CLASS OBSERVATION EXPERIMENT

Amber Parham
Methods
Participants
Two hundred and twenty-six individuals (110 male, 116 female) were observed at
random, without their knowledge, while driving through the exits of major grocery stores in
southeastern Indiana. Individuals who could not be seen due to tinted windows or other vehicles
obstructing the view were not included. Approximate age was recorded in one of three ranges:
16-30 years (51 individuals), 30-50 years (115 individuals), and 50+ years (60 individuals).
Materials
A checklist was constructed with six pieces of information to be recorded about the
subjects and their use of cell phones while operating a vehicle. The materials used for this study
included a pen and paper to record findings, as well as a computer to submit results in an
electronic format.
Procedure
Sixteen researchers performed a disguised naturalistic observation study. The researchers
parked near exits of parking lots and observed as many drivers as possible leaving the parking
lots, in a 15 to 30-minute window between 7:30 AM and 6:00PM over the course of 5 days in
November of 2015. The following characteristics were recorded for each driver: gender, cell
phone use (whether the subject was texting, talking or not using a cell phone), age range of
participant (16-29 years of age, 30-50 years of age, or over age 50), and age of the vehicle (new
or old). The date and time of day (7:30 to noon, 12:00 to 3:00, or 3:00 to 6:00) of the observation
were also recorded, and at minimum, each researcher observed 10 cars. After the observation
was complete, data were entered in an online electronic database.

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Results

Two hundred and twenty six subjects were observed, 116 females and 110 males.
Approximately 53% of females were texting, 68% were talking, and 42% were not texting or
talking while driving. About 47% of males were texting, 32% were talking, and 58% were not
texting or talking while driving. As for age range, 47% of the females were between ages 16 and
30, 58% were ages 30-50, and 40% were age 50 and older. For the males, nearly 53% were
between ages 16 and 30, 42% were ages 30-50, and 60% were age 50 and older. These findings
indicate that overall, there were more females observed talking and texting on cell phones while
driving than men. It is also noted that there were significantly more subjects between the ages of
30 and 50 observed, in comparison to all other age groups.

140
120
100
80
Number of Subjects

60
40
20
0
Talking

Texting
Use of Cell Phone

Neither