Distance Between 1 And 4's Daughter 6 example essay topic

Edwin Lippert, IB 2, 02-01-15 Research Question: Investigating how an individual maintains social distance to his / her peers. Hypothesis: Taking into account several different situations in which a greater number of individuals are positioned close to one another and in a fairly confined space, this experiment intends to investigate how an individual maintains social distance to his / her peers. In the following experiment, the behavioral pattern of a number of individuals in an elevator will be studied. My hypothesis is that as individuals enter / exit an elevator, the remaining individuals will instinctively reposition themselves in a manner so as to maximize the distance to the neighboring individual (s).

The working behind this hypothesis comes from observing reaction patterns in animals; an animal continually maintains its social distance to its relatives. If a relative (i.e. from the same species or otherwise) imposes or infringes on the social zone established by another animal, the latter will react in one of two ways in order to maintain social distance: either by evading or by charging against the trespasser. Another example could be observed in hen yards, where if the animal is incapable of reacting in either one of the above mentioned patterns, will show obvious stress symptoms instead; the hens tend to show a repetitive movement pattern. It is consequently interesting to vary configurations of sex and age with individuals so as to investigate the reaction patterns of these individuals under different conditions in the above mentioned spaces (see: 'method' for how to go about with conducting this experiment). It is, however, impossible to under the observational range of this experiment, determine whether the background to the behavioral patterns displayed by the individuals (under different conditions and configurations) in an elevator or train are related to inherited genes from our ancestors, expressed in the form of an innate behavior, or if it is a learned behavior. Key Variables: Male, female: Age groups (yrs); Children: 4 - 12 Adolescents: 13 - 18 Age groups 19 Method: In the following experiment take into account the above mentioned key variables.

Be careful to note down the initial configuration and the configuration subsequent to change. Also take into account that this new configuration may lead to another configuration subsequent to change and so forth. Remember to restrict your investigation to maintenance of social distance so as to avoid irrelevant data, for example where people look, if they read the morning news paper and such factors. In the elevator: 1. Try to locate a heavily used elevator, which could take six individuals, in a crowded place. 2.

Step into the elevator and stand in the back. When the elevator is jam-packed note down the behavior of the individuals in there. 3. What behavioral patterns could be observed with the remaining individuals as one or two or three individuals reach their floor and leave? Do you notice any deviating behavior with any of the individuals?

4. Now vary the experiment so as to walk in to the elevator when there are only two or three individuals in there, and directly go and stand as close as you can to one of the individuals. Note down the behavior of the other individual. 5. Vary the investigation so as to note the behavior of individuals under different configurations (sex and age). If you feel inclined to, for any particular reason, ask the individual why he / she behaved / reacted in the observed way.

6. Repeat the investigation a number of times to substantiate the potential grounds behind the observed behavioral patterns. Data Collection: Table 1. Starting state: Change: End state: Tab. leg. 1. State diagram.

Illustration of data collected in investigating the maintenance of social distances and zones. Each number represents a key variable group and overlapping means "trespassing" a zone. Notice how each new configuration leads to another configuration subsequent to change and so forth. + and - meaning addition resp. subtraction of people from the elevator. The elevator was for six persons of which the numbers representing people in the elevator are as follows, Table 2.1: Man 19 yrs 2: Man; 13 - 18 yrs 3: Boy; 4 - 12 yrs 4: Woman 19 yrs 5: Woman; 13 - 18 yrs 6: Girl; 4 - 12 yrs Tab. leg. 2. Key variables.

Represents the different age and sex groups investigated. Data Analysis: In conducting the data analysis each change of state will be considered. For the following analysis the representations in Tab. 2 need to be taken into concurrent consideration for effective analysis. The following behavioral patterns were witnessed a series of times and hence in themselves verify, under the observational range of this experiment, the obtained results. 1 - 2: 1 and 3 enter the elevator and go stand as far away from each other as possible.

This implies that both individuals behave in such a way to maintain maximum distance between each other. 2 - 3: 5 enters the elevator and positions herself at a maximum distance from 1 and 3. Implies that when a woman of age 13 - 18 yrs enters an elevator she does not necessarily have to feel any type of discomfort but naturally seems to place herself at a maximum distance from the man and boy. 3 - 5: As 1 approaches 5 and trespasses the latter's private zone, 5 would move over to 3 to "protect" herself by using the age of 3 as a defense, due to the fact that she feels discomfort when the male of age group 19 yrs forces her private zone (indicated by the overlapping circles).

6 - 7: 1, 3, and 5 exit the elevator and in steps a 1 and 4 again with maximum distance relative to each other. 7 - 9: As 1 approaches 4 and trespasses the latter's private zone, 4 would move again away from 1 so as to maximize the distance, because of the discomfort that she feels when the male overlaps her "territory". 9 - 10: 4 exits the elevator, and another 4 and her daughter 6 enters the elevator. 10 - 11: As 1 approaches the daughter of 4, the latter moves away placing 6 on her other side so as to maximize the distance between 1 and 4's daughter 6 and herself. This suggests a motherly defense mechanism against a stranger forcing her daughter's private zone. Conclusion / Evaluation: The method suggests that the experiment is very much related to how people move within the elevator, and the fact that people might get embarrassed or bothered is not brought that strongly into the light of the experiment.

However, conducting the experiment showed that these factors are especially important to pay consideration to. Many settings showed that the person did not move, but showed discomfort in means of looking uncomfortably around in the elevator. Many people looked in the mirrors, to se "what was happening behind them". Eye contact was often avoided, etc.

Regarding positions in the elevator, the default configuration was always as far away from each other as possible (in pairs that seemed mutually unknown to each other). Standing closely to other people seemed easier when the elevator was filled with people rather than when it was almost empty. The constrained research question makes it hard to account for all impressions that were received by the observations. The age and sex between the pairs making up the situation was also important. Smaller children often did not induce significant reactions in elder people.