7.1: Observational design Flashcards
Define event sampling (2 marks)
Event sampling is when:
- Observers decide on a specific event relevant to the investigation
- The relevant event is recorded every time it happens
One situation in which disruption of attachment can occur is when a mother of a young child is admitted into hospital.
A researcher decided to study the behaviour of a two year old boy who experienced this disruption of attachment.
She decided to use naturalistic observation of the boy both before his mother was admitted into hospital and after she returned home.
Each period of observation lasted for one hour.
Suggest two suitable behavioural categories the researcher could use to record the boy’s behaviour (2 marks)
Behaviour must be operationalised.
Suitable behavioural categories could include crying, clinging to mother, smiling or playing independently
One situation in which disruption of attachment can occur is when a mother of a young child is admitted into hospital.
A researcher decided to study the behaviour of a two year old boy who experienced this disruption of attachment.
She decided to use naturalistic observation of the boy both before his mother was admitted into hospital and after she returned home.
Each period of observation lasted for one hour.
How might the researcher record the boy’s behaviour during the one-hour observation? (2 marks)
Time sampling, using CCTV cameras and then analysing the boy’s behaviour frame-by-frame
One situation in which disruption of attachment can occur is when a mother of a young child is admitted into hospital.
A researcher decided to study the behaviour of a two year old boy who experienced this disruption of attachment.
She decided to use naturalistic observation of the boy both before his mother was admitted into hospital and after she returned home.
Each period of observation lasted for one hour.
Explain why the psychologist might want to carry out a pilot study before the main observation (2 marks)
The psychologist might want to carry out a pilot study before the main observation to check that the cameras were positioned appropriately and to check the suitability of the behavioural categories
A head teacher wanted to increase recycling in his school. He arranged for the canteen to have three bins, one for cardboard, one for plastic and one for food waste. A month later, a psychology teacher decided to see if the students were recycling. One lunch break she watched different students going to the bins. Each time, she wrote down which of the three types of waste they recycled. She positioned herself so that the students could not see her but so that she had a clear view of the bins.
As the different year groups had lunch at different times, the teacher was able to present her results as three year groups, as shown below.
The number of items each year group recycled:
Year group 7 - 9 recycled cardboard 20 times, plastic 35 times and food 10 times.
Year group 10 - 11 recycled cardboard 18 times, plastic 25 times and food 7 times.
Year group 12 - 13 recycled cardboard 12 times, plastic 15 times and food 5 times.
Explain one way in which the design of this observation could have been improved (2 marks)
There could’ve been more observers, so that there could be no doubt as to if the results are valid or not
Researchers decided to study the behaviour of a young girl who experienced disruption to attachment when she had to go into hospital for a few days. Naturalistic observation of the girl before and after the separation was conducted, with each period of observation lasting for two hours.
Suggest two behavioural categories the researchers could use to record the girl’s behaviour (2 marks)
One behavioural category is the degree to which the girl sought contact with her carer when reunited with him/her
Researchers decided to study the behaviour of a young girl who experienced disruption to attachment when she had to go into hospital for a few days. Naturalistic observation of the girl before and after the separation was conducted, with each period of observation lasting for two hours.
Suggest two behavioural categories the researchers could use to record the girl’s behaviour (2 marks).
One behavioural category is the degree to which the girl sought contact with her carer when reunited with him/her.
Another behavioural category
Another behavioural category is the degree of distress the girl showed at separation
Researchers decided to study the behaviour of a young girl who experienced disruption to attachment when she had to go into hospital for a few days. Naturalistic observation of the girl before and after the separation was conducted, with each period of observation lasting for two hours.
How might the researchers record the girl’s behaviour? (2 marks)
The girl’s behaviour could be recorded on a coding sheet
Researchers decided to study the behaviour of a young girl who experienced disruption to attachment when she had to go into hospital for a few days. Naturalistic observation of the girl before and after the separation was conducted, with each period of observation lasting for two hours.
How might the researchers record the girl’s behaviour? (2 marks).
The girl’s behaviour could be recorded on a coding sheet, where what?
The girl’s behaviour could be recorded on a coding sheet, where, rather than writing descriptions of the observed behaviour, the observers record the behaviour using previously agreed scales
