Emma, a psychologist, wants to study the relationship that exists among college girls who stay in hostels. She disguises herself as a college student and shares a dorm with some girls for a month. During her stay, she observes their various behaviors and makes notes when the girls are fast asleep. Which of the following is best exemplified in this scenario?

A. a double-blind experiment Incorrect
B. naturalistic observation Correct
C. experimenter bias
D. the placebo effect

b. naturalistic observation

Explanation:

In research, there are many methods of collecting data for a study. One of these methods is the naturalistic observation.

Naturalistic observation consists in observing the subjects of our study in their natural environment instead of using a laboratory to collect the data. Also, there is no manipulation of variables from the researcher but just observations on the behaviors of the subjects.

In this example, Emma wants to study the relationship that exists among college girls who stay in hostels. She then disguises herself as a college student and shares a dorm with some girls for a month, she observes their behaviors and makes notes. We can see that she is observing the subjects of her study (the college girls) in their natural environment (the dorms) and she is making observations on their behaviors without doing any manipulation. Therefore this would be an example of naturalistic observation.