was doing. There were more guys that asked me what I was up to than girls, but there weren't too many guys or girls that asked who didn't know me at all. Girls' reactions were more like double- takes followed by quiet comments to their friends while guys were more loud about their reactions. One guy walked by and said, "what is she doing?" There weren't any apparent differences in the reactions of people of other ethnicities. . Based on the experiment, it seems like people are so absorbed with their own lives and don't worry much about what other people are doing unless it directly affects them. I definitely couldn't wait for the experiment to be over because I felt really stupid, but it was interesting because it made me think about poor or homeless people in the city of Chicago who sit around hoping for someone's attention. During this experiment, I observed people and I was more mindful of everything around me. Usually, I'm just like everyone who walked by me: focused on what I have to do next, and not very aware of what's happening around me.
