Influence on Behavior

Perceived degree of publicity correlates with believed stringency of social code
In order to determine to what extent acceptable behavior at TotH is determined by publicity I conducted a survey of twenty Dartmouth undergraduate students. Those surveyed were asked, “To what extent do you view Top of the Hop as a public space?” answers were recorded on a scale of very private to very public.

 

To gauge influence on behavior I asked “how strongly do you feel that a social code is operating on TotH based on a scale from one to five?” In general, there was a strong correlation between those who view Top of the Hop as more public and those who suggest that there is a strong social code of conduct in place. The results are displayed below.

 

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There is a strong correlation between those who perceive TotH as a public place and those who believe that there is a stringent social code of conduct.

 

Visibility shapes what is thought to be acceptable decorum
I then asked the follow up question, “What are the social norms that you perceive in this space?” Responses from those who saw the space as public included, “no talking”, “no phone calls”, and “don’t sit too close to others”. When asked how these norms were enforced, most agreed that there is an unspoken social pressure which results from ones’ actions being so visible. This mutual pressure, where everyone is either observing or observed by everyone else, was believed to be what keeps behavior in check.

 
Those who viewed the space as more private, did not claim that there was an absence of a social code, merely a more relaxed standard. This group of students did not find that it disturbed the space to talk quietly to friends, or to make the space more comfortable by rearranging furniture.

Public to whom?
It is important to note that those who viewed TotH as more public spoke in terms of proximate contact and visibility. To them exposure to other occupants of the room is what added publicity and enforced the social code. In contrast, those who viewed ‘the code’ to be more relaxed noted emphasized privacy in terms of the rest of campus.

 
The Exception

pianooo(a piano recording from TotH| source: Aaron Lit)

 
When a passerby decides to play the piano they alter the accepted norms of this space. In this act the occupants of the room are freed from their ‘observer, observed’ relationship, and instead become into fellow audience members to this one highly public act.

 

 

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