Tag Archive for Lecture Halls

Summary – Chapter 15

by  • March 6, 2013 • 0 Comments

Seating arrangements is one of the things we infrequently draw to conscious attention but at some level always understand its importance. In this chapter we looked at what seems on the outset to be a complicated matter, but in reality is fairly straight forward and like all body language, once it is know, common sense. We found that seating positions can indicate our reason for meeting, be it ‘affiliation’ – to build group cohesion, ‘achievement’ – to get things done, or ‘power’ – to emphasis control. We found that the meeting organizer typically dictates how meetings will transpire.

We learned that Sommer first began researching seating ecology and that patterns emerged based on the shape of the table and the proximity speakers had to one-another. We found that a casual corner position where speakers meet across the corners of a rectangular or square table preserve closeness between people, but still offers the security of a partial barrier. We found that when seated side-by-side cooperation is fostered, when facing across from one-another but not head-on, independent though is fostered, and when facing directly, competition. We found that leadership studies show us what we intuitively already know, that leaders take up the head position, that those at his or her flank receive trickle down leadership and that when seating is pre-determined, leadership is assigned to the head of the table. We found that square tables includes both competitive and cooperative seating positions, that circular tables had similar affects despite what King Arthur thought, and that strategically we can sway our “object” by taking up competitive and affiliative positions.

Next we looking at how to set up an office and found that desk placement and office artifacts are crucial and that chairs can make people uncomfortable or powerful depending on their height and location. We then looked at seating arrangements in larger auditoriums and saw that the center of lecture halls tended to be overlooked, and also how to use this to our advantage, and finally we concluded the chapter by pointing out that seating location affects participation; those in front participating most, but that it did not related to test scores.

How To Be Forgotten – The “Center-Stage Effect”

by  • March 6, 2013 • 0 Comments

In a study conducted by the University of California Berkeley in 2006 that examined seating position, it was found that when seated in the middle of lecture halls, those in the middle tended to be overlooked. This would seem counterintuitive, but was replicated several times and in several different ways.

This “center-stage” effect was shown through observation of the game show “The Weakest Link” since they tended to be ignored more often than outlier players. If you aren’t familiar with the game, it involved a series of questions across several competitors but with only one winner. Each contestant is to answer a question in sequence associated with an ever increasing sum of money until the money is “banked” or kept, at which point the value amount is reset, but the round continues. At the end of each round the contestants vote on whom they’d like to eliminate. In the observations by the researchers, they found that despite the contestants being randomly assigned more winners came from the center of the stage rather than outliers. The center was often ignored as a pool from which people were “voted off.” This seems counterintuitive to most, as our common sense would tell us that the outliers should be less subject to attention.

When the experiment brought the game to the lab, the researchers found that observers often overlooked errors that players in the center of the stage made to a greater extent than errors in extreme positions. This gave center position holders more favourable assessments. It therefore follows that if you are not particularly adept at a task you might want to take center stage so as to reap the inherent leadership traits and avoid taking on negative stigma especially if being called upon is strong, and there is a good likelihood of providing the wrong answer. If you want to stand out and be remembered for it, take an outlier position where you will be called upon and stand a better chance of being remembered for it.