Ch. 2 - Observing Behaviour Flashcards
What is direct assessment?
A person observes and records the target behaviour as it occurs.
What is indirect assessment?
Involves using interviews, questionnaires, and rating scales to obtain information on the target behaviour either from the person exhibiting the behaviour or from others.
What is the main downside of indirect assessment?
It relies on people’s memory.
Which assessment method is most often used?
Direct assessment.
What is the potential downside of direct assessment?
The observer must be in close proximity to the target, which can cause reactivity issues.
What are the four steps to developing a behaviour recording plan?
- Define the target behaviour.
- Determine the logistics
- Choose a recording method
- Choose a recording instrument
What does defining the target behaviour involve?
Identifying exactly what the person say so does that constitutes the behaviour excess or deficit.
What does a behavioural definition include?
Active verbs describing specific behaviours.
What are 2 characteristics of a behavioural definition?
Objective and unambiguous.
What do behavioural definitions not do?
Include internal states/emotions or make inferences about intentions.
Is being angry a behavioural definition?
No, but actions associated with anger may be.
What is the primary problem with labels?
They can be incorrectly used as explanations for behaviour.
What is an example of someone using a label as an explanation for behaviour?
Explaining someone’s repetition of syllables “because they have a stutter.” The stutter is not the reason for the repetition, it is the label we assign to it.
What is interobserver agreement?
Two independent observers agreeing on the number/duration of behaviour instances.
What are the two types of observers?
Independent observer and self-monitoring.
What do both independent observers and self-monitors have in common?
They both need to be trained to identify the target behaviour immediately.
What is the observation period?
The time when the observer records the target behaviour.
How may an appropriate observation period determined?
Through indirect assessment.
What are the two types of settings in which an observation period can take place?
Natural and analogue.
What is the difference between natural and analogue settings?
Natural settings are where the target behaviour normally occurs, analogue settings are in a place not part of the daily routine (e.g., clinic or play room).
Which type of setting is more likely to provide a representative sample for target behaviour occurrence?
A natural setting.
What are the two types of observation?
Structured and unstructured.
What is structured observation?
Where the observer arranges specific events or activities to occur during the observation period.
What is an unstructured behaviour?
Where observation involves not specific events or instructions.
What are the four recording methods?
Continuous, product, interval, and time sample.
What is continuous recording?
The client is overspeed throughout the observation period and records each instance of the behaviour.
What must an observer be able to do?
Identify the onset and offset of the behaviour as well as label the various dimensions of behaviour.
What are the 4 main dimensions of behaviour?
Frequency, duration, intensity, and latency.
What is frequency?
The number of times a behaviour occurs in an observation period.
What is duration?
The total amount of time occupied by the behaviour from start to finish.
What is intensity?
The amount of force, energy, or exertion involved in a behaviour.
What is latency?
The time from some stimulus or event to the onset of the behaviour.
What is real-time recording?
A method in which the exact time of each onset and offset of the target behaviour is recorded.
What is a baseline?
The period in which the target behaviour is recorded before treatment is implemented.
What is rate as it pertains to behaviours?
The number of responses over time.
What is fluency as it pertains to behaviours?
How many errors are made.
What is product recording?
An indirect assessment method that can used when a behaviour results in a certain tangible outcome that one is interested in.
What is interval recording?
Recording whether the behaviour occurred during consecutive time periods.
What is the process for interval recording?
The observer divides the observation period into a number of smaller time periods, observes the client throughout each interval, and then records whether the behaviour occurred within that interval.
What is partial interval recording interested in and not interested in?
It is not interested in frequency or duration, only whether or not the behaviour occurred.
What is time sample recording?
Involves dividing the observation period into inverts, but observing and recording behaviour only during part of each interval.
How is behaviour reported in a time sample recording?
As a percentage of the interval in which the behaviour occurred.
What is reactivity?
When the process of recording the behaviour can change the behaviour before treatment is implemented.
What are 2 ways to reduce reactivity?
By waiting for the target to become accustomed to the observer’s presence or by observing without the target’s knowledge.
What does self-monitoring sometimes result in?
A change in the target behaviour towards the desired outcome.
How is interobserver agreement (IOA) evaluated?
Two people independently observe and record the same target behaviour of a subject during the same observation period. The recordings of the observers are compared.
What are the minimal and recommended percentage of agreement for IOA?
80% minimum, 90% recommended.
How is frequency IOA calculated?
The smaller number of observations divided by the larger number.
How is duration IOA calculated?
The smaller duration divided by the larger duration.
How is interval IOA calculated?
The number of intervals with agreement by the total number of agreements.
