What are observational skills essential for a professional psychologist?
Psychologists as researchers and practitioners pay attention, watch and listen carefully. They use all their senses, noticing what is seen, heard, smelt, touched, tasted. A psychologist, thus, is like an instrument that absorbs all sources of information from the environment.
Psychologists should have training in objectives and systematic observation.
• They should have skill to observe various aspects of surrounding including people and varying events.
• Psychologists should engage in observing people and their actions with following precautions:
— Patience
— Optimistic curiosity
— Respecting clients privacy.
— Awareness of peoples reactions, emotions and motivation.
— Training good questions which could be answered during observation.
