New study published in "Social Influence" shows men who had the door held open for them scored lower on self-esteem and self-efficacy than men who didn't have the door held open for them (no effect on women)

angelicnargles · 2014-02-12T12:18:59+00:00

I don't know that this study is reliable. They are polling only university students, a very small sample at that, and can only poll the sort of students who have the time and the inclination to stop and answer questions from someone who accosts them the moment they enter the building.

Also, they don't mention their method for choosing the people for whom they held the doors open, so I wonder if there might be bias in the selection (the door-openers might have chosen people who looked like they had lower self-esteem).

Also, the results mentioned in the article are vague. Men who had the door held open for them scored 'lower'. All of them lower than the rest? Most? On average? How much lower? A lot? A little? A negligible amount?

I don't think any real conclusions can be drawn here.

kantbot · 2014-02-11T19:33:24+00:00

McCarty and Kelly said their findings are likely explained by the fact that men holding open doors for men is socially unusual, and could be taken by the recipient of the gesture as implying that they look like they are needy and vulnerable.

It's not unusual at all, it happens all the time, every day. I think what this "study" really reflects is the tendency of women to see any attention or gesture of politeness directed at them by men as a kind of sexual validation. Personally, I always hold the door open for people, regardless of gender, it's just basic manners really.

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