Observations

Question 1

what are the 6 types of observations
hint: N, C, O, C, P, N-P

Answer 1

naturalistic
controlled
overt
covert
participant
non-participant

Question 2

explain naturalistic observation

Answer 2

there is no manipulation from the experimenter and everything has been left to occur naturally

Question 3

strength of naturalistic observation

Answer 3

• all behaviour is natural and therefore you can ensure the validity of what you’re seeing

Question 4

weakness of naturalistic observation

Answer 4

-cannot control the variables, its difficult to be sure what you’re observing is actually the result of what you believe it to be

Question 5

what is a controlled observation

Answer 5

an experimenter controls some of the variables in the experiment – ensuring that the IV is playing an impact by removing some EV and CV

Question 6

whats a strength of controlled observations

Answer 6

-greater reliability

Question 7

whats a weakness of controlled observation

Answer 7

-the results may not be entirely valid as the behaviour may not be occurring naturally which means it doesn’t reflect true human behaviour

Question 8

whats an overt observation

Answer 8

the p.t are aware theyre being observed

Question 9

whats a strength of overt observation

Answer 9

-this is ethically valid as p.t can give informed consent

Question 10

whats a weakness of overt observation

Answer 10

-p.t may not act naturally because they’re aware they’re being watched therefore affected by demand characteristics + social desirability bias

Question 11

whats a covert observation

Answer 11

p.t are not aware theyre being observed by researcher

Question 12

strength of covert observation

Answer 12

-they’ll behave naturally and therefore the results will show true behaviour – no observer effects

Question 12

what is a participant observation

Answer 12

experimenter is part of the group thats being observed

Question 12

weakness of the participant observation

Answer 12

-they will not see EVERYTHING and may miss something therefore they will not be objective

Question 12

strength of the participant observation

Answer 12

-clearer insight into behaviour as researchers apart of situation

Question 12

weakness of covert observation

Answer 12

-the p.t cannot give informed consent and it wont be ethically valid

Question 13

what is a non participant observation

Answer 13

experimenter observes from a distance not interacting with experiment

Question 14

whats a strength of non participant observation

Answer 14

-p.t aren’t influenced by external sources they’ll show true behaviour

Question 15

whats a weakness of non participant observation

Answer 15

-observer may not get additional insight as they’re not in the situation

Question 16

whats a behavioural category

Answer 16

experimenter looks for a particular behaviour

e.g aggressive

Question 17

whats inter-rater reliabililty

Answer 17

the agreement between raters on recordings of an event – watch the same thing but record independently

Question 18

what are the 2 ways behaviour can be sampled

Answer 18

event sampling
time sampling

Question 19

define event sampling

Answer 19

a observer would record every time a behaviour is observed

Question 20

define time sampling

Answer 20

recordings take place are specific time intervals

Question 21

strengths of observations

Answer 21

-because they occur naturally observations this ensures ecological validity
-behaviour that would be unnatural to manipulate, wouldn’t be ethically viable in a lab setting. It would be ethical however if it occurred naturally in an observation

Question 22

weaknesses of observations

Answer 22

-tends to be small groups and therefore it may not be representative of the population
-there may be issues with inter-observer reliability as definitions of behaviour categories may be vague