Before we started testing our subjects, we prepared a set of silly instructions to hand to the participants. The instructions included everything from “touch your nose four times with you left finger,” to “tap dance while singing three blind mice.” At the top of the instructions, we asked them to answer three questions: “are you male or female, how old are you, and what grade are you

The sophomores followed the instructions very well. None of the students even started to do the activities. Most of the juniors read the instructions carefully, except for one of the males. Hardly any of the seniors wanted to participate, but after we found four who would, only one of them read the instructions carefully enough to understand that they shouldn’t do any of the activities.

Jim Davis, on the other hand, thinks that men and women follow directions equally, but do so in a different manner. “Men usually think ‘Okay, I go to Highway 27, then I go north to Hwy 88, etc." he remarks, “but women remember ‘Okay, I go along the road where the dairy is until I come to the quilting place, and then I turn left until I come to the three grain silos, etc."

in.” The instructions clearly stated that they

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