Naturalistic Observation

A Brief Introduction

• The main purpose of observational methods is description. – We simply observe behaviors and seek for

patterns in these behaviors.– That is, we try to develop a theory to explain

behavior• Etiology: A study of documentation of animal

and human behaviors– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKyrLFyOi04

A Brief Introduction

• Naturalistic observation can be used in two major ways– Observation with an intervention (a manipulation)– Observation without an intervention (without a

manipulation)

Observation With an Intervention

• We use that method when– We have an a priori idea of what to observe, and– The event that we interested in is rare– That kind of observations is a kind of field

experiments• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHA3Ypjd

qZs

Observation Without an Intervention

• In such observational studies, the researcher simply watcher what is going on

• It is a good method when– We do not have an a priori idea of what to

observe, and– The event is not rare

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4wy1wQZgwI

Two Major Way to Observe

• We can conduct observational studies in different ways– Overt vs. Covert observations– Participant vs. non-participant observations

Two Major Way to Observe

Overt vs. Covert Observations• In overt observations, participants are aware

of being watched– It is more ethical. • We can ask participants for consent

– Participants may behave unnaturally• In covert observations participants are not

aware of being watched– Participants behave more natural– Ethical problems

Two Major Way to Observe

Participant vs. Non-Participant Observations

• In participant observations, researcher participate the interactions between participants– We can get an in-depth picture of behavior– Observer may bias participants’ behaviors

• In non-participant observations, researcher does not participate the interactions between participants– We can get a more limited picture of behavior– Observer cannot bias participants’ behaviors

Two Major Way to Observe

Four Combinations of Observational Studies

Participant Non-Participant

OvertResearcher participate in interactions, and participants are aware of being watched

Researcher simply observe participants, and participants are aware of being watched

CovertResearcher participate in interactions, but participants are not aware of being watched

Researcher simply observe participants, but participants are not aware of being watched

Four Combinations of Observational Studies Overt-Participant Observations

• Between 2005 and 2008, Sümer conducted an project on the interaction between mother and child. He simply interested in mother sensitivity and child’s reactions. – For this study, two observers visited homes and observed the interactions

between mother and child. They used a specific measurement method “Q-Sort” for their observations.

• Milligram (1992) investigated how individuals deal with urban life in which unwanted encounters are inevitable.– Researchers took photographs of people in train stations and showed

these pictures to commuters. – They asked participants whether they recognized the person in the

picture. – By this way, they concluded that the average New York City commuter had

4.5 familiar strangers in his or her life.

Four Combinations of Observational Studies Covert-Participant Observations

• In 1956, Festinger observed a religious cult which believed that a flood would destroy most of North America in late December. – The leader of the cult, Mrs Keetch, asserted that she had contact with aliens from a

planet called Clarion. – She devoted herself to spread aliens’ word and convince people to get prepared. – Festinger guessed that this disaster would never happen and he wanted to observe

what would happen after the predicted date of disaster (the aftermath of the failed prophecy).

• He joined the cult with his two colleagues and five hired observers. They encountered several methodological difficulties– First, data recording was a problem. They could not write what they observed when

they attended to the cult’s meetings in Mrs Keetch’ house. They could not rely on their memories, so they decided to use bathroom to report whatever they experienced in the meeting.

– Second and more serious problem was reactivity. The mere presence of observers as members strengthened the belief that the flood prophecy was correct.

Four Combinations of Observational Studies Overt –Non-Participant Observations • In Hawthorne experiments, workers were observed

in differing work conditions between 1924 and 1932. – Studies were conducted in Hawthorne Works (a factory)

of Western Electric Company. – These studies are the source of now famous term

Hawthorne Effect. • In most ethnographical studies, animals are aware of

being observed. – Mere-exposure and familiarization is used to observe

animals behaviors.

Four Combinations of Observational Studies Covert –Non-Participant Observations

• Graham and Wells (2001) conducted a naturalistic observation study of bar patrons in a Canadian taverns. – They used naturalistic observation and interviews in their research. – In the naturalistic observation portion of their research, 117 aggressive incidents

were observed during the 93 nights of the study. – Most of the observation periods were weekend nights between midnight and 2:30

a.m.; the patrons were unaware that research was being conducted. – The researchers documented patterns of aggressive behavior in this particular bar.

• For example, they found that nearly 75% of the incidents involved males only. • Also, moderate or higher levels of physical aggression were observed in 67% of the

incidents. • About 33% of the incidents occurred outside of the bar’s premises.

– Graham and Wells identified several triggers for aggression in bars, including problems with bar staff, rowdy behavior, and interpersonal relationship problems.

– Studies such as this might be helpful to bar managers who want to reduce aggressive incidents in their establishments.

• See http://peace.saumag.edu/faculty/kardas/Courses/RMPA/naturalisticobservation.html

The Process of Observational Studies

• In general, observational studies are consisted of two phases– First Phase: Unstructured Observation– Second phase: Structured Observation

The Process of Observational Studies

Unstructured Observation• Researcher simply observes all behaviors. – S/He takes notes about behavior and possible

contextual triggers. – These notes are observer narratives• Observer narratives must be as objective as they could

be.• They are a kind of a operational definition of the

observed behavior.

The Process of Observational Studies

Structured Observation• Researcher decide on which

behaviors are going to be observed– To observe target behaviors,

researcher must choose behavioral units

– A behavior unit can be measured as • Frequency• Duration

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_SS2ebPItg

Observer Bias

• No observer is a mechanical tool. – So, every observations are open to biases.

• Possible Sources of Observer Bias– Selective Attention– Selective Encoding and Retrieval

• To reduce observer bias–Control observer knowledge–Separate fact from interpretation–Use sampling methods

to Reduce Observer Bias

Control Observer Knowledge

• Whenever it is possible, it is good to keep observer uninformed. – This method is called blinding

• When observers do not know the purpose or hypothesis of the observation, they can not bias their observations– It is sometime hard to keep observers uninformed

to Reduce Observer Bias

Separate Fact From Interpretation• In many cases, observers can confuse

interpretations with facts. – Hitting is a fact. Aggressive behavior or aggression

is an interpretation of this fact• A part of observation form can be allocated

for interpretations

Fear or excitement is something that we attribted to a certain

facial expression

to Reduce Observer Bias

Use Sampling Methods• Bias can be reduced by removing observers’

choices about– Which subject will be observed, or– When subjects will be observed

• To reduce sampling bias, we can use two methods– Event sampling– Time sampling

Sampling Methods

Event Sampling• A group of event are randomly chosen– It increase the generalizability of observations to

different stiuations• For observation of driver behaviors– Different traffic lights can be chosen randomly

• For observation of students behavior in kantin– Different tables can be chosen randomly

Sampling Methods

Time Sampling• The time of observation is randomly chosen– It increase the generalizability of observations to

different time periods• For observation of driver behaviors– Different periods of day can be chosen randomly

• For observation of students behavior in kantin– Different periods of conversation can be chosen

randomly

Observer Reliability• To ensure that observer relaibly observe the subject, several

methods can be used– Using more than one observer

• At least, two observer observe the same subject• Correlation coefficient assess reliability

– r= .70 to .90 is ok– r < .70 = observations are not reliable. PROBLEM– r> .90 = Observations are too similar. PROBLEM

– Clarifying behavioral units• Behavior units should be clearified before observations• Observers may share their experiences after the observation

– Using recording techniques• Video and voice records can be used to identify

– Whether anything missed in the observation– Whether observers reported same behavior in a similar way