Nonverbal Social Behavior About Observational Exercise – Term Paper

Observational Exercise

I chose to conduct my observational exercise in a MacDonald’s fast food chain. People normally visit the place to buy takeaway food. Almost everybody goes to the place – from young children to old people. The setup of the place was quite formal since a flurry of organized business activities took place. The place had glass doors and transparent glass walls. There were well-organized shelves that displayed the food available. The restaurant also had wooden tables surrounded by light wooden chairs, a fan that kept on whispering, potted plants behind the door and small windows on the walls.

An old lady was the first one to open the door to the restaurant. She walked slowly with a limp on her right leg. She stopped and bent forward to open the door with a shaky grab on the handle. She then struggled to open the door while the handle seemed to slip. She exerted a slow forward push on the glass door. She entered through the door with her face on, stopped momentarily in her tracks and scanned the restaurant with some quick looks sideways and on the shelves while maintaining a bent posture. 

Next came two smartly dressed gentlemen who carried office bags wore sunglasses. One of them took the door handle with a firm gripped and pushed it open with ease. They both struggled to pass through the doorway a once. They had their faces on and stiffly focused as they walked in. They took big but sure strides forward while the door slammed behind them. They sat facing each other on a table. One of them supported his chin with the knuckles of his crossed hand.

As I sat taking my burger, a couple came along. The lady had her right hand linked to the hand of the man. They approached the door gently and briskly. The man held the door hand firmly and gently pushed the door open while smiling entered in and held the door open for the lady to enter. Just as they came in, a young teenage girl followed them closely. The man gave the door an extra shove to let the girl come in. Men are more likely to be the ones opening doors or doing for their girlfriends or wives in such scenarios.

According to my observations, I came to realize that people are more likely to be nice to others when they are with their girlfriends or boyfriends as in the case of the man who gave the door an extra shove for the young girl to walk in. They become nicer to people around. According to other several observations I made about old people coming into the restaurant, I came to conclude that old people are more likely to walk alone in western cultures unaccompanied, unlike youthful people who walk mostly in pairs.