Observational techniques Flashcards
What is a naturalistic observation?
They involve watching and recording behaviour in the setting within which it would normally occur.
What is a controlled observation?
They involve watching and recording behaviour within a structured environment.
What is a covert observation?
They involve participants’ behaviour is watched and recorded without their knowledge or consent.
What is an overt observation?
They involve participants’ behaviour is watched and recorded with their knowledge and consent.
What is a participant observation?
They involve the researcher becoming a member of the group of the person who’s behaviour they are recording
What is a non-participant observation?
They involve the researcher remaining outside the group of the person who’s behaviour they are recording.
What do observations allow the researcher to do?
They allow the researcher to study observable behaviour within a natural or controlled setting.
T / F:
- Observations are a non-experimental method.
True.
T / F:
- Observational studies allow researchers to study behaviours within a natural or controlled setting.
True.
Which type of observation was Mary Ainsworth’s experiment the Strange Situation?
A controlled observation.
Which type of observation take place in a setting or context where the target behaviour would usually occur?
Naturalistic observations.
In which type of experiment does the researcher remain seperate from those they are studying?
Non-participant observations.
How can you make sure that a covert observation is ethical?
The behaviours observed must be public and happening already.
Which type of observation is more likely to produce objective data, participant or non-participant observations?
Non-participant observations because the researcher is distanced from the subject.
T / F:
- Naturalistic observations tend to be low in external validity meaning findings cannot be generalised easily.
False - they tend to have high external validity and can be generalised.
Which type of observation is this; the observer watchers from across a room or from a balcony?
Covert observation.
T / F:
- Naturalistic observations take place in a setting where the target behaviour would not normally occur.
False - They would take place where behaviour would normally occur.
T / F:
- Non-participant observations allow the observer to remain more objective but they may lose insight due to being on the periphery.
True.
T / F:
- Behaviour may occasionally be recorded without first obtaining the consent of the participants.
True - this is a covert observation.
T / F:
- Informed consent is granted for an overt observation.
True.
During Ainsworth’s controlled observations, how did she make sure that the baby behaved naturally?
By using a two-way mirror so that she couldn’t be seen by the baby.
Which type of observation involves some control over the extraneous variables?
Controlled observations.
T / F:
- If the researcher joins in with observation this is called an inclusive observation.
False - this is a participant observation.
If you were to study how senior management and employees in a factory interact which types of observation would you use, a naturalistic or controlled observation?
Naturalistic, because it would be illogical to drag a whole workforce into an artificial lab setting rather it would be better to let them interact normally.
In which type of observations are all aspects of the environment free to vary?
Naturalistic observations.
T / F:
- In controlled observations there is some control over variables including extraneous variables.
True.
Which type of observation involves telling the participant they are being observed beforehand and gaining informed consent beforehand?
Overt observations.
T / F:
- It is never possible to observe behaviour without gaining prior consent.
False - In covert experiments the participant does not know about it.
In which type of observation does the observer become part of the group they are studying?
Participant observations.
T / F:
- Covert observations involve participants being unaware they are being studied.
True.
Which type of observation gains a ‘first-hand’ account of behaviour?
Participant observations.
AO3 - Naturalistic positives.
High external validity as findings can be generalised to everyday life as behaviour is studied in the environment which it would occur in real-life.
AO3 - Controlled negatives.
They may produce findings that cannot be as readily applied to real-life situations.
AO3 - Covert positives.
Participants are unaware they are being watched which removes the problem of participant reactivity and ensures behaviours will be more authentic, this increases the validity of the observations.
AO3 - Overt positives.
The fact that informed consent is gained prior to the study means that the observations are more ethically sound.
AO3 - Participant positives.
The research can experience the situation as the participants do; giving them increased insight into the participants decisions, increasing the validity of the findings.
AO3 - Naturalistic negatives.
The lack of control means that replication is difficult, the many extraneous variables also make it hard to judge any patterns of behaviour.
AO3 - Non-participant positives.
They allow the researcher to maintain an objective distance of and there is less danger of them ‘going native’.
AO3 - Overt negatives.
The knowledge that participants are being observed has a massive influence on their behaviour.
AO3 - Covert negatives.
The ethics of these observations have been questioned because the participants are unaware they are being studied and may not want their behaviour being recorded.
AO3 - Participant negatives.
There is a danger, however, that the researcher may come to identify strongly with those who they are studying and lose objectivity.
AO3 - Non-participant negatives.
They may lose valuable insight to be gained in a participant observation as they are too far removed to see the people who’s behaviour they are studying.
What is often referred to as ‘going native’?
When the line between being a researcher and a participant becomes blurred.
What is often referred to as ‘going native’?
When the line between being a researcher and a participant becomes blurred.
