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Naturalistic Observation Examples

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Naturalistic observation is human nature. When we see others for the first time, we make assumptions about others in order to learn about them. Although we say not to judge a book by its cover, it is impossible to prevent ourselves from analyzing the outwards appearance of others. Just from the small amount of clues, we can find out information about their personality, their attitude, their socioeconomic status, their race, their activities, and more. Psychologists use naturalistic observation in order to describe the behaviors of others in a variety of environments, and this can lead to other studies, theories, experiments, and research. In my observation of a peer (I’ll call her Susan) that I do not know very well, I used her belongings, her appearance and clothing, and her behavior to make conclusions about her. First, the specifics of a Susan’s belongings tell us about her socioeconomic status and her opinion about school. The brand, size, and color of a person’s belongings are very important. For example, although two people own a phone, it is easier to infer …show more content…
For example, Susan sits at the tables in the front of the classroom everyday, and she always initiates conversations with the teacher and the other extroverted students. From this piece of information about Susan’s behavior, we can conclude that her personality includes high levels of extroversion, agreeableness, and openness. She feels comfortable being at the front and invites people to watch her. Moreover, she always holds her head high, and her motions are open and big rather than timid and small. She smiles at others a lot and seems to emphasize and dramatize her actions. As she walked through the Cafeteria on Day 3, she seemed to have a strut in her step. We can conclude that she participates in an activity that involves performance; she probably participates in drama or in

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