Behavioral Observation Instructions
Your task in class this activity is to practice a few direct observation techniques on campus. This activity is related to course learning outcome 2 (understand scientific methods used in conditioning and learning), and module 1 learning objectives 1, 3, and 4. This page explains what you are to do for each task. Read these instructions at least one day before you do this activity so you can ask for clarification if needed.
Setting up.
To complete this activity, you need to be able to take notes and write on paper. You will recieve a printed copy of a worksheet, use it to record your observations, make inferences and calculations, draw conclusions, and reflect on the activity. You will submit the worksheet at the end of class.
During class, you will be assigned a place from the Possible Locations for Behavioral Observation where you can observe behavior for about an hour. They are all public spaces where people do not have a reasonable expectation of privacy, which is important. During the activity, you will complete three observation tasks that involve observing unobtrusively (that is, without drawing attention to yourself), and then you will reflect on your experience when you are done.
During class, you will be assigned a place from the Possible Locations for Behavioral Observation where you can observe behavior for about an hour. They are all public spaces where people do not have a reasonable expectation of privacy, which is important. During the activity, you will complete three observation tasks that involve observing unobtrusively (that is, without drawing attention to yourself), and then you will reflect on your experience when you are done.
Step 1. Observe the environment.
Use at least two of your senses (e.g., visual, auditory, olfactory, somatosensory) to describe the environment where you will conduct your observation of human behavior. What can you see, hear, smell, or feel in your environment? Don’t include humans here but do include plants and other animals if you observe them. For non-visual senses, try closing your eyes as you listen, smell, or touch your environment.
For Question 1, observe the environment, not the people in it.
For Question 1, observe the environment, not the people in it.
Step 2. Qualitative observation of a single subject.
Choose one person to observe and write down what you observe them doing without interpreting it, once per minute, for 5 minutes. Every other minute for 10 minutes, write down what you observe them doing. Each record should be a ‘snapshot’ of what you observed in the moment, not a record of everything that happened over the 120 s since the previous observation.
Observe someone you do not know personally. Be careful to observe unobtrusively; avoid making anyone feel uncomfortable. If the person you are observing leaves before the 10 minutes are up, choose someone else; continue until you have 5 observations.
You can’t observe other people’s mental states, so do not refer to your subjects’ mental state. If you are tempted to write down something about a mental state (e.g., “Subject (S) got progressively more relaxed”) think about what you are seeing or hearing that makes you think that. That’s the observation you should record.
Do not make assumptions about aspects of the situation you cannot verify for yourself. For example, if you are in a coffee shop and you observe someone put a mug to their lips, you might be tempted to write that "S sipped their coffee," but unless you are close enough to see or smell the coffee yourself, you can only observe that "S sipped their drink."
If you noticed any changes in the environment or the other people in the environment before or after the behavior you recorded (for example, the phone rang, then the person picked up the phone and said "hello"), record them in the ‘Stimulus Changes’ column.
Once you have five observations, make some inferences about the person or the situation based on the behavior you observed. That is your interpretaion. This is not usually part of behavioral observation. The point of doing it now is to get you to notice and appreciate the difference between observation and interpretation.
Here is an example of the difference between observation and inference:
If you have a pet, you might have noticed that your pet was excited to see you when you came home from school last week. That is an interpretation or inference rather than an observation. You observed some behavior that led you to make that inference. In that case, if your pet is the subject of the qualitative observation, the behavior might have been tail wagging and licking your face, the stimulus change was that you came home, and the interpretation was that they were excited to see you!
Observation: Dog wagged tail.
Stimulus change: You walked through front door.
Interpretation: Dog is happy to see you.
Observe someone you do not know personally. Be careful to observe unobtrusively; avoid making anyone feel uncomfortable. If the person you are observing leaves before the 10 minutes are up, choose someone else; continue until you have 5 observations.
You can’t observe other people’s mental states, so do not refer to your subjects’ mental state. If you are tempted to write down something about a mental state (e.g., “Subject (S) got progressively more relaxed”) think about what you are seeing or hearing that makes you think that. That’s the observation you should record.
Do not make assumptions about aspects of the situation you cannot verify for yourself. For example, if you are in a coffee shop and you observe someone put a mug to their lips, you might be tempted to write that "S sipped their coffee," but unless you are close enough to see or smell the coffee yourself, you can only observe that "S sipped their drink."
If you noticed any changes in the environment or the other people in the environment before or after the behavior you recorded (for example, the phone rang, then the person picked up the phone and said "hello"), record them in the ‘Stimulus Changes’ column.
Once you have five observations, make some inferences about the person or the situation based on the behavior you observed. That is your interpretaion. This is not usually part of behavioral observation. The point of doing it now is to get you to notice and appreciate the difference between observation and interpretation.
Here is an example of the difference between observation and inference:
If you have a pet, you might have noticed that your pet was excited to see you when you came home from school last week. That is an interpretation or inference rather than an observation. You observed some behavior that led you to make that inference. In that case, if your pet is the subject of the qualitative observation, the behavior might have been tail wagging and licking your face, the stimulus change was that you came home, and the interpretation was that they were excited to see you!
Observation: Dog wagged tail.
Stimulus change: You walked through front door.
Interpretation: Dog is happy to see you.
Step 3. Record the frequency of a behavior and calculate its rate of occurrence.
Select one a target behavior to observe and record. Here are some options that have worked well in the past:
Every minute, take a mental snapshot of what is happening in that instance, and count the number of occurrences and non-occurrences of the target behavior that are new, start or stop, or continue in each snapshot.
- Holding a cell phone 📱
- Holding a drink ☕
- Sitting
- Walking 🚶🏾♀️➡️
- Wearing glasses/sunglasses 😎
Every minute, take a mental snapshot of what is happening in that instance, and count the number of occurrences and non-occurrences of the target behavior that are new, start or stop, or continue in each snapshot.
- A new occurrence is when you count a person for the first time and they are engaging in the target behavior. A new non-occurrence is when you count a person for the first time and they are not engaging in the target behavior. In the first interval, every observation is either a new occurrence or a new non-occurrence because you have not counted anyone before. For observations 2-5, a new occurrence is someone engaging in the target behavior who was not present in the previous interval. A new non-occurrence is someone who was not present in the previous interval who is present but not engaging in the target behavior now.
- If someone was engaging in the target behavior in the last interval, and they are still doing it in this interval, mark a tally in the continued occurrence column for this interval. If someone was present and not engaging in the target behavior in the last interval, and they are still present and not engaging in the target behavior in this interval, mark a tally in the continued non-occurrence column for this interval.
- If someone was engaging in the target behavior in the last interval, and they are not doing it in this interval, mark a tally in the stopped column for this interval. If someone was present and not engaging in the target behavior in the last interval, and now they are, mark a tally in the started column for this interval.
How many different people did you observe during the observation period? To find this, add the number of New Occurrences and New Non-Occurrences.
Total people = 7 + 10 = 17
Calculate the percentage of people you observed engaging in the target behavior at any time during the observation period. This is the total number of new occurrences plus the number of people who started at any time during the observation divided by total people and multiplied by 100 to get a percentage. There are other ways of doing this arithmetic. If a different one makes more sense to you, use it!
Percentage = 100 × (7 + 2) ∕ 17 = 100 × 9 ∕ 17 = 900 ∕ 17 = 52.94%
Calculate the rate of the target behavior during the observation period. To calculate the rate of the target behavior, add up the total occurrences (new + started + continuing) and divide by the number of minutes you spent observing (5).
Rate = (7 + 2 + 20) ∕ 5 = 5.8 occurrences per minute.
Fill in the blanks based on what you observed and your calculations.
During a five-minute period, I observed 17 different people, and 53% of them were sitting [engaged in the target behavior] at some point. On average, I observed 5.8 [rate] people siting [present participle of your target behavior] in/at/outside/near the coffee shop [location] per minute.
Here's what the fill-in-the-blank part might look like with a different target behavior and location, but the same numbers:
During a five-minute period, I observed 17 different people, and 53% of them wore swimsuits [engaged in the target behavior] at some point. On average, I observed 5.8 [rate] people wearing swimsuits [present participle of your target behavior] in/at/outside/near the beach [location] per minute.
Total people = 7 + 10 = 17
Calculate the percentage of people you observed engaging in the target behavior at any time during the observation period. This is the total number of new occurrences plus the number of people who started at any time during the observation divided by total people and multiplied by 100 to get a percentage. There are other ways of doing this arithmetic. If a different one makes more sense to you, use it!
Percentage = 100 × (7 + 2) ∕ 17 = 100 × 9 ∕ 17 = 900 ∕ 17 = 52.94%
Calculate the rate of the target behavior during the observation period. To calculate the rate of the target behavior, add up the total occurrences (new + started + continuing) and divide by the number of minutes you spent observing (5).
Rate = (7 + 2 + 20) ∕ 5 = 5.8 occurrences per minute.
Fill in the blanks based on what you observed and your calculations.
During a five-minute period, I observed 17 different people, and 53% of them were sitting [engaged in the target behavior] at some point. On average, I observed 5.8 [rate] people siting [present participle of your target behavior] in/at/outside/near the coffee shop [location] per minute.
Here's what the fill-in-the-blank part might look like with a different target behavior and location, but the same numbers:
During a five-minute period, I observed 17 different people, and 53% of them wore swimsuits [engaged in the target behavior] at some point. On average, I observed 5.8 [rate] people wearing swimsuits [present participle of your target behavior] in/at/outside/near the beach [location] per minute.
4. Reflect on your observations.
When you have completed the first three tasks, answer the reflection questions.
Once you have completed the activity and answered the reflection questions, come back to class to hand in your worksheet!
Once you have completed the activity and answered the reflection questions, come back to class to hand in your worksheet!
