My strategy was basically to stand in front of my
fraternity house while my phone recorded the interactions. I planned to
approach just about anyone because anyone who stopped to give me some of his or
her time deserved the dollar! I basically came up with a story that I was doing
a personal research/social experiment for my own curiosity in which I analyzed
how different pedestrians reacted when presented with a free dollar. I really
had no other plans other than to impromptu convince the stranger to accept my
money. I figured that 4 or 5 people would accept the dollar in the end, even if
they were thrown off by my presence or confused by my motives. Below are 2 of
my 5 attempts in video format; enjoy.
One was a success after a series of questions while the one
was an immediate failure, as the pedestrian was too busy working out to even
care what I had to offer. I assumed that almost anyone; especially college
students (who usually run a tight budget) would take free money without questioning
me at all. This was never the case, as even those willing to take the money (3
out of 5 pedestrians) asked me multiple questions. I guess it is a good thing
that people are naturally skeptical but I am shocked that two out of 5 people
chose to turn down my offer. Maybe I chose a bad location or a poor time to give
away some Washingtons. Oh well, a few more bucks for me then!
Hi Ryan!
ReplyDeleteYou're genius for picking this location. I think that there would be a large amount of people passing through this location and it would be easy to give away the $5. Then again, I guess it wasn't as easy as it appeared. I think that it's hard to convince people to just take something from you without any explanation - so the fact that you provided some sort of background as to why you were doing so was helpful to the people who were willing to accept your money. It may have made them feel more comfortable and not as thought they were just taking you for granted by handing out free money.
Check out my post if you have time! http://kristianasimon.blogspot.com/2016/02/free-money-week-7.html
Hey Ryan, I am surprised that only two people accepted the dollar as well. I think some people just don’t really like the idea of accepting handouts. Also, maybe since the dollar amount was so low it could be insulting or just not really worth continuing the conversation any further, especially if they have somewhere they need to be and your holding them up.
ReplyDeleteI think you picked the perfect location, but maybe it was your time of day that scared people off? I know that once the sun goes down, I usually tend to ignore strangers that come up to me and walk away just for extra precaution. I'm surprised though that more people didn't accept your money! I would assume the same thing that most college students would be more than happy stop take a free dollar from someone offering! Looks like you had fun though, great job on the assignment! Check out my blog!
ReplyDeletehttp://ent3003max.blogspot.com
Hi Ryan, I agree that standing in front of the frat house was quite clever. I wouldn't have imagined any students would say no to taking the dollar. However, even though these are guys and they most likely didn't feel threatened by you, I do think that the time of day (darkness) could have played into the ones not wanting to accept. For me, I would have bolted passed you if you tried to stop me at night, ha ha. Here's a link to my blog: http://generationxonfleek.blogspot.com/2016/02/free-money-random-acts-of-kindness.html
ReplyDeleteHi Ryan, I agree that standing in front of the frat house was quite clever. I wouldn't have imagined any students would say no to taking the dollar. However, even though these are guys and they most likely didn't feel threatened by you, I do think that the time of day (darkness) could have played into the ones not wanting to accept. For me, I would have bolted passed you if you tried to stop me at night, ha ha. Here's a link to my blog: http://generationxonfleek.blogspot.com/2016/02/free-money-random-acts-of-kindness.html
ReplyDeleteHi Ryan,
ReplyDeleteChoosing to stand in front of your fraternity house was a great idea because of the heavy foot traffic. I agree with every one else in that I m pretty surprised only two people took the dollar. I liked your straightforward approach with telling the people exactly why you were trying to give away the dollar.
Grace Withers