Blog #5

Find a statistic related to your project. What does this statistic reveal? What stories does this statistic fail to present? How will your project challenge this statistic? How will your project affirm this statistic?

One study of college-age men and women claimed that both sexes apologized in equal proportion for what they considered to be offensive behavior, but women reported committing more offenses than men

Apologies are something everyone learns how to give as a kid, but something not everyone delivers in the same light or quantity.  I looked at an article focused on apologies in society and the differences in them between men and women. In it, it cited a statistic that was done between college-aged men and women. It was an interesting statistic in the article as it stated that both sexes apologized in equal proportion for what they considered to be offensive behavior (behavior or actions that dignified an apology).  The only difference was that the women reported more offensive behavior than men, meaning they apologized more.

This statistic reveals that apologies from both sexes are in given similar proportions, with the only difference between both being that women reporting committing more offensive actions.  When I read this, I was actually surprised as I believed the proportion gap between the sexes was higher! Generally, in society, men are taught to apologize less as it appears that they lack confidence and strength when they do.  While I have never experienced this, where a man refused to apologize to protect their manliness, I still had a small belief in that stereotypical statement.

The article goes further into the statistic, explaining the difference between the sexes and apologies as females are rewarded for focusing on others’ feelings, while males are taught to assert themselves. The article also dives into self-esteem and confidence and how girls who display confidence in themselves and their decisions are seen as bossy, pushy, and conceited.  This was also an interesting statement, as it further attempted to explain the statistic that was given with what the women saw fit as an offensive action worth apologizing for.

When I first looked at this statistic, I had to reread it several times.  The way it was conveyed contained some issues that could undermine the bold statement behind it.  This statistic fails to truly specify the gap between the apologies given by each sex. While the proportions may be equal, it does not give an idea of how big of a gap there was between the two.  A one to one ratio, for example, for both sexes can be a large difference. It can be comparing 10 apologies to 10 offensive behaviors for men to 100 apologies to 100 offensive behaviors for women.  Both are one to one ratios, but the quantity of apologies for women is far greater.

This brings to light another issue this statistic possesses.  It lacks context and specificity. Specifically, it fails to specify the ratio it is based on.  There are great differences between different proportions, and knowing the number can make a difference when interpreting the statement.  The proportion could be extremely small or alternatively very large. Knowing the size can allow the reader to imagine just how much time is socially devoted to apologizing or analyzing a situation for offensive actions.  It would also help generate an idea of how many times a person apologizes in comparison to what the person deemed an offensive action. The generalization of this statistic can be misleading as it gives off the idea that both sexes possess similar amounts of apologies in reference to offensive actions taken along with lacking a concrete picture of how many apologies are given per offensive action.  

This statistic actually inspired me to want to do my own survey on people in college and how often they find themselves apologizes in comparison to actions they find offensive and requiring an apology.  I do not think doing a survey on this would be effective enough, however, as I doubt I can get enough people to answer the survey to be both worthwhile and statistically significant.  There would also be the issue with ensuring my survey was not misleading and well thought out enough to get answers that would be statistically significant.  I feel like it would be worth challenging or affirming this statistic with further research into the psychology of apologies in society and how they play a role into how each sex perceives situations that may or may not require an apology.  I believe the difference in situation interpretations is an amazing concept that would greatly benefit me.  Further research on gender roles could also be useful as a side insight, as that is what this article transitioned into and used as supporting evidence for the statistic.  I am unsure of how well that would fit into my autoethnography, as it does not revolve around gender roles and its effect on apologies, but it could be useful as another interpretation to the idea of apologies overall.

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