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.

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

I observed a classroom of four-year-old students who are enrolled at the Child Development Center on the George Mason University campus. This observation lasted about fifteen minutes with a total of twelve students in the classroom. At the time of my observation the students were engaging in free playtime where they are allowed to play games, make crafts, and interact with their fellow classmates. I was seated in the corner of the classroom where the children could not easily see me or get distracted by me. I stayed seated throughout the whole observation so the students would not be affected by my presence. Many different activities were happening at the same time, but a couple standout situations reminded me of many subject areas we

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.

Which author or institution is associated with coining the phrase, “the apartheid of schooling in America.”

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.

During my naturalistic observation, I was at my sister’s softball game at the field behind Bridgeport Middle School. There were two identical twins little girls, who were three years old, playing together in the practice batting cage. In the beginning, they were walking around together, eating popsicles while they watched two other older kids, a boy and a girl most likely around the age range of five to seven, chasing each other. The older kids were playing tag and invited the twins to join them. From their facial expressions, it was obvious they were thrilled to play with them; however they were hesitant to run and chase the older kids. They stood at the starting location and watched as the other kids raced back and forth, and had to move

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.

4. Psychologists observe and describe behavior through case studies, surveys, and naturalistic observations. Case studies show us what can happen by observing behaviors. Most of the time they offer reliable ideas of behaviors that have not been studied before. Surveys act as a good representation of people’s attitudes or reported behaviors of a whole population. However, when producing a survey one must be careful to use careful wording and to pick a random sample. Adjusting survey questions with loaded words may shift the response and not offer a reliable representation. It is important to survey with a random sample of people to refrain from unbiased responses. Naturalistic observations describe behaviors in an uncontrolled setting. This method does not tell the cause and effect.

Between the hours of 1:00 and 3:00 on Monday and Tuesday afternoon adults and children walking from the Fort Hood Commissary’s parking lot to the store and back, tend to be more helpful of a woman that is dressed up and seems attractive with some items that she dropped than they do to a dirty not so attractive woman on the same situation on the following day.

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.

The question that I set out to study was whether more men or women used their phones while walking. I expected more women than men to use their phones while walking because I believe that women spend more time on social media, texting, and making phones call when they are in public spaces, particularly in the mall, which is where I conducted the observation. Women often go to the mall in groups, and when in the groups, they tend to look at social media together or text others as they travel from one store to another. My hypothesis was that more women than men would use their phones while walking.