Hypothesis: The simple illusion of injury or personal peril is inversely related to the level of disregard expressed by fellow classmates.
Materials Needed:
Band-Aid
Forehead
5th grade classroom
Experiment:
Step 1: Place Band-Aid on forehead.
Step 2: Go to school.
Results:
They varied. The day started strong. I entered the classroom and could immediately detect curious glances directly at my apparently wounded forehead. These initial glances, however, did not result in the specific inquiries regarding the nature of the wound and/or my current well-being that were expected. Anticipated questions/comments included but were not limited to:
"Oh my God, are you OK"?
"Did you spend anytime in the hospital?"
"Can I touch it?"
"I assume you were in a knife fight of some sort. Is your enemy still alive?"
"You obviously know how to handle yourself in a sticky situation. When we pick teams for this afternoon's dodgeball game be prepared to be selected first."
"I feel so sorry for you. Would you like to be more than friends?"
"You are cool."
As stated above, none of the questions posed above were asked. It is worth noting, however, that Jamie Digbar did in fact stare at the aforementioned forehead for several (3 - 4) seconds before making eye contact and quickly turning her attention back to Derrick Liebold.
Questions that were actually fielded included but were not limited to:
"What's wrong with your face?"
"Can I see your math homework?"
"Is that a girl's shirt?"
At noon additional measures were then taken to the effect of strategically removing the left half of the Band-Aid in an effort to create the appearance of not only a badly wounded classmate but also one in obvious need of immediate medical attention as the very dressing vital to protecting and healing the perceived laceration is in danger of falling off.
These measures were deemed largely unsuccessful as well. While the half hanging Band-Aid did spur an immediate increase in attention, the vast majority of that attention (as noted by Jonathan Schuler) was due to the fact that no visible wound was evident beneath the Band-Aid.
A gross miscalculation on my part to be sure.
The remainder of the day was spent in "dangle mode" until the second half of the Band-Aid's adhesive gave way and fell off my forehead in 6th period while standing at the chalkboard underlining verbs in front of the rest of the class. The loss of the bandage appeared to go unnoticed by my fellow students (although I must take into consideration the fact that they just didn't care).
Conclusion:
While the experiment failed in nature of its intention to gain a higher and more respected social standing in the 5th grade hierarchy, the results can be viewed as beneficial in terms of providing valuable insight for future fake injury experiments. Insights gained include:
- Consider the application of an ace bandage as opposed to the simple Band-Aid which, in retrospect, may have been viewed as negligible in terms of pain inflicted and/or degree of bodily harm.
- If an ace bandage cannot be utilized then perhaps a Band-Aid benign in color/print and/or other markings (i.e. one of the generic variety and not one covered with images of Garfield) should be used.
- Suggest further research of paper mache cast, cherry jello blood spit, and sandwich bag eye patch.
Materials Needed:
Band-Aid
Forehead
5th grade classroom
Experiment:
Step 1: Place Band-Aid on forehead.
Step 2: Go to school.
Results:
They varied. The day started strong. I entered the classroom and could immediately detect curious glances directly at my apparently wounded forehead. These initial glances, however, did not result in the specific inquiries regarding the nature of the wound and/or my current well-being that were expected. Anticipated questions/comments included but were not limited to:
"Oh my God, are you OK"?
"Did you spend anytime in the hospital?"
"Can I touch it?"
"I assume you were in a knife fight of some sort. Is your enemy still alive?"
"You obviously know how to handle yourself in a sticky situation. When we pick teams for this afternoon's dodgeball game be prepared to be selected first."
"I feel so sorry for you. Would you like to be more than friends?"
"You are cool."
As stated above, none of the questions posed above were asked. It is worth noting, however, that Jamie Digbar did in fact stare at the aforementioned forehead for several (3 - 4) seconds before making eye contact and quickly turning her attention back to Derrick Liebold.
Questions that were actually fielded included but were not limited to:
"What's wrong with your face?"
"Can I see your math homework?"
"Is that a girl's shirt?"
At noon additional measures were then taken to the effect of strategically removing the left half of the Band-Aid in an effort to create the appearance of not only a badly wounded classmate but also one in obvious need of immediate medical attention as the very dressing vital to protecting and healing the perceived laceration is in danger of falling off.
These measures were deemed largely unsuccessful as well. While the half hanging Band-Aid did spur an immediate increase in attention, the vast majority of that attention (as noted by Jonathan Schuler) was due to the fact that no visible wound was evident beneath the Band-Aid.
A gross miscalculation on my part to be sure.
The remainder of the day was spent in "dangle mode" until the second half of the Band-Aid's adhesive gave way and fell off my forehead in 6th period while standing at the chalkboard underlining verbs in front of the rest of the class. The loss of the bandage appeared to go unnoticed by my fellow students (although I must take into consideration the fact that they just didn't care).
Conclusion:
While the experiment failed in nature of its intention to gain a higher and more respected social standing in the 5th grade hierarchy, the results can be viewed as beneficial in terms of providing valuable insight for future fake injury experiments. Insights gained include:
- Consider the application of an ace bandage as opposed to the simple Band-Aid which, in retrospect, may have been viewed as negligible in terms of pain inflicted and/or degree of bodily harm.
- If an ace bandage cannot be utilized then perhaps a Band-Aid benign in color/print and/or other markings (i.e. one of the generic variety and not one covered with images of Garfield) should be used.
- Suggest further research of paper mache cast, cherry jello blood spit, and sandwich bag eye patch.
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