Observations Flashcards
Where are observations conducted?
Often in participant’s natural environment
What kind of method is an observation?
A non experimental method
Do you use an IV in an observation?
No, unless you observe a person’s behaviour as part of the experiment
What are behavioural categories?
The different behaviours you are looking out for ie operationalised behaviour
What ethical issues need to be considered?
People aren’t able to give consent. It’s ok to observe people in a public place, but not somewhere private like the toilet or changing room
What is inter-observer reliability?
Where there is more than one observer looking at the same behaviour categories and after they check to see if they’re getting similar data
What are 2 advantages of observations?
1 higher ecological validity than an experiment with an IV
2 we can’t use unethical IVs, but we can observe natural ones (like how people react after a natural disaster)
What are 3 disadvantages of observations?
1 observer bias- they sometimes only see what they’re expecting to see
2 observer effects- if people know they’re being observed then they may change their behaviour to look better
3 hard to establish a cause and effect, because you have no control over variables
