Males versus females: Who shows more chivalrous tendencies in the act of door holding? Bobby Carnicella, Kass Crawford, Angela DiGeronimo, and Derik Orschell Hanover College

Introduction Many men gave up their spots on the life boats of the Titanic in 1912 to ensure that women and children survived (Lichter, 1993). If this scenario occurred in today’s society, how would men react? Would today’s men give up their lives in the name of chivalry?

Introduction continued… Chivalrous acts such as door holding have been slowly declining since the sinking of the Titanic –Liberal contemporary feminism could be a cause (Walum, 1974)

Hypothesis 1 We expect that males will more often hold the door for others to pass through first when compared to females. Definition of door holding.

Hypothesis 2 background The social setting may have a powerful influence on behaviors (Ventimiglia, 1982) Are the differences in settings of fast food and sit-down restaurants included in this theory?

Hypothesis 2 We expect that more door holding, in general, will occur at the two sit down restaurants than at the two fast food restaurants.

Participants There were 81 participants. –50 males; 31 females –17 singles excluded from data All participants were Caucasian. Ages could not be determined accurately

Procedure Pairs of observers at each location TuesSatTuesSat Fast Food A+BC+DA+CB+D Sit- Down C+DA+BB+D Sit-down: Empress of China, Key West Shrimp House Fast Food: McDonald’s, Wendy’s

More Procedure Observed from cars outside entrances –Exception: Wendy’s had to be observed from the inside Tuesday and Saturday nights from 6pm-7pm (prime dinner hours).

Procedure Continued Door holding behaviors were recorded on a data sheet by each researcher –100% agreement between observers All restaurants were observed twice –Exception: Empress of China only observed once

Results: Effects of gender on door holding behavior  2 (1) = 5.139, p =.023,  2 =.0625

Effect of restaurant type on door holding behavior  2 (1) = 6.832, p =.009,  2 =.0841

Discussion We confirmed both hypotheses. Our research confirms the studies done by: Goldman, Florez, and Fuller (1981). American men perform courteous behaviors more often than American women.

Discussion continued Gender –Stereotypes –Conservative nature –Relationship Context –Formal vs. Informal Expense, expectations and dress

Limitations & Future Research Limitations: the sample (Madison, Indiana), all participants same ethnicity. Future research: diverse metropolitan city, 3+ restaurants, different social contexts & observe only adults.