Behavior Observation

The purpose of this simulation was to gain an understanding of the importance of the use of immediacy behaviors while interacting with others in the business and social environments. I conducted two experiments that are detailed below which give a brief report of my findings. Immediacy Behaviors are those behaviors that communicate intimacy, personableness and openness to other people. First, I visited a retail store that works on commission. For my second experiment . For my experiment with a retail store I visited American Eagle Outfitters at Eastland Mall. One thing I learned is that I could not find any store willing to admit whether or not they were commissioned based. I do, however, know this store to be commissioned based. American Eagle is a great clothing store, housing hundreds of shirts, pants, and accessories. I definitely got the impression that this is a great store to have an observation. There are other retail stores that generally either caters to women or men, so I thought I would pick a retail store that generally deals with both. The interesting thing about my particular experiment is the difference in atmosphere. I decided to observe in the same store, however I went in different times until I recieved help from a male employee and a female employee. the male employee had more a standoffish approach. The female employee had a determined approach. She would not rest until you found what you needed, which became annoying after a little while. The female employee seemed more friendly than the male employee on certain aspects. The male employee did not touch anyone warmly, though he would look you in the eyes during a conversation. The female employee would touch your shoulder or arm warmly, but wouldn't really look at you during a conversation. That was my experience, it may be different to other people. I also noticed that there was little smiling or laughter from the male employee, only when he would interact with attractive female customers. The female employee was more friendly with attractive male customers than she was with female customers. There were definite signs of a stern and somewhat monotone in the male employee's voice when he spoke to me, unlike the female who had excitement in her voice when we talked. I did receive some positive back channeling from the male employee, however not as much as the female retail representative. Being physically attractive seemed to be the determining factor on whether or not the employe's were friendly or not. My experience with the male employee was very short and too the point. When I walked in he glanced up at me and said, "Welcome to American Eagle." Which doesn't seem unfriendly, however, the tone and emotion behind his voice when he realized that I was a male customer was very monotone. It was like he was just reading a script and going through the motions. At first, he didn't even asked if I needed help or if I was looking for anything specific. It took a few minutes of me just walking around before he finally asked if I was looking for anything in particular. He wasn't very friendly about it, however, he would look me in the eye when he spoke to me. So he wasn't the most friendly employee when it came to male customers, but he would give you the respect of looking you in the eye when he talked to you. For my second experiment I made another trip to American Eagle Outfitters, but this time I recieved help from a female employee, which is exactly what I wanted. I was going to compare the behavior and interpersonal communication betweeen a male employee and a female employee. Remembering how the male employee treated me, I walked in the door ready to get the experiment under way, it took me a few trips though to gather enough data. As soon as I walked in, I was greeted by a very attractive female employee who looked up