OBSERVATIONAL STUDY

OBSERVATIONAL STUDYFind a bus stop, lounge area, cafeteria, or some other public place where you can sit and take notes for a period of at least 2 - 3 hours. The RPAC and the Oval are off limits for this assignment. Observe people interacting there and record these observations in the form of detailed notes. Be sensitive to the elements of social behavior discussed in lecture and the first few chapters of the Shaefer book. It will require more than one time period to complete your observations. At a minimum you should plan on a preliminary observation period to verify that the setting is adequate to generate analyzable observations and one or more later periods in which to do the actual observations. Focus on particular social behaviors, non-obvious normative guidelines individuals and groups are following, as well as behaviors that you see being repeated in the setting you have selected.You will write a research report on your findings, to be turned in on the specific date noted by your recitation leader. Your report should include three components, each receiving roughly equal weight in the write-up:1) adescription of the setting where the observations occurred, and a summary of the key observations made. 2) An analysis and interpretation of these observations using some of the concepts developed in the text, lecture, and recitation, and perhaps even some of the theories we’ve been talking about. Overall, you should demonstrate an awareness of some of the unconscious, unspoken assumptions underlying social behavior, and underlying the interpretation of social acts. It is important that you separate your observations (#1, above) clearly and cleanly from the interpretation you develop of these observations. The observations should be objective, neutral reports of behavior. The interpretation should be defensible and grounded in concepts from the class and/or the textbook. Such conceptual discussion might include, for instance:conformity hierarchy ethnocentrismsubcultures norms deviancesocialization roles impression management3) A reflective discussion about your own behaviors, and specifically whether you see ways in which your everyday life is structured and patterned in everyday routines or interactions like those that you observed. How did socialization in your own life play a role in this process?The paper should be approximately 3-4 pages long, typewritten, and double-spaced. Do not turn in your field notes, but keep these notes until after the assignment is graded and returned. We may need to see them at some pointTwo final notes:• See your syllabus for penalty rules on late assignments, and how assignments should be turned in.

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