Explore your ideas and connect social psychology to daily life. The Observation of Social Behavior project is an integrative assignment that supports synthesis and the third learning outcome for the course:
explain and analyze the underlying causes of behaviors to inform decisions in social, personal, and professional interactions
Objective: Design, conduct, and report on a brief study that uses naturalistic observation in a public/communal space to answer a research question you develop on a topic related to social psychology.
Submit a APA style research paper, that communicates how specific topics, theories, and research findings discussed in this course shaped: 1) your research question, 2) the approach applied and behaviors observed, and 3) your understanding of the observation(s) upon conclusion.
Instructions Summary: The principal steps for the assignment are…
Choose a topic or theory covered within the course content (e.g., altruism, attraction, conformity, gender, group influence, persuasion).
Research the topic using the UMGC Library to learn more about it.
Develop a research question you would like to explore through naturalistic observation. Question must be answerable through observation.
Create your observation strategy that will enable you to explore your research question. Include in this planning data collection/coding strategies.
Conduct the observation and evaluate the qualitative data collected.
Write and submit for grading a well-composed, 6- to 8-page APA-style formatted Observation of Social Behavior research paper. Included in the submitted document will be an Appendix containing Annotated Abstracts.