Controlled Observation

Observation (watching what people do) would seem to be an obvious method of carrying out research in psychology. However, there are different types of observational methods and distinctions need to be made between: Controlled Observations; Natural Observations, Participant Observations.

Controlled observations (usually a structured observation) are likely to be carried out in a psychology laboratory. The researcher decides where the observation will take place, at what time, with which participants, in what circumstances and uses a standardised procedure. Participants are randomly allocated to each independent variable group. Controlled observations are usually overt as the researcher explains the research aim to the group, so the participants

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Context of Observation

With her mother's permission, I observed my cousin's 33–month–old female daughter named Clara. This observation occurred at my grandparents' house, who are Clara's great–grandparents. My grandma frequently babysits Clara and her older and younger sisters, so she is familiar with the house. It was Thanksgiving when I did the observation with Clara, so she was surrounded by a combination of familiar faces as well as people that she infrequently sees. For example, I only see her during major holidays due to the fact I now live out of state, and while she has interacted with me, I am more or less a stranger to her due to the infrequent nature of our interactions. All of the Oswaldfamily members came to Thanksgiving this year, so my grandparents small house was packed with many people. Additionally, it was constantly noisy in the small house, with lots of different activities occurring throughout the day.

Observations

Attachment

To begin with, one of the most interesting things I observed with Clara is how clearly her behavior demonstrated a secure attachment with her parents. While my grandmother's home was a familiar place to Clara, adding so many family members, and family members she did not know, made the situation somewhat unfamiliar with her. It was interesting to see how she interacted with myself, my mother, and my fiancГ©, all of us whom do not have much interaction with Clara, at the beginning of Thanksgiving. When we tried to interact with her, she would stare suspiciously at us, and then run to her parents or grandmother. When we tried to interact with her in her "secure base", she would bury her head into the shoulder of whoever was holding her. Eventually, the cycle of going back to the secure base and exploring got bigger and bigger. As she, I assume, continued to get confirmation that the unfamiliar situation was safe, and her secure base was there to protect her, she would feel more comfortable venturing out, exploring the house more, and interacting with unfamiliar faces. She would check in with her parents, grandparents, or aunts by sitting on their lap for a little while, but as the night went on, the duration between these check–ins became longer, and they also became

The school I went to visit was Public School 69. It was my little brothers elementary school. The reason I chose the school, was because I remember seeing him happy every time he came home from kindergarten. Every day he would come home and have a different project he did in class to show off. The outside of the school looked like a regular public school, but inside Miss Suzy's* (not her real name) classroom was bright, warm, and inviting. My visitation was in the morning, right when the children began school at 8:00am. When I walked inside, the class room was baby blue with all kinds of art projects on the walls. Miss Suzy welcomed me very kindly, and discussed with me, her srtudents and what they have been learning. You can not help but...show more content...

I learned the day before my visit, Miss Suzy threw a pizza party for the children. The day of my visit they were going to make their own individual pizzas (I did not get to view that part of the day). I noticed that during circle time, two children seemed uninterested had wandered off. Miss Suzy did not do anything about it, she just let them be. I thought that was wrong of her because the two children were not being involved. The children could of already known what they were speaking about. If that was the case she should of given them some work to do. When circle time was over, Miss Suzy asked eachchild which part of the room they wanted to play in. Students chose dramatic play, arts and crafts, reading, and playing on the computer. Miss Suzy walked around each group asking them questions, expanding their imaginations. Morrison states "that teachers work with gingival children, small groups" (2003, p.232). Watching Miss Suzy, you can see she really enjoys what she does. She never once ignored a student who went up to her. She seemed genuily interested when the children shared stories with her. She always welcomed them with a hug when walking into the room in the morning to begin their day, and the children would come in running to hug her. Section C When the children walked into the classroom, they all seemed excited and eager to start their day. Miss Suzy greeted each student with respect and a smile on her face. Every child seemed to know where

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