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Radford PSYC 201 - Naturalistic Observation

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Naturalistic ObservationObservationObservation without interventionAdvantages of naturalistic observationThreats to observational researchHow to avoid reactivity?Data collection in observational studiesQuantitative measures of behaviorHow to record the dataObservation with interventionReasons for doing thisPotential problems with participant observation2. Structured observation3. Field ExperimentNaturalistic ObservationThree goals of research:Description  Collecting systematic observationsPrediction  Establish relationships among variables – Correlational researchExplanation  Establishing cause and effect relationships – ExperimentsObservation- Distinction between observation without intervention and observation with intervention- Would the actions taking place be any different if the observation were not taking place?Observation without interventionNaturalistic observation: Observation of behavior in a more or less natural setting, without any attempt tointervene.- the situation is not manipulated or controlled by the investigator.- The situation has not been initiated or created by theinvestigator.Advantages of naturalistic observation1. Allows observation of behavior exactly as it occurs in the real world. Said to retain an element of ecological validity. The situation being studied existsin the natural ecology of the species.2. Helps to establish the external validity of the research findings. If you see the behavior occurring in real life, it’s easier to say that the results from your study extend to the general population. Easier to say that the things that you learn from your sampling of behavior describe the way things work for people outside of your sample. 3. Ethical considerations may prevent the manipulation of a certain variable, but it may be possible to observe this condition when it naturally occurs. Ex. Reactions to traumatic stress. Psychologists who study reactions to school shootings. You obviously can’t cause these events to occur, but you can observe the results from events when they do occur.Threats to observational researchMany of them fall under the heading of reactivity.- Reactivity refers to situations where a subject’s behavior is different when the person knows they are being observed, or that their behavior is being studied, than it would otherwise be.- The subject’s expectations about what the experiment is about can change their responses to the demands of the situation.Example. The Hawthorne Effect (Homans, 1965)- Women at a Western Electric factory took part in a study of worker productivity. What working conditions result in the highest levels of productivity.- The measure of productivity was the number of telephone relays that were assembled per day.- The investigators obtained a baseline measure of productivity, then they changed the working conditions and measured the change in performance.- Every time the working conditions were changed, performance increased.- Why? Because the workers knew they were in a study and they knew that the investigators were looking for ways to increase productivity.- So, the workers did the best they could to give the experimenters the results they were looking for.- A classic study in the social psychology of compliance.Weber and Cook (1972) identified four different social roles of subjects in experiments.1. The Good Subject role: The subject tries to validate the anticipated result. Give the experimenter the result they want. 2. The Faithful Subject role: The subject attempts to be honest and faithful, even when they can anticipate the expected result.3. The Negativistic Subject role: The subject produces responses or behavior that is in the opposite direction as the anticipated result.4. The Apprehensive Subject role: The subject feels uncomfortable about being evaluated. Because of evaluation apprehension, the subject tries to behave in a socially desirable way. They don’t want to look bad. They may give the socially desirable response, even if it’s not what they really think, or if it’s not what the investigator expects to see.How to avoid reactivity?1. Don’t let people know that they’re being observed. Unobtrusive observation.2. Don’t tell the subject the real reason for conducting the study. Deception.- Directing the subject’s attention and their expectations in a false direction. - Make them think the experiment is about something different.The experimenter can conduct the study so that the subjectis blind as to their role in the study.A step further. Don’t set up a situation where the experimenter could consciously or unconsciously give away their expectations about what the subject should say or do. Make sure that the person collecting the data is blind as to the true purpose of the experiment. Both the subject and the experimenter are blind as to the true role of the subject. This is referred to as a double-blind study.Data collection in observational studiesNarrative record: As best as one can, recording the behavior of the persons or animals being observed exactly as it originally occurred. One can go back later to try to organize those observations. Videotape and audio recordings, where ethical, are very helpful in doing this. These methods are not subject to bias in terms of what behavior gets recorded and what does not. These methods also have the advantage that another researcher can go back later to see if they can verify the observations that the original researcher had made.If videotape or audiotape is not being used, the researcher must decide ahead of time exactly what the rules will be forrecording their observations. Must constitute an example of the behavior of interest. Ex. Use of tools by primates.Quantitative measures of behaviorOne way to make sense out of a tremendous number of separate observations is to apply numbers that capture information about the behaviors being observed.In order to do this the researcher needs to decide on a measurement scale for the aspect of behavior to be measured. The researcher needs to decide when and how they’re going to collect their measurements.When to collect dataSampling – You probably can’t record everything that every person does and expect to make sense out of that much information. The researcher has to make decisions about how to limit the information they get to something that is manageable.The key thing about the observations collected is that they are


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Radford PSYC 201 - Naturalistic Observation

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