Let The Games Begin: Final Experiment Plan

Besides the fact that I haven't had a spare second to go to the mall over the past two weeks to begin conducting my research, I realized that my experiment still had some kinks to be worked out, anyway. I was originally planning on going to a designer store like Coach or Louis Vuitton, along with bigger, upscale retail stores with snooty reputations, like Nordstrom and Lord and Taylor. After deliberating over it, I'm going to nix my visits to the small designer store because I'm afraid that the employees there might recognize me, considering that I'll be making three visits to each store. Breaking my cover would ruin the validity of my experiment, so I'm going to stick to conducting my experiment in larger upscale stores. Also, since those stores are bigger, I think it will give me a bigger mix of people to encounter, and it would increase the chances of me witnessing other mall patrons getting profiled by way of social class, as well. Though I still need to determine which day of the week I plan on carrying out my experiment, I want to purposely go on the same day in an effort to get the same mix of employees to encounter with. Although this poses the same threat of them recognizing me, I'm holding out hope that because they're bigger stores, the employees won't recognize my face each time I go in. Besides, it's my clothes that will be doing the talking.

I can't wait to carry this experiment out!

The Nitty Gritty: Further Experiment Details

After realizing that my plan is more of an experiment than an act of naturalistic observation, I'm ready to  wreak havoc on the stores of GSP. Instead of observing how employees and shoppers react to people dressed according to class, I will be embodying representations of the lower, middle, and upper classes and gauging people's reactions to me based on my clothing. I plan on going to the mall on three separate occasions during the evening, each time wearing clothes to represent a certain social class. As the control in my experiment, I'll first go to the mall dressed in my normal clothes, representing the middle class. The following week I'll go to the mall dressed in all brand-name clothing to represent the upper class, and the week after that I'll go in sweats, worn sneakers, and perhaps a bandana, representing the lower class. I'm going to concentrate my experimentation in Nordstrom, Lord and Taylor, and a designer store, perhaps Coach or Louis Vuitton.

I was inspired to do this experiment because I myself have had negative experiences in stores generally patronized by wealthy people. Most people in those places haven't taken me seriously, whether for my age or my clothes, while people who "look the part" have salespeople breathing down their necks 24/7. Interestingly as well, my friend's mom was also a victim of shopper profiling in Nordstrom; the employees looked at her as they would pond scum when she entered in sweatpants, but they chased her around with new fragrance samples when she entered in a fur coat. I feel like people today subconsciously categorize each other into classes, and my experiment will put that theory directly to the test. I will keep a special eye out for suspicious and judgmental looks shot at me from workers, and possibly other shoppers, and pay special attention to the kind of treatment I receive in the stores I visit based on my appearance. My greatest hope is that I don't blow my cover!

Any Excuse to Play Dress Up: Quarter Two Project Research Method

For the topic of social class, I've chosen the sociological research method of naturalistic observation. I feel that the best way for me to attain unadulterated information about my topic is to put myself in the shoes of people from different social classes. I plan on going to Garden State Plaza dressed as a member of the upper class, perhaps wearing all brand name clothes, the middle class, donning my usual mall attire, and another time as a member of the working class or the lower class, perhaps dressing in a worn or dirty outfit. I'll be taking note of the reactions I get from employees, other customers, and people I simply see in passing, if my attire elicits a reaction from them, as well.

A helpful breakdown of social class in America.

Social class is a topic that seems black and white to most people, but the sociological gray areas are what gives the subject depth. Social class isn't about facts and figures; it's something that can be sensed among people everyday. Today's society is so heavily based on physical appearances, we can't help but look at people without inferring what social class they're in. If a woman rolls up wearing Chanel sunglasses and driving a BMW with the top down, I'd assume that she's of the upper class, in contrast to if she rolled up in a rundown car with a sputtering engine, with plain and stained clothing. I never realized how prevalent judging based on social class was before now, and I want to put myself in the shoes of members of each class to get a sense of how it feels to be scrutinized. So judge away, fellow mall patrons, judge away!