Civil Inattention Exists—in Elevators

Abstract

Elevators were used as a field setting to examine the existence of civil inattention (Goffman, 1963)—the rule that in a transient encounter strangers give visual notice to each other and then withdraw attention. In Sutdy 1, confederates recorded the behavior of single riders in elevators. It was found that about half of all riders gave the confederate a brief visual notice at the beginning of the ride and then refrained from further eye contact. Of the riders, 35% added one or two glances to the initial look; perhaps these riders wanted to renew their acknowledgment of the confederates or perhaps they simply displayed more interest in their fellow passengers. In two more investigations (Study 2 and an exact replication—Study 3) confederates shared elevators with single riders and either followed or violated the rule of civil inattention. In the former they glanced at the subject and then withdrew all further attention; in the latter case they either avoided eye contact altogether or stared at the subject for the duration of the ride. It was found that behaviors consistent with the rule of civil inattention were rated more favorably than those in violation of the rule. The conditions under which civil inattention may be modified or eliminated were discussed.