Yr 10 Psychology Assessment Task 1

Title: Home Spacing Investigation

Abstract:
The aim is to make observations of human behaviour and to determine if humans utilise all
of the available space or congregate to in certain areas of the house.
My Hypothesis is that the groups of humans studied will utilise the family room, dining room
and kitchen and bedroom the most out of all available space.
1. Up to 3 members of the study group were selected to do your observations.
2. Each subject gets a code, in which you refer him or her to. E.g. Dad=D, Mum= M
3. Select a period of the day to do your observation in. E.g. 6pm-7pm
4. Observe and record every 5 minutes.
5. Do not record in the intervening period, only at the start of each 5-minute interval.
6. Fill in the chart with the subject’s codes and what they were doing at each
observation time.
7. Mark on the plan of the study area the location of each subject at the start of each
five-minute period. E.g. mark 1D, 1M for the first observation, 2D, 2M for the
second, ECT.
The materials I will need to use are: a stopwatch, a group of humans, Data sheets A (plan of
the area) and Data sheet B and pencils.
Introduction:
Behaviour is any observable action made by a living person, animal or thing. E.g. sleeping,
eating sneezing ECT.
Different types of behaviour are learned behaviour and innate/ instinctive behaviour.
In this experiment we are testing the behaviour and movement patterns of the subjects.
Results:
Time: Mum =M Dad =D Sister =S
1 Cp Co Cp
2 Cp Co Cp
3 TV TV Cp
4 TV TV Cp
5 TV TV Cp
6 C TV Cp
7 C TV Cp
8 M T M
9 C M Re
10 M TV Re
11 TV TV Re
12 TV TV Re

By Laura Newbould CMS3

Yr 10 Psychology Assessment Task 1

Categories... Data sheet B... (Key)

Reading= Re Sleeping= Sl
Eating= E Toilet= T
Drinking= D Moving= M
Talking= Ta Cooking= Co
T.V= TV Piano= P
Trumpet= Tr Cleaning= C
Backyard= B On the phone= OP
Out and about= OA Veranda= V
Computer= Cp
For graphs refer to attached sheet.
Discussion:
1. Was your hypothesis proved or disproved?
My Hypothesis is proved because everyone spent most their time watching TV in the
family room.
2. Which individual moved the most frequently? Which moved the least?
M moved most frequently and S moved the least.
3. Who moved the greatest distance? Who moved the least?
S moved the greater distance but only for a short time. D only went to the kitchen and
therefore moved the least.
4. What was the most common behaviour performed? Did the behaviour of each
individual very markedly over the observation period?
Watching TV was the most common thing during the observation. Everyone stayed in
the same room basically.
5. Did the time interval (5 mins) give a fair sample? Did you think it was too long or
too short?
It gave a good sample but it was too long because my subjects didn’t move much.
6. Was there an area where people tended to congregate in the house? Why?
Everyone congregated in the family room at one stage but not everyone stayed there.
This is because the TV is their and many other main things.
7. Were there any limitations to the experiment? How could you improve the
experiment if you were to repeat it?
I could improve it by choosing a busier time because no one moved.
8. Would you get different results at a different time of day? How could you get more
representative samples?
Yes, when everyone first gets home it’s the busiest because everyone is cooking dinner.
If we repeated this experiment we could gain representative samples to compare to.

By Laura Newbould CMS3

Yr 10 Psychology Assessment Task 1

9. Discuss and compare the results with someone else who has done a similar study.
How do results compare? Can you explain any differences?
There weren’t any differences, both experiments had the subjects congregating in the
family room and they both had similar behaviour.
10. What psychology code of ethics must be adhered to when completing this study?
Explain with the reference to the research completed? E.g. Voluntary participation-
participants should not be forced to participate in the experiment.
Informed consent: they must be aware of the experiment and must give you approval to
continue the experiment.
Deception: participants must not be deceived over the nature of the research.
Debriefing: you must tell then the results.
Professional conduct: Guidelines to ensure psychologists conduct in their research in a
professional manner.
Conclusion:
The humans aren’t all randomly spaced because they are all in the family room.
My predictions were accurate as all family members stayed exactly where I said they would.
Once there is something on TV no one moves and they only move for a second to get a drink
or food. I choose I time that was late at night and everyone was tired and watching TV and
only moving for a certain thing.
Appendicis:
Refer to raw data collection.

By Laura Newbould CMS3

Yr 10 Psychology Assessment Task 1

Location:

By Laura Newbould CMS3

Yr 10 Psychology Assessment Task 1

Behaviour

By Laura Newbould CMS3