Students conducted a naturalistic observation to study whether people arriving at the library alone would be more likely to hold the door open for a person coming in immediately after them than would people who arrived in pairs.The students made their observations looking through the window of a classroom building across from the library.They chose this observation sight to avoid the potential problem of
A)demand characteristics.
B)observer bias.
C)reactivity.
D)unrepresentative sampling.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Reactivity refers to a change in behavior that occurs because an individual is being observed. Since the students are observing from a distance, they are less likely to influence the behavior of those entering the library, reducing the potential for reactivity. The other options (demand characteristics, observer bias, unrepresentative sampling) are not relevant to the choice of observation location, but rather potential sources of error in the study design or data analysis.

Students Conducted a Naturalistic Observation to Study Whether People Arriving