1. I decided to give money to other students in a random class. Since my target range for customers is in their early twenties, I figured on the university's campus would be the best location.
2. There wasn't a large bias on the people I approached. The only thing that differentiated them for others in their classroom, was that they seemed somewhat more open and social. This let me to believe they were more likely to have a more active social life as well.
3. My original idea was to state that I'd just won a lottery and thought I'd give back to the community.
4. While the execution in the videos was slightly more awkward that I'd planned, I decided to approach these people claiming to have won a lottery, then proceeded to hand out the dollar (hoping they'd accept the offer).
5. I was able to give 4 away. One person refused to take money they hadn't earned.
Videos:
https://youtu.be/fZfsZyAXD3A
https://youtu.be/XMPi9rdWLA8
Originally, I thought that people would gladly take money without a second thought. I learned that people are much more selfless than that. There were two mindsets I encountered the most: "Why do I deserve this money?" and "Why is this money free?" What this tells me is that people either have a nature that questions whether or not they've worked/earned charity, or a nature that immediately turns to suspicion and distrust.
I hadn't realized that they be walking/on the phone was a requirement, but the people I did approach were at least in mid-conversation with friends in person.
Hi Tyson,
ReplyDeleteI assume you go by Tyson since that’s what I see on your blog post. I agree this assignment was a bit awkward, walking up to strangers and giving away a dollar. I can’t think of anyone who would not want free money, but most people feel there are strings attached, and don’t understand strangers walking up to them to give away a dollar. Based on your feedback, it appears you had the same reaction. Great job.
Here is my Free Money blog post: http://joyspurlock.blogspot.com/2016/02/free-money.html
Hi Tyson! I also felt really awkward during this exercise because I agree with you, most people feel that the money has strings attached. I know that if someone approached me with a free dollar, I would definitely question their motives multiple times before even considering taking the dollar, and even so, I might not even take it. If you would like to get out my videos from the Free Money exercise, you can do so by following this link: http://sabinaent3003.blogspot.com/2016/02/free-money.html
ReplyDeleteHi Tyson! I really like your idea on the reasoning behind giving people a dollar. It's comical, which definitely makes you more approachable. I definitely understand how awkward it is to do this sort of thing, but I think you did great! You were very calm and articulate, which is a good thing. I think your observation about people's reactions is true as well. A lot of people, especially college students, would wonder why they deserved this dollar and maybe were even a little suspicious. Over all, great job!
ReplyDeleteHey there Tyson,
ReplyDeleteI agree that most people probably fall into the two categories that you described above, either wondering what they did to earn the money, or not trusting that someone was simply trying to perform a random act of kindness. Either way I think your approach was a good idea. I think it was also a good idea to do the assignment in a safe and controlled environment of a classroom setting, as opposed to approaching people while they are out and about and probably less likely to accept the offer. Great job and best of luck!