Hellos and Headaches

[wolfieboy]

I accidentally fell into doing an experiment yesterday that I think I'll continue. It started just because I was saying "Hello" to people that I passed. After the third time that I consistently got a "Hi" back, I thought it was interesting. Since then, I've received five more "Hi"s and one "Hey". No one has said "Hello" back. cindygerb thinks this is

Comments

[wolflady26]

I would guess that it's because people want to do more than parrot back what you say. Maybe you could continue your experiment by saying "hi" today, and see what responses you get.

[mrsrobinson]

I've done a similar "hello" experiment. After a week of "hello"ing people and getting "hi" or "hey" in response I began to "hi" people. I received numerous "Hello"'s back, in direct opposition of the week before. Quite interesting data collected and I had a lot of fun doing the research.

Good luck with your experiment. :)

[sunshine_mama]

I usually use hello for strangers and something informal like "hey" for my friends. You might also be getting back a shorter response because people these days aren't accustomed to being talked to by people spontaneously that they do not know.

Hm...

[cooncat]

I think it's the caught-off-guard thing. People these days, and in this city in particular, are rather insular. I know that even when I'm walking in the hallways, I'm thinking about workstuff often.

How's the headache different from sinus headaches?

Similar, but different

[klicrai]

Have you heard about the guy with the nametag? Scott Ginsberg has been wearing a nametag since 11/2/2. He origionally did it as a social experiment much like the one you're performing, but then kept doing it when he realized it (in general) made people friendlier toward him and more approachable. He even tattooed a nametag onto his chest. LOL.

http://www.journalnow.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=WSJ%2FMGArticle%2FWSJ_RelishArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1137833651826