Observation concepts and applications

Psychology -- Observations

Scenario

This observational session took place on a Thursday evening at 7:30 PM in a local restaurant and bar and consisted of approximately one hour-long observation of a male customer approximately 30 years of age. The observer was seated at a table sufficiently close enough to provide an unobstructed view of the subject at all times. The subject was selected more or less randomly as he entered the establishment after the observer was already situated in a suitable vantage point. The weather was clear but relatively cold so it seemed slightly strange that the subject wore only a tight short-sleeved shirt; everybody else (including the observer) was dressed in warmer attire such as sweaters and sweatshirts. The subject appeared to be in good physical condition and it was relatively obvious that his choice of attire was purposely designed to display his muscular arms.

Observations

The subject entered the restaurant and stopped to look around before proceeding into the bar area. He seemed to look at every female seated at the bar briefly before taking a stool at the end of the bar. When the bartender approached him he ordered a drink and when the drink arrived he set up another napkin on the bar in front of the empty stool to his immediate left and he moved the barstool in front of that spot a little closer to him. He did not face the bar the way most of the other customers did; instead, he angled himself to his left so that his right foot was on the bar rail but his left foot rested on the footrest of the empty stool to his left.

The subject seemed to look at every person who entered the restaurant though the front door and also seemed to recheck the bar and the tables periodically as though he were expecting someone and was not entirely sure that the person he was expecting had not already been seated, despite the fact that he checked the entire area immediately on his arrival. He also checked his watch regularly and he seemed to check for messages of some sort several times because he used his cell phone to dial a number and then pressed buttons and listened briefly to the phone before hanging up.

When the bartender approached to ask whether he wanted another drink, he responded politely by shaking his head and putting up his hand; once the bartender left to attend to other customers, the subject moved his almost empty glass a little bit closer to himself and also slightly repositioned the napkin next to the empty stool to his left. Shortly afterwards, several more people approached the bar near him and one of them asked him whether the empty stool was occupied. He seemed to respond more apologetically than necessary because he continued explaining long after the individual who asked about it began nodding and indicating with his hand gestures that he understood almost immediately. He also seemed to tell the person something about why he had reserved the empty stool because the other individual started nodding and seemed to mouth the words "good luck" afterwards. Shortly after that exchange, the subject changed seats, taking the empty stool and switched the position of the clean napkin and his drink.