Michael Lynn, a social psychologist in Cornell’s School of Hotel Administration, has spent years studying tipping (his homepage has well-tested advice on how to increase your tips). He finds that men tip more when they have a female server, while women tend to tip more when they have a male server. This sounds a lot like discrimination by customers.
a. If this is a fact, who will tend to apply for jobs waiting tables at truck stops: Mostly men or mostly women?
b. If this is a fact, who will tend to apply for jobs waiting tables at steakhouses: Mostly men or mostly women?
c. If this is a fact, who will tend to apply for jobs waiting tables at vegetarian restaurants: Most men or mostly women?
d. In these three cases, does your experience match up with what this simple theory predicts? If there’s a contradiction, what do you think the simple model is missing?