What is the recommended approach to avoid influencing a child's behavior during observation?

• A. Do not influence the child's behavior by your presence.
• B. Encourage the child to perform for the observer.
• C. Interact with the child frequently to guide their actions.
• D. Narrate all actions aloud to the child.

Answer: (A)

Observing without shaping behavior. When you observe a child, the goal is to see how they act in everyday settings without your presence changing that behavior. The best approach is to stay unobtrusive—remain quiet, at a comfortable distance, and avoid prompting, guiding, or giving feedback during the observation. This helps ensure you’re seeing the child’s typical responses rather than a reaction to being watched. If you try to encourage the child to perform for you or interact frequently to steer their actions, you’ll elicit a different behavior, not their usual patterns. Narrating all actions aloud also alters what the child pays attention to and how they behave. So, keeping your presence neutral and non-intrusive minimizes bias and yields a more accurate picture of the child's usual behavior.