¶ … walking sitting watching people a busy public place. Look things associate people race/ethnic, cultural, gender, social-class backgrounds. Look kinds common interactions behaviors groups. For, acknowledge's presence eye contact occur? Do behaviors change presence groups? Consider expect based assumptions understandings persons backgrounds (expect dress, walk, talk, interact, interact,).
Observation: Supermarket
For my observation I went to a grocery store, as I thought this would expose me to a wide range of people of different ages. Immediately, I noticed many mothers and children in the store. The majority of the mothers wore workout clothes and they were evidently coming from the gym or from home. They often adopted a rather businesslike attitude as they charged through the store, talking on their cellphone or trying to find things on their list. The children would sometimes be asked to 'help' their parent get produce or items off of the shelves. Sometimes the mother would argue with the child about her refusal to get a particular food item or toy.
The mothers appeared to have two different 'strategies' for dealing with children in the...
The first strategy was to use the store as a 'teachable moment' by asking their children questions about the food, helping them make selections (such as between two different kinds of cheeses) and engaging the children in conversation. The other strategy was a 'defensive' mode in which the mother attempted to curtail any possible misbehavior before it happened. I saw some mothers snap at children even before the children misbehaved. "I told you not to even ask for candy, so don't have a meltdown."
While the majority of the parents with children were mothers, I did see several fathers. One of the fathers had a list he was following very carefully. I noticed that the fathers did not seem to have as much of an 'issue' disciplining the children. The children seemed less inclined to whine for candy and Pop Tarts or the fathers were more agreeable about buying treats. The fathers seemed slightly less confident finding the items in the store; moved more slowly (and bought more items); and one of them actually used his cellphone (presumably to call his wife) to ask about what things he should buy. I was initially somewhat surprised that there was still such…
