The experimental and other laboratory-based methods study behaviors under artificially controlled conditions. But through observational method, the investigator gets a real picture of the behaviors and the events as they manifest in natural settings. Systematic and unbiased observation can yield a true picture of individual's natural set of behaviors.
Certain phenomena can be accessed and properly understood only through observation. Crowd behavior, social behaviors of the animals, and mother-child interaction at home are some exemplary situations, which can be meaningfully assessed, and understood only through observation.