A folklorist went to her mother's hometown in Italy to watch the whole town walk at dusk, to see and be seen. A classroom experiment with four women who never said a word shows what that walk was quietly doing. One test for any place, and one free return visit.
Takeaways
- In one US lecture course, 130 students rated four women who never spoke to anyone: the more classes a woman had attended, the more attractive and similar she seemed, though she barely seemed more familiar.
- Judge any place by one test: will I see the same faces again, at the same hour, in a way that feels natural to me?
- This week: pick one place you can reach for free and go back once, at the same hour as last time.
Chapters
- The little Paris of the Abruzzo0:17
- Four women who never spoke2:19
- Liked, not remembered3:41
- The party and the clean-up6:24
- Hear it done7:49
- Build yours8:54
- The answer10:35
References
- Del Negro, G. P. — The Passeggiata and Popular Culture in an Italian Town: Folklore and the Performance of Modernity(2004)
- Bacchilega, C. — Review of Giovanna P. Del Negro, The Passeggiata and Popular Culture in an Italian Town
- Treccani — Strùscio, Vocabolario Treccani
- Moreland, R. L., & Beach, S. R. — Exposure effects in the classroom: The development of affinity among students(1992)
- Reis, H. T., Maniaci, M. R., Caprariello, P. A., Eastwick, P. W., & Finkel, E. J. — Familiarity does indeed promote attraction in live interaction(2011)
- Norton, M. I., Frost, J. H., & Ariely, D. — Does familiarity breed contempt or liking? Comment on Reis, Maniaci, Caprariello, Eastwick, and Finkel (2011)(2011)
- Norton, M. I., Frost, J. H., & Ariely, D. — Less is more: The lure of ambiguity, or why familiarity breeds contempt(2007)
- Festinger, L., Schachter, S., & Back, K. — Social Pressures in Informal Groups: A Study of Human Factors in Housing(1950)
- Back, M. D., Schmukle, S. C., & Egloff, B. — Becoming friends by chance(2008)