How do psychologists study behaviour through observation and self-report, and how are these designed?
Non-experimental methods: observation (naturalistic, controlled, participant, non-participant, overt, covert; behavioural categories and sampling) and self-report (questionnaires and interviews; open and closed questions; designing good questions).
An Eduqas A-Level Psychology answer to observation and self-report methods in Component 2. Covers types of observation, behavioural categories, event and time sampling, questionnaires and interviews, open and closed questions, and the strengths and weaknesses of each method.
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What this dot point is asking
Component 2 covers non-experimental methods as well as experiments. You must know the types of observation (and how to design one with behavioural categories and sampling) and the types of self-report (questionnaires and interviews, with open and closed questions), and evaluate each.
The answer
Observation
Self-report
Strengths and weaknesses
- Observation. Captures real behaviour (especially naturalistic and covert, high ecological validity); but observer bias and low control, and covert observation raises ethical issues.
- Questionnaires. Quick, cheap, large samples, replicable; but low response rates, social desirability and no chance to clarify.
- Interviews. Rich, detailed data and the chance to follow up; but time-consuming, harder to analyse, and prone to interviewer effects.
Examples in context
Example 1. Why covert observation raises ethics. Covert observation gives natural behaviour because participants do not know they are watched, but they cannot consent and may be deceived. This is acceptable for public behaviour but not for private behaviour, showing the trade-off between validity and ethics.
Example 2. Social desirability in self-report. Asked "How often do you help others?", people may overstate their helpfulness to look good (social desirability). This is why self-report data can be invalid and why anonymous questionnaires and careful question wording help.
Try this
Q1. Distinguish between event sampling and time sampling. [2 marks]
- Cue. Event sampling records every occurrence of a target behaviour; time sampling records what is happening at fixed intervals (for example every 30 seconds).
Q2. Explain one weakness of using a questionnaire. [2 marks]
- Cue. Respondents may answer untruthfully due to social desirability, response rates can be low, and there is no opportunity to clarify or follow up answers.
Q3. Write one open and one closed question about exam stress. [2 marks]
- Cue. Closed: "Do you feel stressed before exams? Yes / No." Open: "Describe how you feel in the week before an exam."
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of WJEC Eduqas exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
Eduqas 20186 marksA psychologist wants to observe aggression in a school playground. Explain how they could use behavioural categories and one sampling method. [6 marks]Show worked answer →
An application item on observational design (AO2).
Behavioural categories: break "aggression" into observable, mutually exclusive behaviours that can be tallied, for example hitting, pushing, kicking, name-calling and threatening gestures. These operationalise the behaviour so observers can record it reliably.
Sampling method: event sampling (record every instance of a target behaviour during the observation) is suitable for infrequent behaviours like aggression, so none are missed. Alternatively time sampling (record what is happening at fixed intervals, for example every 30 seconds) reduces the recording load but may miss events between intervals.
Markers reward clear, operationalised behavioural categories and an appropriate, explained sampling method.
Eduqas 20218 marksCompare the use of questionnaires and interviews as self-report methods. [8 marks]Show worked answer →
A comparison item (AO1/AO3).
Questionnaires: can collect data from many people quickly and cheaply, are easy to analyse if closed questions are used, and are replicable; but response rates can be low, people may answer untruthfully (social desirability) and there is no chance to clarify or follow up.
Interviews: structured interviews are replicable; unstructured and semi-structured interviews allow follow-up questions and rich, detailed data; but they are time-consuming, harder to analyse, and prone to interviewer effects and social desirability.
A strong comparison notes that questionnaires suit large-scale, quantitative data while interviews suit in-depth, qualitative data, trading breadth for depth. Markers reward developed comparison points.
Related dot points
- The experimental method: types of experiment (laboratory, field, natural, quasi), independent and dependent variables and operationalisation, hypotheses, extraneous and confounding variables and controls, and experimental designs (independent groups, repeated measures, matched pairs).
An Eduqas A-Level Psychology answer to the experimental method in Component 2. Covers laboratory, field, natural and quasi experiments, independent and dependent variables, operationalisation, hypotheses, extraneous and confounding variables, controls, and the three experimental designs with their strengths and weaknesses.
- Correlation (co-variables, positive, negative and zero correlations, correlation coefficients, scattergrams, correlation does not equal causation) and case studies (in-depth study of an individual or small group, qualitative data, strengths and weaknesses).
An Eduqas A-Level Psychology answer to correlation and case studies in Component 2. Covers co-variables, positive, negative and zero correlations, correlation coefficients and scattergrams, why correlation is not causation, and the strengths and weaknesses of case studies.
- Sampling (target population, sample, random, opportunity, volunteer, systematic and stratified sampling; bias and generalisability) and ethics (the BPS principles: informed consent, deception, right to withdraw, protection from harm, confidentiality, and dealing with ethical issues).
An Eduqas A-Level Psychology answer to sampling and ethics in Component 2. Covers target populations and samples, random, opportunity, volunteer, systematic and stratified sampling, sampling bias and generalisability, and the BPS ethical principles with ways of dealing with ethical issues.
- Reliability (internal and external; test-retest, inter-observer; how to assess and improve it) and validity (internal and external; face, concurrent, ecological, temporal and population validity; demand characteristics and investigator effects; how to assess and improve it).
An Eduqas A-Level Psychology answer to reliability and validity in Component 2. Covers internal and external reliability, test-retest and inter-observer reliability, internal and external validity, face, concurrent, ecological, temporal and population validity, demand characteristics and investigator effects, and how to assess and improve each.
- Descriptive statistics: measures of central tendency (mean, median, mode), measures of dispersion (range, standard deviation), levels of measurement (nominal, ordinal, interval), percentages and ratios, and presenting data (tables, bar charts, histograms, scattergrams).
An Eduqas A-Level Psychology answer to descriptive statistics in Component 2. Covers the mean, median and mode, range and standard deviation, levels of measurement, percentages and ratios, and how to present quantitative data in tables, bar charts, histograms and scattergrams, with worked calculations.
Sources & how we know this
- Eduqas GCE A Level in Psychology (A290) specification — Eduqas (2015)