Investigating the Effects of Observer Presence on Individuals' Work-Related Behavior

3. Explain why it is important to observe an individuals reactions when communicating with them.

Naturalistic observational research is important because it allows researchers to observe people in a natural habitat without any variable manipulation. Most importantly in naturalistic observation, the researcher does not interfere with the situation in any way. Naturalistic observation can be structured or unstructured; for this study, unstructured naturalistic observation was mostly used. There were pre-determined characteristics that the researchers wrote down on a spreadsheet, however, specific behaviors were recorded as they happened (i.e., the type of reaction that resulted from each person who picked up the card). Naturalistic observation is important in psychological research because it gives insight into the natural behaviors of people. When a person is unaware they are being observed it reduces change in behavior, which can occur when if they are aware that they are being observed.

In the social sciences and general usage, the effect refers to people changing their behavior when they are aware that they are being watched. For example, a class is being told that their lesson is going to be recorded to see how students behave during lessons. Students tend to change their behavior and behave better when they know that they are being watched, which is not how they generally behave.

Observation is an effective way of assessing people’s behaviour in their working environment, this gives detail and analysis of current behaviours.

The observation was a very interesting and informative process. It gave me the opportunity to apply different theories of development. The biggest advantage of this psychological method is the opportunity to observe the subject in the natural surrounding and watch his natural behavior.

| -The observer may be biased-There is no control over variables, so it makes it difficult to draw conclusions (Brain, C, 2000).-Requires high level of participation which can cost a lot and take up a lot of time-People might change their behaviour if they know that they are being observed-Researcher might miss something while they are watching and taking notes (University of Surrey, 2014).

3) Explain why it is important to observe an individuals reaction when communicating with them

-A person’s behavior can be influenced by observing others within the context of social interactions, experiences, and outside media influence.

B2) Observations can be used to identify individual needs. Observations are important to be carried out because it identifies if a child is struggling in a certain area for example, they may have problems with numbers like counting, spelling simple words, participating in group activities or trouble socialising. Once the problem is identified then the person observing can the deal with the problem and help the child where they are struggling. This is why it is important to observe each child separately and carefully.

Examining others can provide for great introspection, which allows for the constant personal reflection needed in the education field. Having the opportunity to observe the onlookers' behavior in response to

Observation is very important in young children because that is how you get to know a child better. While observing how a child interacts with their peers, adults, and how they behave in different settings, you are getting to know the child without speaking to them.

This is a topic of discussion for all psychologists. Being watched or observed changes you and can also change your behaviour without you even knowing. This fact has been demonstrated in many different experiments involving children, adults, and even criminals. In an article published in 2014 by Dr. Jason G. Goldman, a researcher, writer, and cognitive scientist, stated “we’re so sensitive to being watched that even just a drawing or photograph of a pair of eyes influences our decisions” (Goldman). I believe this statement is proven through many experiments. Especially, one held on halloween night of 1976. Psychologists placed themselves in eighteen different homes to observe 360 unknowing participants. As children knocked on the door and

Throughout this course I have learned many things about research at an introductory level. Research is a critical part of all of our lives in many ways. God blesses each of us with a degree of common sense and we all learn from observing others even as babies, we learned behaviors and skills by observing our parents. Walking through experiences throughout life teach us a lot we need to know as well but sometimes we have to take a better approach when we need to learn about certain things. Many of us know that what works in some situations or with certain individuals doesn’t always work or is the safest option for another situation. Controlled and precisely organized study allows scientists to compare and examine contrasting methods and concepts, also helps them to discover various approaches and be able to learn from individual’s behaviors and experiences. I will act as the case study throughout this paper in order to observe what I have learned about.

I carried out two types of observation: these being narrative observation and time sampling. I chose to do both because the strengths of each help to support the weaknesses of the other. The main weaknesses of time sampling are that it causes the observer to miss potentially important behaviours that occur

As mentioned, the research method used for this study was participant observation. This was further divided into three different segments. Each of these segments featured its own distinct observation site and involved one hour of observation per site.