From:
Wallace, Harry
Sent: Friday, September 25, 2009 3:37 PM
To: Class.of.2013
Subject: Class Marshal cafeteria psychology
Hello class of 2013! Well, it's now been a month since you arrived on campus. It probably seems more like three months to you, but time will really start to fly now that you’ve mostly got this college thing figured out. In this Marshal email installment, I thought I'd share a little personal experience and professional knowledge related to cafeteria dining.
Waaay back in the day when I was a student at Fairfield U, our only meal plan dining option was the cafeteria (spatially similar to Mabee but no sushi option). For the record, the food was generally mediocre but I did appreciate access to gigantic bins of sugary cereals my Mom wouldn't stock (developed roof-of-mouth Crunch Berry calluses). But the most memorable aspect of cafeteria dining was the social awkwardness of the experience. I dreaded the prospect of eating alone in a cafeteria crowded with peers, so I had to take the trouble to locate hungry friends in advance of eating.
If my cafeteria phobia seems more curious than familiar, kudos to you. For those who can relate, I offer two observations in hindsight:
Point 1: If the idea of eating alone harms your appetite, think about how you perceive others eating alone...do you assume they're friendless losers? I think not.
Point 2: Did you struggle to recall prior impressions of solo Mabee diners? If so, I bet it's not just because TU students share my undergraduate aversion to eating alone. Another possibility is the psychological phenomenon known as the "spotlight effect": the reliable egocentric tendency for people to overestimate the degree to which others pay attention to them. For evidence, check out the Barry Manilow study: http://articles.latimes.com/2003/jan/13/health/he-spotlight13
So the next time you’re struggling to round up social cover before heading to Mabee, skip the hassle and assert your independence with a solo dining experiment.
Congrats on surviving the first major week of exams!
- hw
_________________________
Harry M. Wallace, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Psychology
Trinity University
One Trinity Place
San Antonio, TX 78212-7200
210-999-8384