Social
Psychology 210
Situational
Observations - Research Project
Due
by 5pm not before April 4 and not after April 26
(choose your own
due date and submit by March 28th)
Social
Psychology 210 -- Dordt College
-- Dr. Sherri Lantinga
Purpose
Social psychologists
use observations, surveys, and experiments to study situational and personal
factors that affect behavior. In this project, you will make
careful observations of various situations to study territoriality, use
of personal space, or social norms. The purpose of this assignment
is to familiarize you with this methodology and to make you more conscious
of how subtle situational factors shape everyday behavior.
Making
Your Observations
Choose
one of the
following topics for your project:
-
Territoriality:
analysis of territorial markers in 3 locations
-
Personal
space: analysis of personal space negotiations among 12 different sets
of people
-
Social
norms: analysis of behavioral patterns in 3 situations
Each project has different
requirements, as shown below. For each project, make every attempt
to be objective, careful, and detailed.
-
Territoriality:
-
Observe and
analyze all of the territorial markers in 3 different locations:
1 primary (NOT your own), 1 secondary, and 1 public territory.
-
Depending
on the territory you are analyzing, you may need to get permission to enter
and analyze what you find.
-
For each location,
sketch the general layout (including "access points" like doors, etc.).
-
Write notes
about the different kinds of verbal and non-verbal markers you observe
and where they are located in the space
-
Personal
Space:
-
For each of
3 different locations, observe and analyze personal space among at least
4 different interpersonal interactions (for a total of at least 12 interactions).
It will be easiest if you observe pairs of other people rather than larger
groups. You should NOT observe interactions of which you're a part.
-
For each location,
discreetly write notes about the kind of situation (e.g., public theater,
private room) and its physical aspects (e.g., room size, lighting, background
noise, level of crowding).
-
Also note
characteristics of the people you observe (e.g., gender, age, height) as
well as their rough interpersonal distance and body position (e.g., completely
facing each other, turned to the side). Try to choose people randomly
(e.g., every third person) instead of just picking people you think are
most interesting.
-
Finally, note
how the interacting people negotiated their interpersonal distance (e.g.,
moving back, eye contact changes).
-
Social
Norms:
-
For each of
3 different public social situations (e.g., restaurant, church), look for
at least 3 social norms or common patterns of behavior (e.g., clothing
style, greeting rituals).
-
For each location,
discreetly write notes about the kind of situation and its physical aspects
(e.g., size of room, background noise, level of crowding).
-
Note which
people are the most likely to follow these patterns (e.g., older people)
and who is the least likely.
-
Finally, note
any reactions to norm violations (e.g., staring at an inappropriately dressed
woman).
You may go into the situations with a classmate and
discuss your observations together, but you must take separate notes and
hand in separate papers.
Writing
Your Paper
In 6 double-spaced typed pages, you will describe
your data, interpret or analyze its meaning, and reflect on what you found.
-
Description/Summary
(merely stating the facts without drawing any conclusions or making inferences
about what your data mean):
-
For the Space
and Norms options, summarize the physical/situational characteristics of
each location, the personal characteristics of the observed persons, and
the behaviors you observed
-
For the Territory
option, summarize the general layout of each location and the kinds of
markers found in each place.
-
Analysis/Interpretation:
-
For the Space
& Norms options, discuss how you think the situational or personal
factors you observed influenced the behaviors you observed. Also
discuss the extent to which you believe people were behaving entirely of
their own free and conscious will.
-
For the Territory
option, speculate about the territory "owner" based on the markers (e.g.,
are they "open" about their territory or very defensive?) and how an intruder
to the territory would know that they had indeed invaded.
-
For all options:
-
support
your statements with specific examples from your observations (e.g., "the
loud music seemed to decrease personal space; even people standing very
close were shouting but not about personal or intimate topics").
-
connect
your thinking to course materials (e.g. "wearing jeans to church reflected
a violation of a descriptive norm").
-
Conclusions/Reflections:
-
In 1-2 paragraphs,
describe what support you found for the "embedded" or relational self vs.
the "individualistic" self.
-
Include a
paragraph in which you reflect on how your experience of using scientific
observation differed from your usual perception of social situations.
-
Include 1-2
paragraphs on your personal reflections on the assignment. For example,
what did you expect to find that you didn't? How do you think situational
factors might be influencing your own social behavior? Other
thoughts or reflections?
-
Attach
your notes and sketches (they don't have to be neat and tidy).
Evaluation
Criteria
Papers are
worth 100 points and are due no later than 5pm on your chosen due date;
because
you are choosing your own due date, late papers will be penalized
20 points (20%) per day late. If you discover that your due date
is no longer good for your schedule/mental health, you may only request
a new due date that is earlier.
The best
papers will:
-
Include vivid
and clear summaries of the situations, personal characteristics, and behaviors
or markers observed
-
Include rich
insights into the implications of situational factors on the behavior of
individuals, including relevant support from data and clear connections
to course materials
-
Include insightful
reflections on evidence found for the nature of the self, thoughtful comparisons
of scientific vs. everyday observations, and personal connections
-
Be well-written
(few grammatical errors, well-organized)
-
Include your
notes and/or sketches
Graded
papers may be revised and returned to Dr. Lantinga for an opportunity
to earn up to half of the missed points.
-
Revised
papers must be submitted within 1 week of being returned to you and
the original paper with my comments must be attached.
-
For example,
if your paper is returned on April 11and you earned 80 points, you can
turn in a revised paper by April 18; depending on the quality of your revisions,
you could earn up to 10 additional points for a final grade of 90 points.
-
There is no
penalty for revising (so you could never lose points), although there is
a small chance that you would not earn any additional points.
page last revised January
12, 2002
Social Psych Syllabus