Psychology – Overt

observations at London
zoo
By – Gurpreet + Nishma
+ Arthega
 Gibbons-fact file
• Gibbons (18 different species) are apes like gorillas, chimpanzees and humans. We share lots of things in
common with gibbons, like our enjoyment of singing and their ability to walk upright.
• Acrobatic animals that mostly live in Southern Asia
• Gibbons have long arms and hooked hands to help them swing through the branches at speeds up to 35
miles per hour.
• Gibbons are arboreal (spend most of their lives in trees) Because they are so dextrous (having skills
relating to their hands) while moving in the trees, there are few predators that can catch them.
• Their small, light frames also makes it easy for them to climb, swing, and leap through the treetops.
• Gibbons have senses very similar to ours, including hearing, sight, smell, taste, and touch.
• Gibbons are omnivores. They forage for food in the forests during the day, eating fruit, leaves, flowers,
seeds, tree bark, and tender plant shoots. They also eat insects, spiders, bird eggs, and small birds.
• Their habitat is disappearing rapidly and they are often captured and sold as pets or killed for use in
traditional medicines.
• Life expectancy is about 35-40 years.
 Aim – How physically active are Gibbons?

After reading about how acrobatic Gibbons are, we wanted to test it for
ourselves.
Method –
1. Once we arrived at the Gibbons habitat we found out that there are only
2 gibbons in London zoo (a father and son)
2. We set a timer for 15 minutes and began conducting an overt
observation. We began tallying the number of times we saw an activity
as it occurred.
3. One person was observing the Gibbon whilst the other was recording the
data.
4. We stopped recording data after 15 minutes.
Table of
results
Activity No. of times observed
Eating 5
Resting 1
Sleeping 0
Swinging from ropes (Acrobats) 8
Interacting with each other 4
Grooming 0
Foraging for food 1

Most commonly observed activity was swinging from

the ropes ( acrobats)
 Evaluation
•  One person was observing the Gibbon whilst 2 people were recording
the data so we wouldn’t miss out on an activity.
•  Inter observer reliability – The two observers correlated the results at
the end to see if they both viewed the same behaviour.
•  Not applicable – We only studied one animal so we cant use one set of
results to claim that Gibbons are physically active animals.
•  Not generalisable – Only observed a young male. Females or older
Gibbons may act differently
•  Data may not explain why the activity occurs.
•  Lacked ecological validity – Not their real habitat
 Conclusion
• We found out that Gibbons are very active animals. This is because they were
constantly swinging and performing acrobats on the ropes. They are also very
sociable and interactive animals.

• Our observation was a success in concluding that the Gibbon we were observing
was active as it showed us its acrobatic skills. However, it is not generalisable to
the entire species as we only observed a young male gibbon. Our overt
observation allowed us to accurately record our data and did show us that our aim
was partially correct.
• Next time, we should observe more than one Gibbon to see if our theory could be
applied to all animals. Also, observe an animal in its real habitat instead of it being
contained.