People Watching ( Psychology of Social Observations )

Desmond Morris wrote a book called People Watching; it followed the path first set out in his seminal The Naked Ape. In these, Desmond Morris explains social and indeed observed individual behaviour.

We all see people doing things, and without realising it, give it an instant analysis, or dismiss it. A man clenches his fists, a look of rage is seen on his face, and he approaches you...... We all step back, even though the target of his ire could be the person behind you/us.

It is said that we are all psychologists, and all of our observations are valid. What do you see people do/doing?

I saw a young woman boarding a bus, and kissing her partner/lover/hubby, lovingly on the lips, she took one last drag from her cigarette, and passed it to him - he stayed outside the bus. The door closed, and he walked off with the cigarette between his fingers.

He clearly didn't want to smoke it. But his lady had thought it better to give it to him, than extinguish it with her shoe. What to her was a sharing gesture (I won't comment on the health issues), was recognised as such by her guy, and he didn't feel offended by the inherited cigarette.

I was struck by how a cigarette could be passed between two people, and recognised by both as a loving/gesture. Yes, I see it all the time when couples are together, but not when they are parting. Its almost like giving my last Rolo.

I saw an old woman doing a shit in the gutter in Dalston in 1994. I think she needed a shit.

If you're not a smoker GA2G you're missing the delights of a post-coital chuff, which can make me turn quite violent if I don't enjoy the last drag for my efforts. I can almost resent my orgasm.

This thread is sure to be a winner.

Once, I saw a young woman, in a porn movie, smoking a cigarette with her vagina, I watched and you can imagine the rest. If she was in front of me for real, I wouldn't have minded to have that cigarette passed into my mouth.

No that I could have been disgusted to get the smoke directly in my mouth from her sucking labia minora.

Erving Goffman in the 'Presentation of self in everyday life" does it for me.
read it and report back if you like.

I once watched the bloke who works opposite me sneeze a load of glop into his hand. He looked around for a tissue, couldn't find one, then proceeded to slurp all the glop up with his mouth.

I gave a gasp of horror. He realised he was being observed.

The look of shame on his face as he sucked snot was really quite priceless.

There is humour in watching people of course, but sometimes, there is nearly an education to be had.

Here I shall be controversial (for the first time in my life, ever) - I have noticed for years (many years, because the first time I was sure was a one-off, but evidently it wasn't), that when females cross the street, they do so differently to males.

A group of men crossing the street, will all (or nearly all - except when drunk) look both ways before crossing.

A group of women crossing the street will not look both ways, as they (subconsciously?) trust the person going first to have already done the risk assessment.....and maybe, just maybe, they listen as they cross; and trust that sensory tool as opposed to eyesight.

A mixed group of males and females crossing the road highlights the same behaviours, with the females seeming not to need to look both ways, but all (or nearly all) of the males looking before crossing.

This I believe has nothing to do with intelligence, but to do with brain-mapping.

Male brains being mapped to originally be useful for hunter/gatherers (a very singular task - avoid being eaten/danger, get food, return home), and female brains being mapped for performing various different tasks simultaneously.

Don't believe me? Okay, observe it for a few weeks, and then we shall see. It will be an eye opener. And no, I've not seen this ever reported anywhere; its just what I have seen.

So - women are lemmings?

A man chooses to use his laptop. He may be alone, or in the company of his fellow man. Perhaps some women drift by, heads tilted permanently to the right. Their sore necks protest. He logs-on to an internet forum. It may be Bank Holiday Monday, or it may not. A light drizzle, lunch already eaten. He watches several odd threads. He ponders, but does not scratch his head. What does this demonstrate? The absence of an itch.

last night I dreamt of a headmistress who I know in a professional capacity washing away my shit from an outdoor toilet with a hosepipe, as someone had stolen the bucket of water I'd carefully placed by the door-
please, what does this mean GA2G?

So - women are lemmings?

My heroes all happen to be women, so I would never think so, nor would I subscribe to such a retarded (middle eastern) theory.

My heroes:
Dr. Alexa Irene Canady
Dr. Mae Carol Jemison

Yeah TS, why bring the Middle East into it!?

A man clenches his fists, a look of rage is seen on his face, and he approaches you...... We all step back, even though the target of his ire could be the person behind you/us.

I drop that motherfucker where he stands.

So - women are lemmings?

A man chooses to use his laptop. He may be alone, or in the company of his fellow man. Perhaps some women drift by, heads tilted permanently to the right. Their sore necks protest. He logs-on to an internet forum. It may be Bank Holiday Monday, or it may not. A light drizzle, lunch already eaten. He watches several odd threads. He ponders, but does not scratch his head. What does this demonstrate? The absence of an itch.

Repped

i often watch people in their cars in a car park near where i live
the only conclusion i have reached is that people who drive cars must have very high sex drives cause they are always at it ... and it's not just the kissing bit as GAG2 described in his opening post.

i often watch people in their cars...

My only interaction with people is over the Internet. I find this comforting.

A man sees God in his car. He crashes.

A man crashes his car. As he crawls from the wreckage, he sees J. G. Ballard taking notes; with an erection.

I work in an Xscape centre and notice that people there tend to stop and look around in the most congested areas, making the congestion worse. I presume that when they can walk at normal pace they concentrate on doing so and as they get to a congested area they have to slow down, walking slower doesn't need so much concentration so they get distracted, see something, slow down more etc etc then they realise/remember that they were walking somewhere and get annoyed about the congestion.

Working there is pretty good for people watching actually.

When customers come into the reception in the bit where I work, (it's the one in Glasgow and I work in the Climbzone) it's very often parents and children, the parents sign the kids in and then leave them with us for the hour or hour and a half session. I can tell straight away the kids that'll struggle on the climbing and stuff because they are the ones whose parents are overprotective, do everything for them etc.

Also see lots of parents who clearly resent the shit out of their kids but are still there, spending loads of money on them, presumably because it's easier thn the kid having a tantrum etc.

Watching people cost me a 5 stretch in Pentonville.

I'm going to be watching the people posting on this thread intently
And may post some psychological/sociological/scatalogical observations

I have a Human Psychology degree, but instead of using my learning powers for good, I was seduced by the dark side and used all the body language part to seduce laydeez.

pfft, scatological