Lesson 1, History and Methods, provided an evolutionary framework of the development of the brain and the mind. One topic that was introduced was “methods in cognition,” which underlined four methodologies that are used during research studies (Bice). These four methods included, the experiment, naturalistic observations, controlled observations, and the investigations of neural underpinnings (Bice). For this blog posting, I am going to focus on naturalistic observations.

According to the notes provided, naturalistic observations occur in real-life settings (Bice). The observers or researchers, analyze their subjects’ behavior in their natural environments, without introducing any other influences. For example, when conducting a controlled experiment, researchers have authority to select their participants that they think will be important to the study. During naturalistic observations, this influence is not allowed. Using naturalistic observations decreases the chances of experiencing participant biases and also, increases the chances of containing results that are synonymous to the population. Disadvantages also arise in naturalistic observations. Naturalistic observations can be time-consuming, depending on what study is being conducted, and also the results can sometimes be difficult to attain because the participants are unaware of what they should, or should not be doing.

For my final project in statistics class, I had to conduct an experiment that allowed me to implement the tools that I have learned over the course of the semester in the class. I decided to administer a naturalistic observation of students who ate their meal in the dining hall, compared to those students who did not. At the time, I attended a branch campus, which only had one dining hall for all students who lived on campus. Therefore, it was easier for me to execute an experiment that was inclusive to majority of the on-campus living students. I observed the students for about a week, keeping in mind to alternate between lunch hours and dinner hours. I chose to observe the students on multiple days and at different hours because it is normal for people in their natural environment to switch their routines. At the completion of the observations, statistics were ran to identify the differences in the number of students who ate in the dining hall, compared those who did not.

With the use of a naturalistic observation, I was able to accurately observe which students preferred to eat in the dining halls and which students did not. Naturalistic observations are a great way to study cognitive processes because it eliminates chances of error in data because the subjects are unaware that the study is being conducted. However, it is also important for the researcher to be patient because the results of naturalistic observations may not be produced as quickly as the other three methodologies.

Reference:

Bice, Kinsey. “Lesson 1: History and Research Methods.” Methods in Cognition. 27 Jan. 2018.