PDU 214 Methods of Observation & Interviewing: Observations

OBSERVATIONAL 
SKILLS & TECHNIQUES (1)
PDU 214 METODE OBSERVASI & WAWANCARA
SEMESTER GENAP 2014/2015
Fakultas Psikologi Universitas Katolik Indonesia Atma Jaya
KULIAH II - 26 JANUARI 2015

Ardhiati © 2015PDU 214 METODE OBSERVASI & WAWANCARA
What is the FIRST STEP 
of doing observation and/or interview?

What is the FIRST STEP 
of doing observation and/or interview?
KNOWING your participants.

Rapport
Rapport is a process of 
establishing and sustaining a
relationship between the 
interviewer/researcher and
interviewee/participant by 
creating feelings of 
goodwill and trust.
(Stewart & Cash, 2013, p. 81)
IMAGE CREDIT: pixelstar on stock.xchng

Nonverbal communication
…is critical in creating a good ﬁrst impression and establishing your legitimacy. 
It signals sincerity, trust and trustworthiness, warmth, and interest.
ICON CREDITS: Street-View by iconsmind.com, Person by Paulo Sá Ferreira,, 
Touch by Ana María Lora Macias; from the Noun Project
IMAGE CREDIT: School of Communication, Arts, and Social Sciences on sp.edu.sg
(Stewart & Cash, 2013, p. 85-86)
You entering another’s space, 
and any perceived violation 
of this territory may begin 
an interview/observation 
poorly.
Territoriality
Appearance and dress 
contribute a great deal 
to ﬁrst impressions.
Face, Appearance, 
and Dress
Touching is generally 
appropriate only when both 
parties have an established 
and close relationship.
Touch

THE 
DEFINITION
ICON CREDIT: Handshake by Pavel Pavlova from the Noun Project

The definition
ob·ser·va·tion
/ˌäbzərˈvāSHən/
noun
noun: observation; plural noun: observations
1. [MASS NOUN] the action or process of closely
observing or monitoring something 
or someone:
“she was brought into hospital for observation”
“units kept enemy forces under observation for days”
[COUNT NOUN] detailed observations were
carried out on the students' behaviour
1.1. the ability to notice things, especially
significant details:
“his powers of observation”
1.2. the act of taking the altitude of the sun
or another celestial body to find a
latitude or longitude.
2. a statement based on something one has
seen, heard, or noticed:
“he made a telling observation about Hughie”
(Oxford Dictionary)

The deﬁnition
SO…
OBSERVATION 
IS ACTUALLY 
SOMETHING 
WE’VE BEEN DOING 
ON DAILY BASIS.

Observation as a ‘regular’ activity
We found these situations and made observations about them, 
sometimes without realizing what we’re actually doing.

IMAGE CREDIT: G’Day Bklyn on gdaybklyn.com

IMAGE CREDIT: Avenged Sevenfold on instagram.com/avengedsevenfold/

So…
what’s the diﬀerence between 
a person as a daily ‘regular’ activity observer and 
a person as a scientiﬁc observer?

So…
what’s the diﬀerence between 
a person as a daily ‘regular’ activity observer and 
a person as a scientiﬁc observer?
LET’S DISCUSS!

WHY
BEHAVIOUR?
ICON CREDIT: Handshake by Pavel Pavlova from the Noun Project

What is behaviour?
be|hav¦iour
/bɪˈheɪvjə/
noun
1. [MASS NOUN] the way in which one acts or
conducts oneself, especially towards
others:
“he will vouch for her good behaviour"
“his insulting behaviour towards me”
[AS MODIFIER] “behaviour patterns”
[COUNT NOUN] “management is a set of techniques
and behaviours for getting things done”
1.1. the way in which an animal or
person behaves in response to a
particular situation or stimulus:
“the feeding behaviour of predators”
1.2. the way in which a machine or
natural phenomenon works or
functions:
“the erratic behaviour of the old car”
(Oxford Dictionary)

Why not ‘still images’?
What is
happening?
IMAGE CREDIT: ocdtalk on ocdtalk.wordpress.com

What is 
he thinking?

How does 
she feel?
IMAGE CREDIT: Getty Images on mirror.co.uk

What kind of 
person is he?

We make inferences 
about someone’s ‘personality’ 
through their behaviours.

We make inferences 
about someone’s ‘personality’ 
through their behaviours.
So, it’s important for us 
focusing our attention to the behaviours, 
not our assumptions or conclusions about them,
while we’re observing.

She’s ﬂirtious? He’s seeking attention? She’s easy?
IMAGE CREDITS: Rachel Roszmann on blog.lakeside.com; 
WikiHow on wikihow.com

She’s allergic to dust His voice volume is high She’s afraid of strangers

Human behaviours are all about the patterns.

Why behaviour?
We’re able to recognize their ‘personality’ 
by identifying the patterns

Why behaviour?
We’re able to recognize their ‘personality’ 
by identifying the patterns
…by observing their behaviour.

WHY 
OBSERVE?
ICON CREDIT: Binoculars by Mister Pixel from the Noun Project

Why observe?
What they said they’re doing
IMAGE CREDITS: Free Education Ideas on freeeducationideas.com; 
Liz Lockhart on mentalhealthy.co.uk

Why observe?
What they said they’re doing What they’re actually doing
IMAGE CREDITS: Free Education Ideas on freeeducationideas.com; 
Liz Lockhart on mentalhealthy.co.uk

Why observe?
We don’t always know 
what is going to interest or appeal; 
only our behaviour shows that.
You study behaviour 
not just for its own sake 
but it reﬂects those elusive internal
states that underlie what people do, 
and of which they may not be aware.
(Gillham, 2008, p. 18)
IMAGE CREDIT: Julia Dewanti on jdewantiart.deviantart.com

Want to know more?
Gillham, B. (2008). Observation techniques: Structured to
unstructured. London: Continuum International Publishing
Group.
Sattler, J.M. (1992). Assessment of children (3rd ed.). San Diego,
California: Jerome M. Sattler, Publisher, Inc.

PDU 214 Methods of Observation & Interviewing: Observations

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