Conduct an observation of human social behavior in a public place (i.e., supermarket, church, nightclub) but not in a private area (i.e., bathroom, bedroom). Specific references should be made in the observation to principles discussed in class. These may include: altruism, attraction, conformity, gender, group influence, persuasion and/or prejudice.
Project Components
Title page: On your title page, in addition to your name, e-mail address, course title and number, and title of your observation, name the site of the observation.
Goals: In this section, list two to three goals for your observation. You might want to view social behaviors between genders; examine social behaviors among ethnic/racial groups; or determine age related social behaviors in a group. Useful terms include investigate, discover, reveal, (one page).
Research question: For this observation , you must have a specific question or set of questions that you are trying to answer. You might explore, for example, whether participants in your setting have any characteristic behaviors which are observable. In this section, state the question you are trying to answer. Your question must be detailed and specific. For example, are there distinguishable behaviors that lead a man to ask a woman to dance in a bar setting?; What are the specific behaviors of people who are paying attention in church?; Do older people influence the behavior of younger people?
Populations: Are there specific typologies that can be formed based on the social behaviors observed? For example, “Cautious Carl” is the driver who has both hands on the wheel, drives no faster than the speed limit, and maintains a serious look on his face. “Smiling Samantha” is the woman who talks to all the people she passes in the supermarket aisle.
Abstracts: Locate five abstracts from social psychological literature relating to your observation. Attach the abstracts to your paper and explain how the research helps form the research question for your observation.