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Grocery Shopping: Behavioral Distinctions between Genders
Adam Griffin
Paper: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
Summary:
The goal of this ethnographic study is to observe ordinary store patrons as they shop at a local grocery store, and attempt to discover patterns in their behavior. Once these patterns have become apparent, determine if distinct behaviors of different genders exist, and if so, what are the underlying reasons?
- Women were more likely than men to use grocery lists
- More women were observed communicating with other people
- Men were less likely to ask for help when they were unable to find something
- Women appeared to be more particular about the quality of produce they purchased
- Coupons were used more by women than men
- Women stayed closer to their shopping carts than men (possibly due to purses)
- An equal number of men and women positioned their shopping carts in the middle of the aisles
- Men were more likely to push the cart when shopping with a woman
- When women pushed the cart while shopping with a man, all grocery items selected by the men were "inspected" by the women before they were placed in the cart
After taking the time to observe the behaviors of people in the store, various conclusions were able to be made about the use of grocery lists, gender roles in shopping with other people, social interactions of different genders, and other things. There is obviously more to grocery shopping than was originally thought.
Overall, some of the observations that were made and conclusions that were subsequently drawn conform to existing stereotypes. This isn’t particularly surprising, considering that stereotypes aren’t always untrue. In some instances, they’re based on real observations that are true for a specific group of people. In this case, some stereotypes, such as men refusing to ask for help, appeared to be validated by observations that were made through this study.
2 comments:
My last comment was on the wrong blog post: here is the right one.
I think that your observation of the gender roles does show that stereotypes typically do have some basis in fact. It also seems that women put more effort into shopping then men (list, coupons, etc). I am sure that has some meeting. I am curious if you would find something different if you went to someplace other than a college city.
I also took it to mean that women put more effort into shopping. If I was sending someone to the store to get something I would rather send a woman because she would be more likely to bring back better produce.
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