Preliminary Individual Activity: Prior to any group work, I would have

participants write out their ideal meal plan for an imagined dinner party.

This would give them a chance to decide what they’d like to cook for

guests without the social pressure/influence of the group.

 

Collective Meal Planning: To address this research question, I would

envision a participatory experience where I could evaluate how students

interact in a social environment that involves food. To do this, I imagine

inviting HWS students who live in a house with a shared kitchen and

dining area (ie. theme house, Co-op, fraternity, etc.) to host a dinner

party for their friends. I would  have them plan out the meal together

and I would evaluate how they are able to cooperate and make food

decisions collectively. The menu for the dinner will be selected based on the groups food preferences. I will allow the group opportunities to “debate” which foods they want to make and encourage them to agree on the meal collectively. I would let the group come to a conclusion for the meal that would best suit their needs (ie. if any members of the group have dietary restrictions, or aversion to any particular foods). During the group planning discussion, I would stand at the front of the room and draw out their ideas on a whiteboard, while also recording the discussion, so that I can reference the discussion in my analysis. 

 

 

Cooking a Meal Together: I would have the participants cook the menu together, breaking up tasks as necessary, to make sure that everyone is involved in the cooking process. As the researcher, I would not be participating in the cooking itself, but simply observing the interactions between the group members. 

 

Eating a Meal Together: When the group is finished cooking and guests arrive, I would encourage them to have a "family style" dinner, passing around the food they've created. During the meal, I would structure some questions to ask the group such as: “Do you enjoy this meal?”, and “Would this meal be something you would cook for yourself?” and “What was it like having to decide on a meal together?” This questions would attempt to get members of the group to talk about the experiences of deciding on a menu collectively and if they found this difficult or easy. During the meal with guests, I would record the conversation about the meal and the participants’ answers to my structured questions. I would do this to begin to understand how the groups’ initial reactions to the food choices by the group have changed since the initial conversation.

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Post-Meal Group Discussion: Following the group discussion, I would have the participants write their thoughts about the activity alone on paper. This would serve as a way for the participants to talk about the experience without the pressure of the group influence. I would ask questions that would attempt to get at if the individuals group members felt like they chose certain foods because they liked by the majority of the food and how these choices may have differed from their original meal plan.

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Post-Meal Individual Activity: Following the group discussion, I would have the participants write their thoughts about the activity alone on paper, serving as a way for the participants to talk about the experience without the pressure of the group influence.