Glossary / Lexicon

Infrequent observation refers to the idea that supervisors do not see most of an employee"s behavior.

In the psychology context, infrequent observation refers to the method of collecting data by observing behavior or phenomena that occur rarely or intermittently. It is a type of naturalistic observation that involves studying behaviors or events that do not occur often enough to be predicted in advance or can be manipulated in a laboratory setting.

Infrequent observation can be used to study a wide range of phenomena, including:

1. Rare behaviors: Behaviors that occur infrequently, such as aggression, self-injury, or substance abuse, can be studied using infrequent observation methods.

2. Natural disasters: Natural disasters like earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, etc., can be studied using this method.

3. Uncommon medical conditions: Medical conditions that occur infrequently, such as rare genetic disorders or rare forms of cancer, can be studied using this method.

4. Interactions between species: Rare interactions between different animal species can be studied using this method.

Infrequent observation is useful when researchers want to study behaviors or phenomena that are difficult to observe in controlled settings. However, it can be challenging to collect data using this method as the researcher must be present at the right time and place to observe the behavior or phenomenon of interest. Additionally, the data collected through this method may not be representative of the entire population due to the rarity of the observed behavior.