Limitations Of Naturalistic Observation

Naturalistic observation involves recording subjects' naturally occurring behavior while they are in their natural environment. This experiment revolves around this type of observation. Specifically, it involves the observation of the various human dyads (male-female, male-male, female-female,) social interaction, within in a public environment. Focal points of observation included conversation space (distance between individuals heads,), and body language.

This essay will be looking at the role of ecological validity and the importance it has in psychological research. Ecological validity refers to the extent to which a study reflects naturally occurring or everyday situations. It will also consider the advantages and disadvantages of ecological validity, through exploring studies such as the bobo doll experiment and a study on memory. Ecological validity is one of many important factor in psychological research. Also being addressed is what goes into a study or experiment and all the things that need to be considered to achieve ecological validity. In addition, it is important to design the study in such a way that the results obtained can be usefully and meaningfully applied to the area in question. Constructing experiments that achieve high ecological validity is quite a complex and difficult task.

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.

Naturalistic observation is observing behavior in an open, relaxed environment. This method allows a researcher to watch someone’s uninhibited reactions compared to surveys or case surveys where you can answer truthfully or untruthfully. The strengths of naturalistic observations are better generalizing, subjects are comfortable which adds to higher degree of realism

Throughout this assignment, my perspective on the person I studied changed. I learned several things about their character and the behavior that they presented. This task showed me that by simply observing a person’s behavior, my perspective about them changes.

My observation locations are Starbucks and restaurant. I chose them as my observation location because those are the places where people normally talk, study, socialize and interact in a casual manner.

In order to study human development and perform naturalistic observation I went to the mall. I selected a 9-year-old white girl as the subject for my observation. I observed the subject for 30 minutes. During my observation the subject was not interrupted and was not aware of my study.

| -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).

Ethnographic methodology provides rich and complex data (Brownlow, 2012). In the ethnographic approach a researcher joined the studied group in their natural environment, stayed as a part

Naturalistic observation is a research technique involving the observation of people or objects in their natural environments to gather data. When performing a naturalistic observation, it is key for the researcher to remain unavowed to the subject, or the result of the data could be skewed. When conducting a naturalistic observation to study the exercise times of young adult males versus older adult males, a good place to make observations would be at a gym, a popular hiking trail, or in a populated city (ex: downtown Washington, D.C.) where there are large sidewalks and plenty of room for foot traffic. Next, determine the variables. The measurable variables would be determined by witnessing a subject perform some sort of exercise, or any act that raises the heart rate above its natural rhythm on purpose at different times of day (ex: bike riding, running or jogging, roller blading, weight lifting, swimming, etc.). A record is kept regarding the execution of the variables, and after spending a viable amount of time collecting data from the subjects, the results of the study can be concluded. A possible result of the study could be that it is more common for older adult males to exercise early in the morning, while it is more common for younger adult males to exercise late in the evening.

The method can be seen as an alternative to more extensive trials, which may take place later, prior to a release of a product.

This paper is going to describe the behavioral and cognitive traits that can be inferred from that behavior of a two year old child that I observed in the park as she was playing with her mother. The child that I observed is a girl, has blonde hair and is physically well-developed for her age. She is around two, weighs approximately twenty (20) pounds and is about two (2) feet tall.

In the profession of Psychology, watching people, animals, possessions in an environment are called observation. Individuals who work in Psychology use three different methods to observe people called controlled, natural, and participant observation. (McLeod, 2015) In my opinion, controlled observation is the most accurate mothed to use when studying a subject, because professionals can control and account for different variables. In the following paragraphs, I will describe the behavior I wished to observe in my chosen laboratory, the results that I obtained, and I will have provided a detailed explanation of my observation method used.

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.

Here, unlike naturalistic observation, the researcher intervenes in the environment. Basically, this refers to inserting yourself as a member of a group in order to observe behavior you wouldn't otherwise have access to. Although it seems like naturalistic observation and participant observation are simply categories, you should understand that there is a really a continuum of intrusion into the environment. It depends on the extent to which the researcher is involved in the research study. For example, if someone sets up an event (e.g., putting trash in a path to see who picks it up), this is not naturalistic observation (see criteria above). This is also not participant observation research because the researcher is not a part of the group being observed. Think of this as a continuum with naturalistic observation on one end and participant observation on the other.