Observational Research

Methods without Intervention

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Naturalistic Observation

: the study of on going behavior in the natural environment • No intervention by the observer • Uninterrupted stream of behavior

• The observer is “unobtrusive” • Eliminates “reactive behavior” • Reactive behavior is behavior that is different than normal because of an awareness of being watched

• • • • “natural environment” is the environment in which the behavior normally occurs This could be a city sidewalk or a preschool or a desert To be unobtrusive, the observer (O) must “blend in” with the environment. In a forest you might build a blind of tree branches. In a city you might sit on a bench with a newspaper with holes cut out so you can watch people

Ethologists (ethology)

• a European branch of biology/psychology devoted to the study of the behavior of organisms in relation to their natural environment • the “quest for the roots of intelligence” • comparative study of species looking for the evolutionary path (phylogeny) of behavior

Example: Ethology Study

• Example: Crossing behavior of people in mixed-gender groups. Done in a city environment

From the field to the lab

• Observational study is often a first step in studying a new topic before you begin lab research • Example: Tinbergen, herring gull chicks feeding behavior

Famous observational researchers

• Jane Goodall: Chimpanzees • Dian Fossey: Mountain Gorillas (Gorillas in the Mist) • Were they truly using a method of naturalistic observation?

Methods with Intervention

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Participant observation

- the researcher both observes and participates in the action • Two types: Undisguised and Disguised

Undisguised

• • • • • • the subject of the observation is aware that they are being observed Often a method used by anthropologists Ed Tronick, Gilda Morelli both from UMASS Studied child rearing practices in rural African villages Lived in the village while collecting data for months at a time Reactive behavior can be a problem

Disguised Participant Observation

• researcher both observes & participates but is disguised so that the subject is not aware of the observation • This eliminates the problem of reactive behavior…provided the disguise works • Rosenhan (1973) On Being Sane in Insane Places

Example #1: Rosenhan (1973) On Being Sane in Insane Places

• • • • • 3 women, 5 men, false names, tried for admission to different psychiatric hospitals Symptom: voice saying “empty, hollow, thud” same sex, unfamiliar All were admitted as suffering from schizophrenia Once admitted, acted as normally as possible Never recognized as “normal”, released between 7-52 days

Example #2: Festinger, Reiken, and Schacter (1956)

• Even though you eliminate reactive behavior, by participating in the action, you may change the behavior you observe • Infiltrated a group in Texas who claimed to be in communication with beings from outer space • Predicted a disastrous flood on a particular date

• Welcomed to group and one in particular was seen as a space being binging a message • Festinger et al felt they had changed the behavior they observed by their stories (inadvertently reinforced the group’s beliefs) and felt their observations were invalid as a result

Structured Observation

• observe behavior in a structured environment but do not interfere and observe unobtrusively • Often used when studying family relationships in family therapy situations • One-way mirror, “living room” environment (structured), Mom, Dad, children • Observe thru mirror, watch int eractions

Second Example: Calhoun (1962) Population Density and Social Pathology • Set up a living space for rats (Structured environment) • Adequate food, H 2 O, and nesting materials • Four separate rooms with ramps • Two rooms have only one ramp, two have two ramps

• Put a set of rats in and then observed without intervening (except to supply food/water/nesting materials) • Rats quickly over-populated (to about 80 rats) • many pathological behaviors developed, especially in the rooms with two entrances (Behavioral Sink)

Field studies

• a cross-over to quasi-experiments • there is a true IV, at least two levels • uses method of observation • done in a non-lab, natural environment • often social psychology studies

Zimbardo (1973) on vandalism

• Vandalism is hard to study in a lab environment • Looked at the effects of anonymity on vandalism • darkness & crowded environments would increase feelings of anonymity & foster more vandalism • Hypothesized that vandals would be more likely to be young people, not adults

• Used concealed observers • Took two used cars in good condition, abandoned, no license plates, hood up • Left one car one block from NYU (very urban) • Left one car one block from Stanford University (rural/suburban)

New York City Vehicle (NYU)

• first vandals within 10 minutes in broad daylight • adult man and woman, one child, stripped car • As many adult vandals as youths • As much vandalism during day as at night • 23 vandals in 3 days, nothing left after a week

California Vehicle (Stanford)

• never touched at all after one week • some neighbors reported the car to police • one person lowered hood when it started to rain • Moral: don’t park your car 1 block from NYU. Park at Stanford and take a plane 

Recording behavior in Observational Research

Narrative Record • record ALL behavior • Use video tape, audio tape, or written records • used by ethologists, ethograms, long lists of all behaviors for a species • More often you record “units” of behavior, specific types of behavior of interest

Recording units of behavior

• Frequency of behavior (how often it occurs) • Duration of behavior (total amount of time behavior occurs) • Rate (frequency per time unit, number of times per minute, for example)

• Most often several observers gathering data for any one piece of research • In order to combine the information from multiple observers, you must establish “inter observer reliability” • Inter-observer reliability: the percentage of agreement amongst observers

Inter-Observer Reliability *Must multiple by 100 to get “percent agreement”*

Example: Aggression in a pre-school environment

• • • • Must first have an “operational definition” of “aggression” Observers discuss and agree on a definition All observers observe the same classroom (events) and record separately any acts of aggression Measure inter-observer reliability (Percent agreement)

• Two observers stationed at a one-way mirror into a preschool classroom space • Watch children for 50 minutes • At the end of each 5 minute period, put a check mark if an act of aggression has occurred

5-min sections O1

1 X 2 3 4 5 X 6 7 8 9 10 X

O2

X X X X

Agree??

5-min sections

1 4 5 2 3 6 7 8 9 10

O1

X X X

O2 Agree?

X X X Agree Agree Agree X Agree Agree Agree Agree

• Seven “agrees” out 10 observations • • 7/10 = .7

.7 (100) = 70% agreement • Need 85% or above before you can combine data

• Would discuss the “operational definition” of aggression and try again for inter-observer reliability until the observer’s reach at least 85% agreement

Advantages of Observational Research

• Increased external validity • Allows you to see behavior as complex, the result of many antecedents • Some behaviors can only be observed in a natural setting (such as vandalism)

Disadvantages of Observational Research

• Because you are in the “real world” you lose control over many variables • noise, weather, lighting etc • for example, in the Zimbardo study, was the weather the same in NY as in California? This could have caused a “threat to internal validity”