Sandi believes that people who eat at McDonald's are overweight, so she decides to do a naturalistic observation of people who eat at McDonald's. What should most concern us about Sandi's observations?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Sandi's belief that people who eat at McDonald's are overweight may bias her observations, leading her to focus only on observing the people who appear to be overweight and overlooking those who do not fit her belief. This is observer bias. The observer effect refers to the potential influence of the observer on the behavior being observed, but it is less of a concern here as Sandi likely cannot influence the eating habits of the McDonald's patrons. The bystander effect relates to the tendency of people to not intervene in an emergency situation when others are present, and this concept does not apply to the scenario presented. Subject bias refers to the influence of the participant's expectations or own beliefs on their behavior, and while it is possible that the participants may exhibit subject bias, it is not the primary concern in this situation.

Sandi Believes That People Who Eat at McDonald's Are Overweight