“YOU’VE HAD A MAN LOOK!” Is this a real thing?

“YOU’VE HAD A MAN LOOK!” Is this a real thing? Alissa Tonkin (Year 10) Science Faculty, The Illawarra Grammar School, Western Avenue, Mangerton, 2500

Abstract

Males, especially throughout their teenage years, are not as observant as females. In this experiment male’s observatory skills were compared to females through a timed ‘Where’s Wally’ test. Twelve males and twelve females were asked to locate Wally, where their observation skills to locate Wally were averaged to test the hypothesis that males will take a longer time to locate Wally than females. The study found out that females were almost three times slower than males when it came to locating wally, further proving that the theory of a man look is not reliable.

Introduction

A common stereotype in society is that females are more observant then males. An example of this is when someone says ‘Your having a Man Look’, which refers to a person looking for something and not being able to find it because they do not look for it properly. Often, whatever they are looking for is right in front of them. This is referred to as ‘a man look; as often in society, men are seen to not pay as much attention to detail, causing them to miss things that are right in front of them.

While no previous studies have been conducted to investigate male’s observatory skills compared to females, a similar study conducted by Krystnell Storr explains “Why Women are Faster to Mature than Males”. The study found that the human brain undergoes major changes anatomically and functionally as we age, and these changes make the connections in our brain more efficient. Storr’s research found that this process tends to happen at an earlier age for women than men, which may explain why some women seem to mature faster than men. In this study, male’s observation skills were examined and compared to females to discover if gender is a factor in ones observational abilities. It is hypothesised that males will take a larger amount of time to locate Wally in a “Where’s Wally Now?” book compared to females.

Method

Twenty-four subjects (twelve male and twelve females), within an age bracket of 15 – 16, were asked to locate Wally in a “Where’s Wally Now?” book. Their time was recorded with a stopwatch and recorded in a table.

Results

The time it took to locate Wally was longer for females than it was males. While the time it took for females to locate Wally was almost three times larger than males, females would observe more objects throughout the test than males, for example Wally’s sister and dog. This suggests that females pay more attention to detail then males, and males only complete the task they were set out to do.

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Discussion

It was hypothesised that females would be faster than males when it comes to taking a Where’s Wally timed test; however, the results suggested that males are almost three times faster than females. Although the results indicate that males are faster when it comes to locating an object than females, no previous studies have been conducted to test this idea, making comparisons impossible.

The method was valid as the experiment was designed to investigate whether females are faster than males when locating an object in front of them. The method was valid as only one aspect of the experiment, the independent variable, is being changed. The independent variable is changed from male to female, thus experimenting the observatory skills between the two. While the independent variable is changed, the dependant variable or the time is measured. The experiment is also valid as the same test was used on all 24 participants.

While the experiment was conducted correctly, human error may play a factor in the accuracy of the results. Human error refers to the limitations of human ability. Transcriptional error may have occurred throughout this experiment as the exact time in which a participant locates Wally may have been altered due to human error.

Through the repetition of this experiment twelve times on each gender, reliability was ensured as the chance for error was reduced. This repetition reduced error as error averages to zero if enough measurements are taken and averaged. This is why the repetition of an experiment can improve the reliability of the final results of an experiment.

One way that the experiment could be improved would be for the experiment to be conducted over a variety of age groups. Through doing this, the observation skills between males and females can be compared to each other through a variety of ages, further allowing the audience to understand if age plays a factor in observation skills.

References

Urban Dictionary: man look 2019, Urban Dictionary, viewed 29 November 2021, <https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?t erm=man%20look>. Krystnell Storr 2015, Science Explains Why Women Are Faster to Mature Than Men, Mic, Mic, viewed 29 November 2021, <https://www.mic.com/articles/111226/scienceexplains-why-women-are-faster-to-mature-thanmen>.

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