Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
Introduction
This social experiment is the pursuit of happiness through hugs. During this experiment,
random hugs are administered throughout campus. The results will be collected and stored based
on gender. The goal is to record data on what gender gets accepted by what gender, and to spread
happiness to the school. As reported in the article by Barbra A. Brown Hugs are a healthy way
to release serotonin in our brains. Lighta Kathleen C. also did a whole study of how hugs can
increase oxytocin levels that lowers blood pressure.
During this experiment there are some specific results expected. Mainly that opposite sex
will be more accepting of hugs from the opposite sex. Just from the sex drive of people and the
amount of homophobic atmosphere that is in our society. As you can see in Communicating
Social Presence through Thermal Hugs Embracing an individual can reduce stress to most, but
for those whom express homophobic attributes, it does the exact opposite.
Methods
Participants
This experiment was done by the three college students that wrote this paper, and the
subjects used for it were random people walking around UNCCs campus. Some young students
some older teachers, all different races. But the only thing accounted for in our data was the sex
of who is asked and if they either rejected the hug or accepted it. Trying to get as many hugs as
possible during the time between classes because this is the busiest time of the day. From
wondering around in front of the Belk tower, prospector and the union. What is said to be the
most congested parts of campus. The other day of experimenting they were all on their own with
Measurements
The only measurements used in this experiment was the difference in sex. Each
experimenters name with a log of guy and girl below. In those categories there is accepted and
rejected. And tallied of for each, suppose the experimenter, Alex, went up to a girl and asked for
a hug and was rejected. That tally would go under Alex-Girl-Rejected.
Procedure
The procedure for this experiment are quite simple. The experimenters (three college
students) walked around the campus and ask people, from both sexes, for hugs. A nice little sob
story line to incline them for a hug such as Im having a rough day, and was wondering if I
could have a hug. One of the biggest parts of this experiment is to make sure that the subjects
do not know that this is an experiment. By doing so they should make there discussion for the
hug as believable as possible, and keep the group members that are recording the data a safe
distance away so they dont see. The better this is done the more authentic the results will be.
For the second part of the experiment the students will walk around campus for an hour
each with a shirt that says Free Hugs. No more asking just wondering around, and each of
them keeping our own data for their hour with the shirt, while still distinguishing between which
sexes gives us hugs.
Results
Experimenters Guys
Accepted
Guys
Girls
Girls
Ratio
Ratio
Rejected
Accepted
Rejected
Guys
Girls
(Accept to
(Accept to
Reject)
Reject)
Bri (girl)
11
11:0
7:1
Alex (guy)
5:3
5:4
Pat (guy)
8:5
7:4
As shown in all of the ratios in the graph above, guys were not showing any interest in
hugging the same sex when asked by Alex or Pat. On the other hand girls showed more of an
interest in hugging the opposite sex when Alex or Pat asked them. Girls were not turned away
when asked by Bri for a hug considering it is the same gender. Like the girls that were asked by
Bri, the guys that Bri asked were also not turned away either.
Discussion
In this experiment the results were much different than the hypothesis. The students
hypothesis was that the opposite sex would be more accepting of hugs, both guys and girls. And
that the same sex would be more inclined to reject as we learned from Unsolicited Project
(2013). But the results were nothing along the lines of this, as you can see Bri, the girl, was
accepted by both guys and girls a lot more than the guys were. The hypothesis was wrong again
with how the two guys had almost the same ratio for both guys and girls.
References
Brown Barbara A., Frankel Gail, and Fennell Marilyn P. (1989). Hugs or shrugs: Parental
and peer influence on continuity of involvement in sport by female adolescents. Sex Roles
401-405
Lighta Kathleen C., Grewena Karen M., Amicob Janet A. (2005). More frequent partner hugs
and higher oxytocin levels are linked to lower blood pressure and heart rate in
premenopausal women. Biological Psychology 9-13
Gooch Daniel, Watts Leon, (2010) Communicating social presence through thermal hugs, 1st
Workshop on Social Interaction in Spatially Separated Environments 43-47