Whether it is in the mall, on a park bench, or just while walking to class on campus, have you ever found yourself people watching? In all honesty, I believe everyone has done it at one time or another. I think that by nature we cannot help but be overwhelmingly curious at times about what others around us look like, how they behave, their conversations, and so on. One of the concepts we learned about in our third lecture is Naturalistic Observation, which is a common method of psychological research. Specifically, Naturalistic Observation involves observing humans or animals in their natural environment. What I find particularly interesting regarding this method of research is the fact that each of us “naturally” evaluates these observations in our minds almost instinctively. For example, when we see an individual walking down the street dragging his or her feet, maybe staring at the ground, we begin to develop theories in our mind about the person. For instance, we may think to ourselves, why is the person walking like that? Is she or he depressed? Or, could the individual even be dangerous?  In all reality we might hypothesize a hundred scenarios that could be the cause of that individual’s behavior.

Another example is when I was sitting on a park bench one day not long ago and saw a couple go by holding hands. At first glance I thought both individuals were happy being with one another, but upon taking a closer look, watching the couple’s body language and hearing their tone of voice, I realized that they were actually arguing.

I believe that we instinctively psychoanalyze one another when we naturally observe each other in everyday settings. You may disagree and say that when we subconsciously watch people we are merely generating stereotypes in our minds based on misconceptions we have created over our lifetime. However, I think when we take time to observe one another it is not just because we get distracted for a moment from the task at hand, or that we suddenly care about someone’s distress, happiness, or the interesting outfit they put on today. It is because most people are genuinely curious about not only our own strange antics and habits, but also those of others. Furthermore, I think that we can find many of the answers we are looking for regarding what triggers humans to act or dress a certain way by naturally observing them as innocent bystanders.

One of the major issues that confronts researchers with Naturalistic Observations is the Hawthorne Effect, which explains how people often change their behavior when they know they are being watched. How can this problem be solved while also following ethical procedures regarding psychological research? Obviously, it would not be ethical to go to a nearby park and hide in the woods with a video camera and notebook to observe and document children’s behavior. In psychology researchers are often involved in covert naturalistic observation, which allows them to observe behaviors in their natural contexts without any intervention or influence by the researcher and without participants knowing they’re being observed. Covert Naturalistic Observation enables researchers to see people’s behavior in their natural setting, and thus to observe what is really happening outside of an official study environment.  Research psychologists believe that the best use of covert naturalistic observation is for studying how groups of people interact in public.  I think that one of the best ways for psychology to move forward and discover more about the human mind is through Naturalistic Observation, and I know that any individual can contribute to new findings regarding human behavior just from what they witness on a daily basis.