Lesson 2 Observational Techniques

Question 1

Observations

Answer 1

An observation is when a researcher watches or listens to participants engaging in whatever behaviour is being studied.

Question 2

Non Participant Observations

Answer 2

This is when the researcher does not get directly involved with the interactions of the participants and does not take part in their activities. For example observing participants in the gym and the psychologist stands around and does not actually engage in any exercise.

Question 3

Advantages of Non Participant Observations

Answer 3

Observer doesn’t alter conditions and there are no distractions

Question 4

Disadvantages of Non Participant Observations

Answer 4

Experimenter might creep out any participants they are observing.

Fail to have a deeper understanding of the observed behaviour

Question 5

Participant Observations

Answer 5

This is when the researcher is directly involved with the interactions of the participants and will engage in the activities that the participants are doing e.g. observing participants in the gym and the psychologist actually engages in exercise and uses the gym equipment

Question 6

Advantages of Participant observations

Answer 6

Behave naturally as participants dont feel like they are being observed

Greater validity

Question 7

Disadvantages of Participant Observations

Answer 7

Harder to observe when participating

Might lose objectivity and become too subjective and biased as they are involved in the activity

Question 8

Covert Observation

Answer 8

The psychologist goes undercover and does not reveal their true identity, they may even give himself or herself a new identity. The group does not know that they are being observed. For example the psychologist introduces themselves as “Jim” (fake name) and does not tell people at the gym that he is really a psychologist and that he is observing their behaviour

Question 9

Advantages of Covert Observation

Answer 9

More reliable and Valid results

Less demand characteristics

Question 10

Disadvantages of Covert Observation

Answer 10

Too immersed in the experiment

Difficult to measure

Deception/breaking ethical guidelines

Question 11

Overt Observation

Answer 11

The psychologist reveals their true identity and might also state that they are observing the group. This can mean that observer effects can occur as participants may change their behaviour when they know they are being observed, leading to invalid results. An example might be that a psychologist visits a gym, tells members of the public that they will be observed in the gym by them (the psychologist). Members of the public then become very aware that their behaviour is being observed.

Question 12

Advantages of Overt Observation

Answer 12

Extremely ethical

Question 13

Disadvantages of Overt Observation

Answer 13

Demand Characteristics

Question 14

Naturalistic Observation

Answer 14

A researcher observes participants in their own natural environment and there is no deliberate manipulation of the independent variable. An example might be that a psychologist watches people shopping at Westfield’s to see whether they are shopping alone or in a group.

Question 15

Advantages of Naturalistic Observation

Answer 15

1. Participants are usually unaware that they are being observed (covert observation) so there is a reduced chance of observer effect and participants are likely to act naturally. This gives valid results.
2. These studies have high mundane realism as the behaviour that is shown is likely to reflect everyday behaviour. These observations are also high in ecological validity, which means the results can be generalised to other settings and contexts.
3. Naturalistic observations are useful when the deliberate manipulation of variables would be impractical or unethical. For instance if we were to observe children in the playground naturally playing, it might be unethical to deliberately tell a child to be aggressive to another. However, if we saw natural aggression in the playground then this is more ethical as it has not been forced upon the participants.

Question 16

Disadvantages of Naturalistic Observation

Answer 16

1. It is impossible to have any control over extraneous variables. This means that other variables might be affecting the dependent variable other than the independent variable. This could make results invalid
2. It is problematic to try to determine the cause of a behaviour, especially as there is a high lack of control. Therefore cause and effect cannot be truly determined by naturalistic observations, a more controlled observation would be needed.
3. There is a risk of observer bias. Due to lack of control the observer might be very subjective and might be very biased when trying to interpret behaviour. These interpretations might be incorrect and could lead to unreliable results (if the observation were to be repeated, the same results would NOT be gained again).

Question 17

Controlled Observation

Answer 17

A researcher observes participants in a controlled environment and this allows for manipulation of the independent variable. An example might be to watch participants in a laboratory setting and record their behaviour e.g. induce high levels of stress in participants by giving them a very difficult IQ test and then watch their reactions.

Question 18

Advantages of Controlled Observation

Answer 18

1. Cause and effect can be determined because the observation is highly controlled. Therefore psychologists can identify whether the independent variable caused a change in the dependent variable.
2. Extraneous variables can be controlled for in this type of observation. Therefore it means the results will be more valid as we can be more certain that the independent variable is having an effect of the dependent variable.
3. Controlled observations are likely to yield qualitative data that is rich and detailed. This also increases the validity of the study as the observation is likely to be accurately measuring the key variables identified in the aim.

Question 19

Disadvantages of Controlled Observation

Answer 19

1. Low levels of mundane realism and ecological validity because of the high control in the observation. This is likely to be restrictive and means that the results might not be an accurate reflection of everyday life and might not be able to be generalised to other settings and contexts.
2. Observer effects can occur as participants usually know they are being observed (overt observation). Therefore participants might show social desirability bias and might behave unnaturally which means the data collected might be invalid.
3. There is a risk of observer bias which means that the researchers own views and opinions can influence the recording of the data which then becomes inaccurate.

Question 20

Observer Bias

Answer 20

If the observer knows the purpose of the study then they may observe behaviours that they think meet their aims and hypothesis. This can influence how they record the data from the study which might be inaccurate and subjective. Observers need to be reliable, one way to check this is to have two observers who each record their data separately. They then correlate their observations and data together and if a Kappa score of +0.8 is gained then the data gained from each researcher is reliable. This is known as inter-rater reliability.

Question 21

Behavioural Categories

Answer 21

These are specific types of behaviour that are being looked for in an observation.

Question 22

Different Types of Sampling Procedures

Answer 22

Event Sampling and Time-Interval Sampling

Question 23

Event Sampling

Answer 23

The observer decides in advance what types of behaviour they are interested in and records all occurrences. All other types of behaviour are ignored. An example might be that we are investigating whether people at a conference drink coffee or not. Every time a participants goes to get a cup of coffee (the event), we would log this information, e.g. make a note of the event and what happened.

Question 24

Time-Interval Sampling

Answer 24

The observer decides in advance that observation will take place only during specified time periods (e.g. 10 minutes every hour, 1 hour per day) and records the occurrence of the specified behaviour during that period only. For example we might decide we want to observe people at the conference every thirty minutes. So if we start observing at 1pm, we might decide at 1.30pm to count up how many people are drinking coffee. We would do the same at 2pm, 2.30pm etc.

Question 25

Pilot Study

Answer 25

· A pilot study is a preliminary small scale investigation of the procedures to be used in the main study. It involves selecting a few people and trialling out the study on them. It is possible to save time and money, by identifying any flaws in the procedures or any problems or issues that can be rectified before the main study takes place.

· A pilot study can help the researcher spot any ambiguities (i.e. unusual things) or confusion in the information given to participants or problems with the task devised.

· A pilot study could be useful to establish behavioural categories and check they are suitable. A pilot study could also iron out any practical problems such as where observers should stand or where video cameras should be placed.

Question 26

Advantages of Pilot Study

Answer 26

You can make changes to modify and improve the main study

Question 27

Disadvantages of Pilot Study

Answer 27

Time Consuming