Behavioral Assessment ã Selection and Definition of Target Behaviors ã Selection of a Measurement Device ã Recording behavior (Collection of Data) ã Assessment of Reliability or IOA (Lecture 6) ã Selection of Data Display/graphing (Lecture 7)

Freedom of Speech?

Behavioral (OP) Definitions Walking ã Form: Body movement with alternating L/R leg forward  Restriction: Body erect  Restriction: One foot always in contact with ground  Revised form: Body movement with erect torso, with alternating L/R leg forward with one foot always in contact with the ground Hallucination ã Form: Verbal statement (usually of personal experience)  Restriction: Experience or events unlikely to have basis in reality  Revised form: Verbal statement about a personal experience unlikely to have any basis in fact

Characteristics of a Good Measurement System ã Objectivity: Response (R) definitions are observable, unambiguous  “Poor self-concept” ã Reliability: Instrument produces consistent (repeatable) results  Verbal estimate of amount of time spent running ã Validity: Instrument produces accurate representation of events  An 11.5-inch ruler ã Sensitivity: Instrument reflects changes in R  Use of an analog watch to time a race

Recording behavior (Data Collection) ã Outcome (product): Observable results of R ã Process: Observable aspects of ongoing R

Outcome Observation Advantage: Convenience; does not require presence of observer Disadvantages: ã Some Rs do not always produce the same outcome  Study, athletic practice, amount of time spent working ã Some outcomes can be produced by Rs other than the target  Weight loss (from diet, exercise, laxatives)

Process Observation Advantage: Flexible; can accommodate a wide range of Rs Disadvantage: Requires system to account for multiple R dimensions ã *Topography: Form of R; usually restricted by R definition ã Magnitude: Force of R ã *Frequency: Number of occurrences of R ã *Duration: Amount of time during which R occurs ã Latency: Time elapsed from some starting point to R onset ã Interresponse time (IRT): Time elapsed between episodes of R

Measuring Ongoing Behavior (Process Observation) Continuous Recording: Every instance of R is counted ã Event recording: Frequency, rate ã Duration recording: Duration, latency, IRT Discontinuous sampling (i.e., interval recording): Only a subset of Rs is counted ã Divide session time into equal intervals ã Record occurrences of R during an interval ã Convert into % of intervals during which R occurred

Sampling Methods ã Data Collection Exercises  Videos  In vivo

Interobserver Agreement (Reliability) Definition: Consistency of an observational code, or the extent to which an observational code produces the same results across samples (subjects, behaviors, time, observers, etc.) Method for assessment: Collect independent samples of data; compare results to a standard or to each other

Reliability Calculations ã Total agreement: Compare overall session values (totals) obtained by two observers  Rel = Smaller / Larger ã Interval agreement: Compare individual data entries by two observers and score as agreements or disagreements  Rel = # Agreements / (# Intervals) ã Exact agreement: Compare frequencies entered by two observers and score exact agreements  Rel = # Exact agreements / (# Intervals) ã Proportional (frequency-within-intervals) agreement: Compare frequencies entered by two observers and score proportional agreements  Rel = ∑ (Smaller/Larger) / # Intervals

Reliability Calculation Activity

Calculate interval agreement score for the following data: