OBSERVATIONAL RESEARCH
Overview
Observational research is type of correlational (i.e., nonexperimental) research in which a researcher observes ongoing behavior. There are a variety of types of observational research, each of which has both strengths and weaknesses. These types are organized below by the extent to which an experimenter intrudes upon or controls the environment.
Naturalistic Observation
Naturalistic observation, also known as nonparticipant observation, has no intervention by a researcher. It is simply studying behaviors that occur naturally in natural contexts, unlike the artificial environment of a controlled laboratory setting. Importantly, in naturalistic observation, there is no attempt to manipulate variables.
He and seven associates went to different mental institutions and simply said they were hearing voices. They were all admitted to the hospitals, despite the fact that they all acted normally. The range of stays in the hospitals was from a low of 9 days to a high of 52 days (yikes!). It seems the people who knew the researchers weren't real patients were the real patients themselves! When the eight were discharged, it wasn't on the basis of misdiagnosis but "schizophrenia in remission." Rosenhan would have never been able to have the insight into how labels, diagnoses, and treatments were given without acting as a participant in the observation.
Example 2: Leon Festinger (1956) - Doomsday Cult
Festinger was interested in cult members' attitudes and beliefs. Of course, you cannot use naturalistic observation in this study, so the reasonable alternative was participant observation. How did Festinger do this? He joined the cult (and obviously, didn't tell them he was a psychologist). This particular cult thought the world was going to end on a particular day. Festinger was interested in how the beliefs and attitudes of the cult's members would react when (or...if?) the world didn't end. When that date came and went, most people would probably think belief in the cult would wane. Amazingly, after the world didn't end, the strength of the cult members' beliefs actually increased. Why? Because they thought the world didn't end because of their prayers.