Naturalistic Observations Journal Assignment | Homework Help Websites

PY411 Social Psychology

Naturalistic Observations Guidelines

NATURALISTIC OBSERVATIONS.  Students will be asked to conduct naturalistic observations of social phenomena in a variety ofsettings. Observations will focus on social psychological principles studied in class.  Students will be asked to keep and submit a journal detailing their observations.  The journal may include written entries, photographs, and other supporting materials.

Each student will be required to engage in three observations and report on their observations in a journal. When doing your observations, you will need to refer to your textbook to provide a context for what you are seeing.

Each student will choose one area of social psychology as the focus of their observations. Some possible areas relate to observing people in settings that have:

• high population density
• noise
• competition for resources (like a store sale)
• possible stereotype/prejudice
• mob mentality
• group interactions

Possible settings include, but are not limited to:

• A large cultural venue, such as a museum
• A large department store
• Traveling on mass transit (MARTA)
• Dining in an urban restaurant or café
• Taking a walk through downtown

• Hiking in a public park
• Going into a country store
• Going to a winery in the countryside

Journals should describe your experience in depth, including what you saw, when, where and how you reacted to it.  As you move through your observations, please take pictures/video and gather supporting materials to include in your journal. The idea is to give the reader an idea of your experience in light of social psychological principles relating to the environment and urbanization.

Note that your observations should be documented in such a way that you will have as much information as possible to reference when writing your corresponding Observations Analysis Paper.

Journals will be graded according to the attached grading rubric. Journal entries should be submitted in a Word document and include an APA style cover page and APA style in-text citations as needed, along with an APA references page.

PY411 Social Psychology

Observations Journal Grading Rubric

Name of student:       ______________________________________

Group #/Topic:          ______________________________________

Assessment Criteria                          Grade                        

                                                            (0 – 10)

Threeobservations                             _____________

Description/supporting materials     _____________

Social Psych context                          _____________

Personal reaction/insight                  _____________

Writing/grammar                              _____________

Comments:

Grade ___________

(out of total 50 possible)