Effect of Gender on Car Repairs
For your edification and amusement:
I teach an experimental psychology class and ask our not-brain-deadstudents to design and run an experiment. One came up with theidea of looking at the effect of gender on car repairs. Tammydisconnected the ground wire for the "check engine light" on herstill-under-warrantee Kia so the light was on. She then took thecar to 10 different repair shops, and then had her 6'4" machoboyfriend Corey take the car a week or two later to the sameshops. Here are the results:
| Shop | Diagnosis for Tammy w/cost | for Corey the Male w/cost | ||
| 1 | alternator | $385 | wire loose | $0 |
| 2 |
O2 sensor & catalytic converter |
$320* | same diagnosis | $135 |
| 3 | fuel injection | $565 | wire loose | $10 |
| 4 | transmission | $2400 | wire loose | $0 |
| 5 | wire loose | $0 | wire loose** | $0 |
| 6 | water pump | $765 | water hose | $25 |
| 7 | O2 sensor | $283 | ?? "return to dealer" | |
| 8 | head gasket | $300 | loose wire | $0 |
| 9 | faulty exhaust | $1345 | loose wire | $0 |
| 10 | bad starter | $375 | loose wire | $0 |
* the mechanic offered to cut her a deal if she would go out withhim. When she said she was married the mechanic said "So? You'restill good looking"
** the mechanic said he recognized the car from before (which leadTammy to increase the time between visits).
These were the same mechanics/service writers. The first was evena female (no honor among the same sex). What Tammy is going totry next is to see if a female with knowledge of auto mechanicswill be as vulnerable as a naive one (before she first got herdrivers license, she had to help her father rebuild an engine).This is probably well known from anecdotal evidence, but here isthe same conclusion from a more scientific study.
Peter Gram
Dept. Behavioral Sciences
Pensacola Junior College
Florida
