What are the strengths and weaknesses of naturalistic observation in psychology?

What are the strengths and weaknesses of naturalistic observation in psychology?

Strengths and weaknesses of naturalistic observations

Strengths: Weaknesses:
More natural behaviour occurs if people are unaware of observation. Observer may affect behaviour if detected.
Studying of animals that cannot be observed in captivity. Difficult to replicate – cannot control extraneous variables.

What are the advantages of observation method in psychology?

Advantages of Observation:

  • (1) Simplest Method:
  • (2) Useful for Framing Hypothesis:
  • (3) Greater Accuracy:
  • (4) An Universal Method:
  • (5) Observation is the Only Appropriate Tool for Certain Cases:
  • (6) Independent of People’s Willingness to Report:
  • (1) Some of the Occurrences may not be Open to Observation:

What is naturalistic observations and why do psychologist rely on it?

Naturalistic observation is a research method in which people or other subjects are observed in their natural setting. Psychologists and other social scientists use naturalistic observation to study specific social or cultural settings that couldn’t be investigated in other ways, such as prisons, bars, and hospitals.

What would a psychologist using the method of naturalistic observation do?

Like case studies, naturalistic observation is often used to generate new ideas. Because it gives the researcher the opportunity to study the total situation it often suggests avenues of inquiry not thought of before.

What are the weaknesses of naturalistic observation?

One of the disadvantages of naturalistic observation includes the fact that it can be difficult to determine the exact cause of a behavior and the experimenter cannot control for outside variables. Some other disadvantages of naturalistic observation: People may behave differently when they know they are being watched.

What are the limitations of naturalistic observation?

A major limitation of naturalistic observation in the study of human behavior is that extraneous variables outside the researcher’s control that might compromise the validity of the study. A naturalistic observation study involves observing and studying participants’ behavior in their natural setting, without manipulating any variables.

When to use naturalistic observation?

Naturalistic observation is a technique used to collect behavioral data in real-life situations as opposed to laboratory or other controlled settings. This technique is most useful when little is known about the matter under consideration.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of observations?

Advantage: Obtain Additional Information. Teacher observations provide information that other means of evaluation do not.

  • Advantage: Can Provide Instant Feedback. Teacher observations are ideally used for formative as well as evaluative purposes.
  • Disadvantage: Bias.
  • Disadvantage: Unreliable.