PSYC 002 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Naturalistic Observation, Habituation
30 Mar 2017
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Document Summary
Descriptive research: a systematic, objective observation of people. The goal is to provide a clear, accurate picture of people"s behaviors, thoughts, attitudes. Case study: observing and gathering information to compile an in-depth study of one individual. Naturalistic observation: gathering data about behavior; just watching. Surveys and interviews: having other people report their own behaviors, attitudes. Observe behavior in natural setting and avoid influencing that behavior. Habituation: the presence of an observer is ignored over time. Behavior can be observed in natural or controlled settings. Population: all the individuals that we are interested in drawing a conclusion about. Sample: a subset of individuals drawn from the population. Representative sample accurately reflects the important characteristics of the population. Can collect large amounts of information quickly. Can ask about a limitless variety of attitudes and behaviors. Random sampling: a technique for making sure that every individual in a population has an equal chance of being in your sample/may save time.
