Observational Measures

observational measures

recording actual behavior (not thoughts or feelings)

observational measures ex

• videos or audio recordings

• transcripts

• live observations

observational measures decisions to make

1. where will observation occur

2. will participants know they are being observed 

3. how will behavior be analyzed

where will observation occur

• naturalistic observation

  • participant observation

• contrived observation

naturalistic observation

observe behavior as it naturally occurs, no intrusion from the researcher

participant observation

becoming part of the world you wish to observe as the researcher

contrived observation

observe behavior in research settings 

will participants know they are being recorded

• undisguised observation

• disguised observation

  • partial concealment strategy

undisguised observation

participants know they are being observed

reactivity

people may change their behavior when they know someone is watching (problem of undisguised observation)

disguised observation

participants do not know they are being observed

• problems: ethical concerns, lack of informed consent

• okay if behavior is entirely public

partial concealment strategy

participants know they’re being observed but not why

how will behavior be analyzed

• narratives

• checklists

• temporal measures

• rating scales

narratives

full descriptions of behavior (‘play by play’ approach)

• long time to complete and difficult to quantify, idk

checklists

count occurrences of specific behaviors

temporal measures

note timing of behavior (duration and latency)

duration

how long a behavior lasted

latency

time between an event and a response 

rating scales

outside parties make subjective judgements about behavior on specific measures

• problem: one step removed from observing behavior because having a rater determine the behavior, a level of subjectivity is present (need good inter-rater reliability)

observer effects

researchers can harm the construct validity of observational measures if they’re not careful

• observer bias

• observer expectancy effects

observer bias

observers’ expectations can influence their interpretation of participants’ behavior

• ex. if you knew a couple was divorced before observing, might see their behavior as negative

observer expectancy effects

observers’ expectations can actually influence participants’ behavior

• ex. if a teacher has a belief that their student will not succeed, the teacher will treat them different/worse, so student will perform worse