Lecture
From the standpoint of the structure or the general principles of organizing a study, psychological observation as a method is contrasted with the experiment.
This contrast is based on two postulates:
- the «passivity» of the observer as a recorder of psychological data;
(in introspection the reflecting stance alters the observed reality – the postulate is not fully observed).
- the «immediate» character of how the data are given.
That is, the principal problem of the method is the correct encoding, comprehensible to others, of the observed reality into recorded data. These data must be reproducible so as to be read by other specialists. No decision about the observed fact is required; everything is contained in the empirical data. Thus the possibility of the immediate givenness of psychological reality is presupposed.
Another aspect of the problem of immediacy: the source of the psychological understanding of the data is also embedded in the recorded data.
The observer-researcher has a certain cognitive aim, which makes the process of observation mediated.
Depending on the aim, the observer will strive either for a holistic perception of the phenomenon under study or for a selective perception of the most essential external manifestations of psychological reality.
The observer is active in organizing the process of observation, in preparing and selecting the conditions of observation, and in recording the data.
Depending on the presence or absence of the observer’s involvement in interpreting the obtained facts, a distinction is drawn between explanatory and descriptive observation.
In psychology, the following are regarded as the observed (the object of observation): the behavior of the subject; externally distinguishable forms of interaction among people in groups; the linguistic consciousness of the personality as expressed in speech; the expressive forms of emotional states; personality traits manifested in actions.
(example: Tamara Dembo. A study of the dynamics of anger using unsolvable tasks).
Scientific observation is also mediated by theoretical conceptions of the reality under study and by the cognitive hypotheses put forward. The subject of observation uses specially singled-out categories and units.
In observation there may be a qualitative and a quantitative description of events.
Qualitative – the first stage.
Two types: 1) description of the object in the vocabulary of natural language; 2) the development of systems of conventional names, signs, and codes.
A system of categories (in the narrow sense) is a set of categories that encompasses all theoretically admissible manifestations of the process under study. (Example: the standardized observation procedure proposed by Bales).
Quantitative evaluation (quantification). The principal methods:
1) event-sampling – a complete verbal description of behavioral events, their subsequent reading and psychological reconstruction. In the narrow sense of the term: the observer’s exact temporal or frequency reflection of the «units» of description.
2) time-sampling – the observer records particular time intervals, i.e. determines the duration of events. The technique of time samples.
Subjective scales are also specially developed for quantitative evaluation (Example: Sheldon, temperaments-somatotypes).
Causal hypotheses cannot be tested by the observation method! Testing the latter presupposes intervention in the process, the activity of the researcher.
To evaluate observational data, the following concepts are used: reliability, validity, consistency, reproducibility.
Reliability is connected with the degree of stability of the results obtained at different times in different situations, as well as with the degree of agreement among observers.
The criterion of validity reflects the correspondence of the actually obtained empirical data to the «ideal» ones.
Reproducibility of data means an evaluation of the possibility of obtaining analogous data by other researchers in similar situations (the criterion of inter-observer agreement).
The subjectivity of observational data is the limitation of the results of observation by the psychic capacities of the observer.
It is necessary to improve the process of observation with a view to bringing the position of the observer closer to the position of the observed. Sources of subjectivity: the individual features of the observer’s psychic processes (people concentrate attention differently, remember differently, etc.); the personality features of the observer (motives, attitudes).
Control of subjectivity: strengthening the purposefulness and systematization of observation, the search for adequate «units» of description and systems of data interpretation.
Classification of types of observation.
Depending on the aims:
- free observation (irregular): minimal restrictions
- purposeful observation: the scheme clearly defines the aims, the organization of observation, and the methods of reporting.
a) continuous
b) selective
By the level of units:
- observation in units
- in categories
By the level of systematicity (the correspondence of the observation program to the aims of the study; the singling out of aspects of the object; the language of data description; the method of recording and the order of observation)
- systematic (carried out according to certain rules for structuring concepts)
- non-systematic
By the position of the observer:
- external
- participant
Depending on the organization:
- field
- laboratory
- provoked under natural conditions (approaching a natural experiment).
By chronological organization:
- longitudinal (conducted over several years; constant contact of the researcher with the object)
- periodic (the most widespread type, conducted over certain intervals of time)
- single, one-time.
By the types of observer report:
- standardized (the singled-out categories and units to be recorded, the order of observation, etc. are prescribed)
- non-standardized.
The observation protocol (continuous, selective) is most often kept directly.
The diary is used in longitudinal studies; entries are usually made once a day from memory in a free form.
The observation procedure, as the realization of a particular methodology, consists of the following stages:
1. Preparation stage: forming initial conceptions about the object, choosing the methodology;
2. Stage of developing the observation scheme (a concrete plan) – the choice of observation techniques and the sequence of their application; often a preliminary observation session is conducted here;
3. Stage of conducting the observation: the process of obtaining empirical material;
4. Stage of processing and interpreting the results.
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