The next assignment that we had to carry out was to watch and observe people carrying out everyday activities. The location that I chose to carry out this investigation was Dundee Botanic Gardens at their annual ‘Garden of Light’ event. This location would allow me to observe people easily and as it was an event that I had never participated in either, I would be able to sense first impressions and ideas just like the people I would be observing.
On walking to the gardens, it soon became apparent that the entrance was quite hard to see and it wasn’t automatically recognisable as an entrance. I noticed that this made people hesitant and doubt that they were in the right place. It became clear that most women where more vocal and open to say that they didn’t know if this was the right way to go and were quite cautious. Men on the other hand tended not to say they felt lost and simply carried on down the path to see where it took them. This possibly showing that men have a natural leading quality and don’t particularly like to admit to things that may make them appear weaker or less ‘manly’. Women, however, are a lot more vocal and open to showing emotion and feelings. I was with my boyfriend and even we reacted in this same way. I was hesitant as to where we were meant to go and was very open and vocal about this but he was more intrigued, not as concerned and took the attitude just to try this entrance and see if it was the right one.
We arrived early for the event and decided to sit in the heat of the gardens’ cafe until it was time to enter. The cafe was a small, cosy space filled with tables that were rather close to one another. When we entered the cafe everyone that was already sitting inside turned and looked at us and in general when anyone entered, everyone turned and looked at them too. But why as humans do we do this? Even when I had sat down and was in deep conversation when someone entered it seemed to be a natural reaction to turn and look at them. Is this just a natural human reaction to observe people and their surroundings? Or is it more to do with being intrigued and nosey? This reaction could also be a subconscious way in which we are looking to see if it’s people we know, to get recognised and convey a sense of popularity. It could also be a way in which we judge people on first appearances and know we can do so easily. This reaction occurs in various situations like this and is something that everybody does.
Most people that where sitting in the cafe were deep in conversation over a hot drink, however, with age the topic of conversation changed. Older members of the public sat chatting about older times that they remembered together and spoke of their families, for example their children and their grandchildren. Groups of families, on the other hand, tended to be talking about matters at hand but were also making sure the children were entertained and happy.
It reached 7 o’clock and it was time to enter the gardens. As we approached the doors there was a huge queue that had gathered. When we first arrived there weren’t very many people about and we were told that we were not allowed to enter early. Now we had to stand in an extremely long line of people, even though we where one of the first to arrive initially. Annoyance soon took hold and it was clear that those who had joined the queue in this same situation as us, felt the exact same way and were contemplating the fact of where they would be in the queue if they hadn’t went to the cafe simply to put in time. Even those that had just arrived and joined the queue where showing signs of impatience and annoyance of having to stand in a long queue in the cold, when it was time to enter. This possibly showing that in general people tend to be impatient and don’t like to be waiting around; they want things to run exactly on time. People also are quite inquisitive asking questions like ‘What’s the hold up?’, ‘Why are we having to stand here?’ constantly wanting to know more information; we don’t like not knowing what’s going on around us. An additional observation was that the majority of the people at this event were older or else families. There were a few younger groups there but the majority were older people. Along with this, those younger people that were there were wearing more fashionable clothing, not really the attire for this event and were possibly more interested in looking good rather than being practical. Everyone else tended to be wrapped up in all their winter woollies prepared for the cold night and didn’t seem too bothered as to whether they looked fashionable or not. They were more concerned with the practicalities and the fact that they wanted to keep warm.
Throughout the duration of the event and walking through the gardens a few trends were apparent. Women tended to be more ‘touchy feely’ with the plants and a lot more vocal about their appearance, using a different language from that of men. They were including words like ‘nice’, ‘pretty’ and ‘beautiful’ to describe certain things where as men tended to be less vocal about things they seen unless it totally amazed them. Men were also less likely to touch and feel the plants; they simply observed and kept their thoughts to themselves. This in itself shows that women tend to act differently from men and use a different, very descriptive, language compared to them.
Another thing that I noticed with groups of families was that the men were usually entertaining the children and keeping them occupied while the women were more concerned as to whether or not the kids where warm enough or were enjoying themselves; openly showing concern and their motherly instincts.
Bigger groups of people, including some families, seemed to think that because there were more of them they could take up a lot more room on the paths and walkways, making smaller groups, like myself and my boyfriend, walk in single file at certain parts to simply get past them. Whether this was simply ignorance on these groups’ parts, it generally tended to be this way, as if being in a larger group meant dominance and that they could do what they want.
In conclusion, the most noticeable trend was that men and women act in quite different ways both physically and vocally.
