观察性研究
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Overview
资料来源： 实验室的加里 · 斯基、 戴夫 Strohmetz 和娜塔莉 Ciarocco — — 蒙茅斯大学
如果你想知道别人的想法或感觉，你可以问问那个人的问题。 另一种方法是观察的人如何行事或寻找他们在过去的行动指标。虽然观点看似揭示，它并不总是容易知道它们是否真正精确了。例如，你可能会看到一个人微笑，假定他们是快乐的当在现实生活中他们恼火并不仅仅出于礼貌。
科学的目的是要超越个人拥有自我的意见，因为他们本来就被扭曲了，个人的期望，以前经验，个人的偏见、 动机、 情感等。尽管一个人可能有独特深入了解一个人的自我，这些见解可能不能准确代表现实。更简单地说，什么一个人说，不总是匹配好与他们实际上做了什么。为此，研究人员应纳入各种措施 （例如，要求参与者报告他们的感受，但也观察到实际行为） 为了更准确地捕捉一个人的真正感觉。
该视频演示了相关的设计，在那里研究人员衡量学生的思乡之情在两种截然不同的方式: （1) 思乡之情的规模，和 （2） 通过观察学生是怎么布置他或她的宿舍里。
心理研究经常在其他科学中使用高比研究的样本量。大量的参与者有助于确保更好地代表了正在研究人口，即，伴随着研究人类行为的误差范围是充分地说明。在本视频中，我们证明本实验使用只是一个参与者。然而，所代表的结果，我们可以使用共 63 名参与者得出的实验结论的情况。
Procedure
Results
After collecting data from 63 people, a correlation was performed between the participants’ score on the homesickness scale and the observer’s score of their room to determine if a visual inspection of a student’s room can indicate their degree of homesickness (Figure 2). The results indicate that participants who scored higher on the homesickness scale had more indicators of homesickness in their dorm room.
The results of this study are similar to another study by Gosling and colleagues, which showed that individuals’ offices and living spaces were good indicators of their personality.2
Figure 2. Correlation between Homesickness Scale and dorm room observation scores.
Applications and Summary
This correlational study shows that a person’s behavior, even something as simple as how they decorate their room, can indicate how they feel (i.e., how homesick they are).
Using observations of another person to infer that person’s feelings or thoughts can be difficult. However, research has found evidence that we can be accurate in our observational inferences. A study in Psychological Science found that observers could accurately infer personality characteristics from a person’s Facebook profile.3
References
- Archer, J., Ireland, J., Amos, S., Broad, H., & Currid, L. Derivation of homesickness scale. British Journal of Psychology. 89 (2), 205-221. doi:10.1111/j.2044-8295.1998.tb02681.x (1998).
- Gosling, S. D., Ko, S., Mannarelli, T., & Morris, M. E. A room with a cue: Personality judgments based on offices and bedrooms. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 82 (3), 379-398. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.82.3.379 (2002).
- Back, M. D., Stopfer, J. M., Vazire, S., Gaddis, S., Schmukle, S. C., Egloff, B., & Gosling, S. D. Facebook profiles reflect actual personality, not self-idealization. Psychological Science. 21 (3), 372-374. doi:10.1177/0956797609360756 (2010).
Transcript
Observational research incorporates a variety of measurement methods to accurately capture authentic information.
For example, psychologists use questionnaires to inquire how someone thinks or feels, and individual observations to examine current or past behavior.
This video demonstrates how to design and perform an observational study, as well as how to analyze the data and interpret the results measuring students’ homesickness.
In this experiment, the notion of homesickness is investigated—defined here as the distress and functional impairment caused by an actual or anticipated separation from home and people and things you’re familiar with.
To measure homesickness level, two distinct methods are used to correlate participants’ perceptions of how they feel with actual observations.
In the first method, participants are given a questionnaire called the Homesickness Scale and asked to rate how true statements are to them on a scale of 1 to 4.
For the second method, participants’ apartments are observed by two individuals who are trained to look for evidence of homesickness, such as pictures of parents, family, friends from home; logos from their high school; and a low presence of university paraphernalia.
The hypothesis then is that participants who score highly on the homesickness questionnaire will have living spaces that also reflect how they feel.
To begin the experiment, guide each participant through the informed consent process, which consists of a brief description of the research and a sense of the procedure.
After handing the participant a packet that includes the Homesickness Scale and several other questionnaires, allow them time to complete all of the forms. Note that additional questionnaires are included to mask the true purpose of the study.
Once the participant has completed the questionnaires, instruct them to leave with two observers to visit their apartment. The same two observers visit all participants’ living spaces to ensure that scoring is unbiased and consistent.
When arriving at the apartment, confirm that you have permission to look around and then ask the participant to open drawers and closets. If any pictures are present, clarify who appears in them. Remember that both observers take notes of what they see during the visit.
At the end of the inspection, debrief the participant as to the true nature of the study and explain why deception was necessary. In the event that participants are experiencing any homesickness, refer them to the counseling center.
Immediately after the inspection, discuss and review observation notes and then score the participant’s level of homesickness on a scale of 1 to 7, with higher numbers corresponding to more evidence of homesickness.
To analyze the data, plot each participant’s score on the homesickness scale against the observer’s score of their apartment. Perform a correlational analysis to determine if a relationship exists between the two measures.
Notice that participants who scored higher on the homesickness scale had more indicators of homesickness in their room. Thus, the two measures are positively correlated.
Now that you are familiar with how experimental psychologists integrate observational measurements, let’s look at other ways observation can be applied.
Recently, researchers have found that observers looking at online profiles could accurately infer the personality characteristics of the person who made the profile.
In another study, researchers used a combination of clinical surveys and handwriting samples to investigate the link between fine motor control disorders and psychosis during adolescence.
In this case, individuals rated as high risk for psychosis had pen movements that were less smooth than controls, suggesting that handwriting could be used as a diagnostic tool.
You’ve just watched JoVE’s introduction to observational research. Now you should have a good understanding of how to setup and perform an experiment, as well as analyze and assess the results.
Thanks for watching!