The Culture of Waiting in Line, Essay Example

The concept of culture is critical in Anthropology. However there is no uniform definition of culture since different definitions have been provided by group in different eras for different purposes.The most basic definition used in anthropology is that culture is “the full range of learned behavior”.However, as this definition does not have enough specificity it was later expanded to include a number of other factors.Thus, Tyler provided a more complete definition, stating that culture is “that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, law, morals, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society. (p.1)

Culture has strong social underpinnings.Culture is an important influence on how we interact with each other and the way in which we use nonverbal behavior to communicate certain messages that our culture believes it is inappropriate to voice.The unwritten rules defining how we act in social setting is largely defined by our cultural background which can make it difficult to adjust to foreign cultures.For example the idea of personal space or the amount of space we feel comfortable keeping around us at all times is defined differently in different cultures.This means that when cultures differ people may feel their personal space is being violated or that someone is standoffish for standing too far away.Similarly our ideas about what aspects of our lives deserve privacy also differ by culture.What we share with each other and what we choose to keep confidential can differ based on how we were raised.Even within a culture our behavior may change based on the situation.Much of our cultural behavior is learned from observing others and in order to fit in we pick up on cultural cues very quickly, sometimes even without being aware that we have changed our behavior.

Other definitions of culture have been put forth that focus on different aspects.For the purposes of this essay, a slightly different definition of culture will be relied on.According to Lederach, (1995) culture is “the shared knowledge and schemes created by a set of people for perceiving, interpreting, expressing, and responding to the social realities around them” (p. 9).

I chose to observe the customers at a bank in a large grocery store.The building which housed the store looks like a warehouse outside.Inside there are exposed tin beams and utilitarian florescent lighting giving a stark white appearance to the space, which seems to be standard across similar locations.The café is a bit dimmer and the lights aren’t as stark and bright.Behind the bank teller counter the lighting is the same as in the cafe.In front of the bank counter is slightly brighter than behind it but this area is still slightly dimmer than main part of store.The difference in lighting makes the atmosphere more pleasant than that of the grocery store and the dimmer light seems to provide a more personal feel. Furniture in café – bistro tables, straight back chairs, a few plants scattered around.There is no furniture that can be seen in the bank, however the doors to two offices are evident.Colorful posters advertising various products are hung on the side walls of the bank.

There’s a single line for the two tellers helping customers.There is about 5 to 6 feet of space between the exit of the café, which is open to the rest of the store and the teller line.The teller line backs up into the traffic lane at front of store which goes to checkout lines so shoppers are frequently observed breaking through the line.

The temperature is slightly chilly and several shoppers can be seen rubbing their arms in a gesture that indicates they are cold. However, the weather is overcast day and they have been broadcasting warmer temperatures than what we have experienced today so everyone is wearing warm weather clothing.There do not seem to be many shoppers conversing with each other.

There are three others in the café all with laptops.The café smells of roasted coffee and the sound of someone grinding beans is frequent which adds a jarring note to the setting.As the bank counter is so close to the café, the sounds and smells from the café likely inundate that area also.The teller counter has a few pens chained to the counter and to the side is a small table with deposit slips, pens and other forms.The ATM is outside so it is out of view.There is also the sound of shoppers, checkout personnel and overhead announcements. The store is busy but not overcrowded during my observations.I chose to observe for an hour since after 25 minutes I had not developed any themes, being caught up in observing and taking notes clandestinely.

The specific location I observed was the customers being served at the teller counter and customers waiting in line at a local bank situated in a large in a grocery store.I was seated at a nearby table in the café.I chose to do my observation on Friday afternoon between 5:00pm and 6:00pm.During this time I observed 34 people, 13 Males rough age 30-40, 10 are whom are Caucasian and 3 of whom are African American. Ten of the men are in business attire and three are dressed casually.Fifteen women are observed who appear to be between the ages of 30 and 40.Two of the women are African American and the rest are Caucasian.Ten are in casual clothing and five are in business attire.Six girls rough age 16-18 arrive in pairs, one of the girlsis African American and the others are Caucasian. They are dressed casually in colorful spring clothes.All the individuals observed seem to be of middle to upper middle class, based on their clothing, accessories and the evidence of mobile technology.This is the same for the three people who are in the café. (1 female, 2 males all roughly in their 20’s-30’s).

The number of people in line at the bank varies from a low of three people to a high of ten people in line.Each person seems to be trying hard to appear that they are obviously avoiding any possibility of seeing what the two people being served were doing.A number of people in line pub ear buds in, spent time texting or otherwise using their phone other than for phone calls or searched through shoulder bags.Common behaviors included swiveling so as to face the side or back of the store instead of towards the counter, the first person in line remaining one step back from where the counter was (approximately 3-4 feet), waiting until the person being served has walked completely away from the counter before approaching the free teller, leaning forward toward the teller when they are being served in order to block their view of the other customer being served and keeping eyes on the floor or on advertisements on the side walls.

People in line do not make eye contact or speak to each other.Each person makes eye contact and speaks quietly to the teller when it is there turn to be served.No one seemed to become impatient even during the 10 minutes when there was only 1 teller available.

The younger girls in line acted somewhat different in that they came in pairs (none or the adults did), and they continued to interact with each other after they got in line (no pair of girls was in line at any time with another pair).They frequently answered texts which they often showed to each other and commented on.Both members of each pair also helped each other fill out the bank forms (two pairs appeared to have both girls needing to use the bank and four pairs seemed to have one of the two using the bank).In the case of the two pairs of girls that were both waiting to use the bank when a teller was free, one walked up and the other remained in line for the other teller.In the other four pair when the one girl went to the counter the other walked past her out of line and waited for her off to the side.While none of the younger girls evidence the same obvious behaviors as the adults, they were interacting with each other and involved in texting so their attention was taken such that displaying behavior that pointed out that they were not focusing on the people in line or at the counter was not necessary.Any potential discomfort triggered by the need to keep their gaze off the others in line and those being served also did not appear to apply to them.

Although humans are social by nature and in my community, people go out of their way to say hello and be friendly and helpful, the bank situation was not like this.Instead, everyone was quiet while avoiding interactions or eye contact with the others.Even though I developed an idea that explained the behavior which was not related to being unfriendly, observing everyone’s avoidance of each other made me really uncomfortable.By the end of the hour I felt irritable and anxious as if I had been waiting in line for the bank tellers and had been forced to act in the same way as those I observed.The exceptions were the pairs of girls.Their behavior made me smile and each time a pair left I noticed I wanted them to return or another pair of girls to be in line.Watching them have fun and act as if they were care free provided some relief for my discomfort.They seemed to genuinely like each other and were having a good time.They did not showing the same avoidance like behavior of the others though they did also did not pay attention to the others in line.At the same time, they showed some behavior that seemed to indicate cultural knowledge of expected bank behavior since none of the pairs approached the counter together even though they helped each other fill out the bank forms.

While observing, I found myself wondering if I acted like the adults in line when I waited for a teller.I also wondered if the girls would have acted more like the adults if they had come alone.I wanted to know what male adolescents would do in line since girls are more social than boys and boys may have acted more like the adults.I also tried to figure out if I was usually uncomfortable like the people in line appear to be when I am waiting in line for a teller and if there were ways to communicate that you were not paying attention to the person at the counter without having to stop all types of interaction with the others around you.It was also strange to see so many people in the same physical space with none of them actually talking or making calls while in line.It seemed to be more than coincidence almost as if there were different rules for what is considered acceptable when at a bank compared to other public places.The girls didn’t even take or receive calls despite talking in regular voices which could be heard in the café (though I could not make out any words).

I also find that I am feeling very anxious as I take notes and try to observe the bank customer’s behavior because I feel like they will think I am invading their privacy by looking at them which is something they seem so intent on protecting. It seems as if the people line areactually trying to protect the privacy of the people being served or at least give the impression they are very clearly not close enough to see or hear what those at the counter are doing. While the behavior may not be conscious from my point of view it seems like they are engaging in very obvious behavior and going beyond what is necessary to communicate they are not observing others.

After about 15 minutes I feel like I am disturbing the bank customers or not respecting their privacy and try to glance up less and remember more. I continue to feel this way even though no one seems to look at me or appears to notice my activities. I scribble quickly in my notebook and get two coffees just to have something else to do when I am thinking about what to write.I am also avoiding other people’s eyes and do not engage in conversation with anyone in the café though I am usually a very social person.The others including the person behind the counter, appear to be very busy with something that is also keeping their attention and their eyes locked on something besides what other people are doing.I find I am feeling stressed, a bit upset and annoyed though I don’t link my feelings to the behavior of the people waiting in line or my own similar behavior until after I leave.By the end of the hour, the time I have set for my observation, I am relieved to be able to leave and I find myself hurrying from the store even though I was planning to get some food for dinner.

Thinking about possible theories that might explain the behavior of those I observed, the first one that comes to mind is the fight or flight theory.I consider the possibility that people in line are putting pressure on those being served or are perceived to be doing so such that when being served people would feel irritated by others and say something to them or rush through their business. However no one being served seems to feel hurried or hassled and those in line do not seem to be doing anything obvious to suggest the people being served should be quicker concluding their business.There is no evidence of overt hostility evidencing a fight response or anything demonstrating anyone is engaging in a flight response.

I consider the idea that people need to keep a certain amount of personal space around them in order to feel comfortable.People seem to be keeping a certain amount of space between them and others in line and between them and those being served.No one seems to be violating anyone else’s personal space which would be shown by people stepping away from others in an effort to keep their space protected.This would definitely be determined by culture as different cultures have different definitions of how much space is needed between people in order to remain at a comfortable distance.This explanation might, in part, explain the behavior I am seeing but it is not specific to banking since this likely generalizes to all interpersonal situations and doesn’t explain the avoidance behaviors, lack of interaction and lack of eye contact I have observed.It also doesn’t explain my own discomfort as no one is even close to me while I am conducting my observations.

I also consider whether the need for privacy might provide an explanation for the behavior I have observed.This seems to fit the observations. How people determine what aspects of their life should be kept private also varies from culture to culture.While people in some countries may find normal discussion, eye contact and interaction acceptable while waiting to be served at a bank it appears that in our culture we do not. It also appears that in our culture we are concerned about what other think of us such that we go out of our way to be as obvious as possible in letting others no we are not observing them engaging in what is considered to be a private activity.

It is clear that this obvious behavior and the definition of what is acceptable in regards to privacy at a bank is transmitted from person to person.Each person in line is very similar in their behavior though it seems doubtful that they all have consciously decided to act in the way I have observed.It did not occur to me that I was reacting to what I was observing by feeling the need to reassure others that I wasn’t watching them even though I was.I became uncomfortable doing the activity and changed my behavior to look at them less.This behavior went against my normal preferences for interaction yet the ability to act on my social desire for conversation was inhibited by the actions of those I observed.It seemed that the other people in the café including those behind the counter also adopted behavior that did not interfere with others privacy such that even in the café there was no interaction.In conclusion the need for personal space, preference for privacy while banking, and attempts to remain socially desirable by reassuring others that their privacy was being protected seems to explain the obvious avoidance behavior I observed as well as my own discomfort and change in behavior

References

Hall, R. (1993, February 7). Queues: You are how you wait. San Antonio Express News. Reprinted in: Defense Language Institute English Language Center (1994). Module 981 Academic Reading. Government Printing Office: DefenseLanguage Institute.

Lederach, J.P. (1995). Preparing for peace: Conflict transformation across cultures. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press. Retrieved from http://www.carla.umn.edu/culture/definitions.html.

McGee J. M., and Warms, R. L. (2013). Theory in Social and Cultural Anthropology.New York, NY: Sage Publications.

Norman, D.(2008). The Psychology of Waiting Lines. Retrieved from http://www.jnd.org/ms/Norman%20The%20Psychology%20of%20Waiting%20Lines.pdf

The Study of Body Language. (2013). Personal distance – divided by zones.Retrieved from http://www.study-body-language.com/

Tylor, E. B. (1904).Anthropology: an introduction to the study of man and civilization. New York, NY: Appleton and Company Publishers.