People’s behavior is one of the most exciting objects to research. Observing social patterns and group dynamics may help to interact better and understand people in culturally diverse environments. To understand people’s behavior better, I made an observation in a shopping center and train station at the weekends in the morning and evening. Two different places were chosen to compare peoples behavioral patterns. Different patterns of behavior in different places depend on race, social status, psychological status, age, gender, and ethnicity.
People’s behavior in the shopping center were different, especially differences seen between women’s, children’s, and man’s behaviors. Two groups were observed in the morning in the shopping center. The first one consisted of children between 10-12 years old; 3 were boys, and 2 – were girls. One girl and one boy were colored, but they seemed easygoing and were the group’s leaders. The other members were telling jokes, and generally, the company enjoyed time together. In addition, electronic communication plays a vital role in people’s lives (Lofland et al., 2022). However, children were focused on each other rather than their phones. The second group was a Muslim family: a man, a woman, and a child. It was observed that women behaved restrained and were covered in black outfits. However, men and child behaved openly and sometimes too loudly, but Muslims traditions and ethnic features explain these differences. Therefore, people’s behavior in the shopping center consists of relaxation and joy, as it is a place to rest or spend time with family or friends, but the behavior was different due to age, gender, and racial and ethnic features.
Behavioral patterns at the train station in the evening were different, as people showed joy, sadness, and happiness. It took much work to carefully observe each group, as the station was overcrowded, but I noticed two groups. The first was a man and a woman who seemed to be a couple. Both were middle-aged; a woman was colored, and the man was white. The man supported his wife because she cried all the time as the men should leave for business. Some people were glancing strangely at this couple, others – sympathetically. The other group consisted of students between 15-17 years and a teacher, and they were heading on an excursion. Children behaved with curiosity, and some of them violated the teacher’s guidelines. This group consisted of girls and boys, some were colored, and one boy was from Asia, but everyone behaved differently. The Asian boy was restrained and slightly suspended due to Asian behavioral norms. Children were divided into smaller groups, and each group had a leader. Hence, people’s behavior at a train station depends on the situation that took them there, usually happiness, sadness, interest, or joy.
To conclude, social groups’ behavior depends on different factors and consist of different emotions. The key factors are gender, age, race, ethnicity, personal setting, and experiences. Social group interactions were observed at the train station and shopping center and showed that place influences human behavior. Observing and analyzing behavioral patterns will be useful while interacting in culturally diverse environments and help avoid awkward situations due to cultural or other differences.
Reference
Lofland, J., Snow, D., Anderson, L., & Lofland, L. H. (2022). Analyzing social settings: A guide to qualitative observation and analysis. Waveland Press. Web.