How to Become More Observant of Your Surroundings

A classic example of naturalistic observation can be found in many experimental psychology courses. In one study, a student researcher stands on a corner with a stop sign. Another example of naturalistic observation is a study at a local mall or shopping center.

Naturalistic observation is used to observe people in their natural setting, participant observation involves becoming an active member of the group being observed, structured observation involves coding a small number of behaviors in a quantitative manner, case studies are typically used to collect in-depth …

1. Be Aware of Your Instincts. We all get those unexplainable feelings sometimes.
2. Ask Questions.
3. Keep Tabs on Body Language.
4. Get Rid of Distractions.
5. Use All of Your Senses.
6. Keep Up With Local News.
7. Take Photographs.
8. The Key To Being Observant is to Slow Down.

Tips for Beginners

1. Open up Your Spirit. In addition to clearing your mind of all thoughts and stresses, you must open up your energy to the people and possibilities around you.
2. Seeing and Not Seeing. Take a few moments to truly see the person sitting near you.
3. Focus on the Person.
4. Begin a Conversation.

Here are her 9 tips for reading others:

1. Create a baseline.
2. Look for deviations.
3. Notice clusters of gestures.
4. Compare and contrast.
5. Look into the mirror.
6. Identify the strong voice.
7. Observe how they walk.
8. Pinpoint action words.

How do you practice observing your own thoughts?

1. Teach your child that thoughts are like trains that come and go through a busy station; they can simply stand on platform and watch the trains go by.
2. Explain that when the train (thought) arrives, sometimes it just passes by and sometimes it stops for a while.