INFORMAL TRINKAUS

John W. Trinkaus (not to be confused with John P. Trinkaus, the embryologist) is a hero of mine. Born in 1925, Trinkaus served in the US Air Force during WWII, studied electrical engineering after the war, and then worked as an engineer for a few decades. With graduate degrees related to engineering and management, he eventually took up a professorship at a CUNY's Baruch College business school and would come to be a Professor Emeritus and the school's dean. Trinkaus also consulted for the Ford Foundation, the Small Business Administration, and the Interracial Council for Business Opportunity. But what actually speaks to me are his informal observations in the last several decades of his life.

Tinkaus regularly offered the world a meticulous look at the curious world around him. Often this work was spurred by noticing an interesting shift in the culture or merely something that bothered him. And it seems to me he commonly pursued a project just for the satisfaction of the investigation (or occasionally to combat boredom or manage his frustration.) So, he might spot something like non-compliance with handicap parking rules at his local mall or whether students had a preference for a closed door when entering a building or one that was already slightly ajar, and he would just sit there for a dozen hours or more and take note how often the behaviour occurred. And he might return to the subject two or three, or in one case five, times in different years to see if things had changed and to get a larger sample size.

Trinkaus made and published observations of everything from cell phone use among motor vehicle operators to tissue paper use; commuter attaché case and baseball cap wearing behaviours; left-turn procrastinators, stop sign compliance, and fire and school zone parking and speed violators; grocery store checkout line habits and bakery department tongue utilization; Brussels sprout approval and the indifference of children toward shopping mall Santas, and so much more. More than 150 papers in total.

In all his work, Trinkaus seemed less interested in proposing a hypothesis to explain human behaviour but preferred to gift the world the raw data from his observations and typically little more than a concise page or two noting his count of a particular phenomenon and maybe a breakdown of the difference between sex or age cohorts or what times of day these behaviours were more or less common. So, a typical abstract to one of these gems is only a couple of sentences and reads something similar to his October 1991 offering, titled Color Preference in Sport Shoes: An Informal Look: “Observations on five workdays at a large terminus for a number of commuter rail lines indicated that among 4731 passengers 5% of 2794 men and 31% of 1937 women wore white sport shoes. Questions relative to interpretation are raised.” Some other favourites of mine include:

Apr, 1983 - Arcade Video Games: An Informal Look

Observed the activity at 5 Pac-Man games and 6 Ms. Pac-Man games in a commuter railroad passenger station in New York City during the morning rush hour (0700-0930), lunchtime (1130-1200), and the evening rush hour (1600-1830). 75 30-min nonrepetitive viewings were conducted. During observation, all machines were constantly in use. There were 8 male for every 3 female players; players usually played 2 sessions in the morning and at lunch but 3 sessions in the evening.

Dec, 1990 - Usage of Cellular Telephones: An Informal Look

The growth in the usage of cellular telephones by motor vehicle operators appears to be happening in the absence of any companion governmental operating directives. The result is a state of the world wherein drivers are mandated to be securely fastened to the seats of defect-free vehicles, yet are permitted to drive with one hand on the steering wheel, while dividing their attention between road conditions and an interactive conversation.

Dec, 1992 - Some Students' Perceptions about Aids: An Informal Look

The results of a convenience sampling of 558 undergraduate business students suggests that, while there is widespread knowledge of the existence of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) and the fact that one having the disease need not necessarily feel sick and look bad, there appears to be comparatively little awareness of the availability of drug therapies and the relative safety of the practice of donating blood.

Aug, 1993 - Compliance with the Item Limit of the Food Supermarket Express Checkout Lane: An Informal Look

A total of 75 15-min. observations of customers' behavior at a food supermarket suggests that only about 15% of shoppers observe the item limit of the express lane. The overages tend to be limited to approximately 1 to 3 pieces.

Oct, 1993 - Swimming Laps: An Informal Look

An informal inquiry consisting of 105 observations suggested that, when given a choice, most swimmers will opt to swim laps in shallow rather than deep water. Such a preference may well be related to their security need.

Aug, 1994 - Television Station Weather-Persons' Winter Storm Predictions: An Informal Look

A limited enquiry during the winter of 1993–94 suggested that television weather-persons' pronouncements of their predictions' accuracy does not appear to be supported by facts. Only about 60 percent of the claimed correctness of forecasting the hour of the start of snowstorms and approximately 40 percent of the depths of snowfalls were confirmed by actuality.

Apr, 1997 - Delays in Clearing the Self-Service Store Check-out Counter: An Informal Look

Swiftness of service, one of the advantages which one normally associates with self-service stores, is something which may well be more fiction than fact. 328 observations at 3 large suburban hardware stores showed that about 4 out of 10 transactions at the checkout counter involved delaying problems which increased the 1 1/2- to 2 1/2-min. time required to clear the counter by an average of 2 min. Of the 143 delaying incidents noted, 118 (82%) were customer-driven, 14 (10%) store-driven, and 11 (8%) customer- or store-driven.

Jun, 1997 - The Demise of “Yes”: An Informal Look

For affirmative responses to simple interrogatories, the use of “absolutely” and “exactly” may be becoming more socially frequent than “yes.” A counting of positive replies to 419 questions on several TV networks showed 249 answers of “absolutely,” 117 “exactly,” and 53 of “yes.”

Dec, 2002 - Compliance with the Item Limit of the Food Supermarket Express Checkout Lane: Another Look

A total of 68 15-min. observations of customers' behavior at a food supermarket suggests that only about 7% of shoppers observe the item limit of the express lane. The overages tended to be about four pieces.

Jun, 2004 - Honesty When Lighting Votive Candles in Church: An Informal Look

An informal enquiry conducted over 6 yr. suggested a decline from 92% to 28% of people paying for lighting votive candles in a large Catholic church.

Oct, 2006 - Honesty When Lighting Votive Candles in Church: Another Look

An informal 3-yr. follow-up enquiry of a prior study suggested that the use of electrical, rather than wax, candles seemingly is not a variable relevant to peoples' behavior in paying for lighting votive candles in church. Also, the number of people paying apparently continues to decline: now down (from about 30 percent in 2003) to approximately 25 percent.

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