observational techniques

Question 1

what is an observational study?

Answer 1

● watching and recording people’s behaviour

● no independent variable (no manipulation of behaviour)

Question 2

what are the types of observations?

Answer 2

● controlled / naturalistic

● covert / overt

● participant / non-participant

Question 3

what is a controlled observation?

Answer 3

conducted in lab or controlled environment

Question 4

what are the strengths of controlled observations?

Answer 4

● standardised procedure used - study can be repeated and checked for reliability

● high control of the extraneous variables - increases the internal validity of the study

Question 5

what are the limitations of controlled observations?

Answer 5

low ecological validity

Question 6

what is naturalistic observation?

Answer 6

takes place in environment where target behaviour would usually occur

Question 7

what are the strengths of naturalistic observations?

Answer 7

high ecological validity - natural environment so participants more likely to behave naturally

Question 8

what are the limitations of naturalistic observations?

Answer 8

● difficult to control extraneous variables - natural environment

● difficult to maintain a standardised procedure -study takes place in real world

Question 9

what is a covert observation?

Answer 9

participants unaware they’re being observed

Question 10

what are the strengths of covert observations?

Answer 10

● less demand characteristics - participants do not know they are being observed

● high ecological validity

Question 11

what are the limitations of covert observation?

Answer 11

breaks ethical guidelines - don’t have informed consent

Question 12

what are the strengths of overt observation?

Answer 12

ethical - have informed consent of participant

Question 13

what are the limitations of overt observation?

Answer 13

● more demand characteristics

● low ecological validity

Question 14

what is participant observation?

Answer 14

● observer becomes part of group they are studying

● first-hand account of what they have observed

Question 15

what are the strengths of participant observation?

Answer 15

● researcher can experience situation as participants do

● giving them increased insight into lives of people being studied

● therefore, increasing validity of the results

Question 16

what are the limitations of participant observation?

Answer 16

observer bias - researcher may get too involved in study and lose focus and objectivity

Question 17

what is non-participant observation?

Answer 17

researcher remains separate from those they are studying

Question 18

what are the strengths of non-participant observation?

Answer 18

decreases risk of observer bias - researcher maintains an objective psychological distance from participants

Question 19

what are the limitations of non-participant observation?

Answer 19

less insight - observer may misunderstand or misinterpret behaviour because they are separate from group

Question 20

what are order effects?

Answer 20

● order of conditions affecting participants behaviour

● e.g. performance in second condition better due to participants knowing what to do
performance might be worse in second condition as they are tired

Question 21

what is ecological validity?

Answer 21

extent to which the findings can be generalised to real-life setting

Question 22

what are demand characteristics?

Answer 22

● participants change behaviour as a result of being in experimental situation

● might deliberately under preform / act in a way they think is expected and over preform

● behaviour no longer natural and acts as an extraneous variable