Naturalistic Observation : Observing People

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.

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

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).

There are two types of collecting data for research, which are qualitative and quantitative research. Qualitative research is used to gain a thorough explanation about a phenomena, and ‘is normally recognisable via the use of methods that include, at least, in-depth interview and group-moderation techniques’ (Bailey 2013)

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.

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.

Observations are a disciplined for of attention to detail. It is treating the natural world as a clue, not just a perception. Above all, observation is systematic perception it is simultaneously observing landforms,

There are advantages and disadvantages to observation studies. An advantage of observation studies is because it is in a natural setting it has more accuracy reflecting real Life behavior versus a controlled behavior. Oftentimes, observation studies generate new ideas during the observation. The disadvantage of observation studies is the method can be time consuming to gather the information since the subject are not being influenced in any way. Also, observational studies are difficult for another researcher to duplicate. The advantages and disadvantages were all true for the Mother’s Day observational study. The data collected is accurate, however, it was time consuming to collect the data at all three locations for thirty subjects at each

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.

Researchers when defining naturalistic observations they are noted to be relative or informative fieldworks of observations made by a researcher of research subjects in their natural settings (Cozby & Bates, 2012). It is very important and relevant for the researcher to observe the phenomenon in situ (Trochim & Donnelly, 2008). Naturalistic observational research focuses on groups of individuals for example: For example, you can go to the bookstore, school cafeteria, the mall, the supermarket, etc. (Cozby & Bates, 2012). Winstead (1984) is an example of a naturalistic observer of the Polish crisis in the early 1980s. This author made naturalistic observations while living and working in Poland (Winstead, 1984). The author observed various ways that the Polish people coped with stress during the initial part of the social, economic and political crisis (Winstead, 1984).

The advantage of using this kind of research approach is it allows the researcher to have broader study which implicates more subjects. Thus, it enhances the generalization of the results. In addition, the research can be duplicated or replicated. Similar data can be used to analyze and compare with the similar studies in the past. Personal bias can also be limited and avoided by researchers by means of employing subjects anonymous to them. The data collected for quantitative approach is precise enough to identify even small differences because it uses numerical data - it is quantifiable. It is also easier to administer and record answers to structured questions. The time consumed to gather information is lesser than compared to gathering information for qualitative research approach.

In light of the complexity of the research question, we opted for a pluralistic methodological framework. The first methodology used was the observation methodology, which serves as the first interaction with the object under study. Lalonde (2013) identifies three levels of observation. Each level is used depending on the field being studied and the choice of the researcher. Thereby, Adler& Adler (1987) have noted that there types of observation a researcher can undertake. The later could be either peripheral, active or immersed observant.