FLOWERS WORLD

Study 2 – Social Behavior and Flowers: The Elevator Study
In Study 1, we only included female participants and we only observed one behavior, the smile. It appeared from post-hoc analyses that a broader range of social behaviors might be affected. To expand and confirm the results, in Study 2 we included men as well as women as recipients of flowers. We collected data on the Duchenne smile and other social indicators such as proximity and initiation of conversation. We believed it would be difficult to obtain self-reports of any positive effect of flowers on men in this society when flowers are viewed as very feminine and are seldom presented to men. In the second study we observed Participants being handed single flowers or an alternate stimulus in a constrained social situation - an elevator. The norms for social distance are well established (see Hall, 1966; Sussman and Rosenfeld, 1982), and this is certainly true of public spaces (Burgess, 1983) including elevators. Popular knowledge suggests that the most typical behavior for elevators that are sparsely occupied is for strangers to retreat to opposite corners. We predicted that the smile would occur more for the flower while social distance would decrease, and that the behavior of men and women would be comparable.
Method
Participants
Participants were 122 individuals (60 males, 62 females) who entered a university library elevator alone. Because of the study’s focus on naturalistic observation, participants were not made aware that they were being observed. Thus, no age or ethnicity data were obtained; however, the ages of people in a university library will tend to be towards the early 20s, but not exclusively. In this large East Coast University, there are representatives of many ethnic groups.
Stimuli
By random assignment, participants were observed in one of four conditions. (1) In the flower condition, participants received one Gerber Daisy. Gerber or Transvaal daisies are characterized by bold colors and blooms 4-5" across, although there is little odor. (2) In the exposure condition, participants were exposed to a basket of Gerber Daisies, but did not receive anything. (3) In the alternate stimulus condition, participants were not exposed to flowers, but received a pen with a
university inscription. (4) In the no-exposure condition, participants were not exposed to flowers, nor did they receive anything; neither a basket nor a sign were present. Flowers and pens were always held in a flat basket. A sign was attached to the basket, “Free Flowers/Gift! The Society of American Florists Supports a Random Act of Kindness Day! People will be receiving flowers/gifts at random, on the elevator. You can pass on the kindness!” In the pen condition, the sign did not include a reference to the Society of American Florists.
Measures
Facial Reaction. At any time after the participant entered the elevator, the female experimenter could note a smile. As in Study 1, three types were recorded: (a) no smile, assigned a value of 0; (b) a polite smile, involving zygomatic muscle movement but no movement of the muscle orbiting the eye, assigned a value of 1; and (c) a Duchenne smile, involving both zygomatic and orbicularis oris movement, assigned a value of 2. Experimenters returned smiles but did not initiate them. The smile with the highest rating was the only one recorded.
Proxemic Behavior. After the elevator began moving, the participant’s proximity to the experimenter was recorded. This was the farthest position taken by the participant after the conversation was initiated and the participant stopped moving into the elevator. The elevator floor was divided into five semi-circular sections with very small grid marks using clear tape, radiating out from the experimenter’s location by the elevator button. The grid marks were easily visible to the experimenters who had placed them but were not likely to be noticed by others. Grid 5 was designated as the area where participants may have touched the experimenter; grid 1 was when the participant leaned on the farthest wall in the corner of the elevator. The grids were arranged 24 inches apart. Proximity was coded on a scale from 1 (farthest away) to 5 (closest or touched experimenter) according to the participant’s location in the elevator.
Initiation of Conversation. After the initial comments made by the experimenter, any conversation initiated by the participant was coded. Superficial remarks such as "Thank you" or "A flower?" were not coded as initiated speech but treated as a response to the experimenter. If the participant initiated conversation beyond the experimenter’s first greeting, a value of 1 was assigned for conversation initiation; if not, a 0 was assigned. Experimenters responded politely but briefly.
Eye gaze/head orientation. Experimenters noted whether participants were directing their gaze toward them by noting head orientation, recording this as toward the experimenter or away/up/down. Again this was noted in the same time frame as the proximity rating – after the elevator moved and after the first response to the experimenter. If the experimenter observed gaze at or in the direction of the experimenter’s face from the participant, a value of 1 was assigned for the presence of an eye gaze, otherwise, a value of 0 was assigned.
Total Social Score (TSS). Individual scores for (a) type of smile, (b) conversation initiation, (c) proximity to the experimenter, and (d) gaze/head orientation to experimenter were summed to obtain a Total Social Score (TSS) which served as the main dependent variable for the experiment (Cronbach’s α = .70, indicating adequate reliability). The possible range for TSS was from 1 to 9.
Procedure
Only one stimulus condition was run per day. On those days when flowers/stimulus were presented, flower/stimulus presentation and flower/stimulus exposure/no presentation were alternated. An individual who entered the elevator became a participant if s/he entered the elevator alone.
Two experimenters were present. A male experimenter held the basket and positioned himself next to the elevator control panel. A female experimenter stood next to him holding a clipboard for recording data. The experimenters' placement in the elevator did not vary. In the flower/stimulus presentation conditions, the male experimenter initiated conversation according to a pre-constructed script. He also handed the flower or pen to the participant. In the exposure/no presentation and control conditions, he said: “Hi, which floor would you like?” After this brief question or stimulus presentation, the experimenters did not speak except in response to the participant. The female experimenter recorded proximity, conversation, facial movement, and eye contact on a standardized coding sheet. If a participant asked the female experimenter what she was writing, she responded that she was keeping a record of gift recipients for the Society of American Florists. This gave participants the opportunity to request that nothing be recorded about them.
Results
TSS Scores
A 4 (condition) x 2 (gender) analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed a highly significant difference on TSS by condition, F(3, 114) = 31.41, p = .0001. Examination of the means by group indicates that the highest levels of social behaviors were displayed in the flower-receiving condition, followed by the pen-receiving condition, the no stimulus condition, and finally the flower-exposure condition. There was also a significant main effect for gender, F(1, 114) = 9.79, p = 0.002, such that across all conditions, women had, on average, higher TSS than men (for women: M = 4.55, SD = 2.06; for men: M = 3.70, SD = 2.06). However, there was not a significant condition by gender interaction, F(3, 114) = 1.86, p = 0.14, indicating that both men and women were as likely to respond with more social behaviors when receiving flowers versus receiving pens or receiving nothing.