Measuring behaviour Flashcards
What are the two ways behaviour can be recorded
Continuous and interval recording
What is continuous recording
Recording each and every occurrence of a behaviour within a given time period
What is interval recording
recording whether a behaviour occurs during each a series of intervals within a given time period
What two ways can you obtain information on when the behaviour occurs
Informally = Ask them how often they do behaviour
Formally = observe them
What is the problem with informal recording of behaviour
Unreliable = desirability bias
What is the issue with continuous recording
You’re looking at a behaviour in a particular context so not necessary to do it all the time
Resource/money
Ptp may not feel comfortable with it
How can you check the reliability of your recorded data?
Inter-observer reliability; A measure of the degree of agreement in data tallies made by two or more observers
What is the threshold for reliability in inter-observer reliability
Above 80, ideally 90
How can you improve the chance of reliability
Make a very precisely defined target behaviour
What two ways can you graph behaviour rates
Simple frequency and Cumulative frequency
What is a single case experimental design
when the behaviour of an individual is compared in experimental and control conditions
What is the baseline
A period in which the behaviour under study is being recorded but with no attempt to modify it yet
What is ABAB reversal design
single case design where baseline and intervention are repeated with the same person
Multiple baseline design
A single case design where the effects of an intervention are recorded across different situations, individuals and behaviours
What is alternating treatment design
a single case design where two or more interventions alternate systematically
How should the recorded data be graphed in terms of x and y axis
X axis = Time
Y axis = outcome
What is the minimum number of timepoints for baseline
3
In Dadarrio et al’s study, how did a teacher reduce disruptive behaviour
They would take out an M&M from a bowl of M&Ms that gets shared with the class at the end of the day
What are the limitations to Dadarrio’s M&M study
- Not very long baseline
- Teacher’s behavioural change may have caused the reduction
- Could backfire if a student enjoys this punishment
- External confounds not considered
How can we overcome confounds not considered in the A-B design
An A-B-A-B design which runs the experiment twice
How does the A-B-A-B show if there is an effect of confounds
Would see a drop to baseline in the second baseline recording if there is not effect of confounds
What is the issue with ABAB design? What design overcomes this
Doesn’t work with serious behaviours as you don’t ethically want them going back to baseline - Multiple Baseline Design
How did Groden and Cautela implement a multiple baseline design
Wanted to see if covert reinforcement could improve verbal initiations and worked with 3 individuals with mild autism
How do you implement a multiple baseline design
Set up multiple basslines in different settings/ behaviours/subjects
Once one is stable in one place then implement intervention then repeat for other basslines
How did Hua et al implement a alternating treatment design
Looked at effect of two reading interventions; paraphrasing and vocab
Recorded amount of detail recalled from a piece of reading
What is the issue with Hua et al’s study
Order effects
Bleed effects - start using the strategies from the other intervention
What are some nuances to Single Case Experimental Designs
- Can just be observational with no intervention phase (correlational)
- Multiple designs can be combined (e.g ABAB with multiple baseline)
- ABAB can have washout/bleed effects
- In alt int design the treatments must be balanced
- Changing Criterion Design
What is a Changing Criterion Design?
Begins with baseline then intervention is introduced with a set criterion. When this is reached they change or increase it
What types of variables can be measured with modern technology
sleep, steps, heart rate, distance covered, time spent on social media, minutes of lecture attended
What are the 5 types of data
Behaviour, Physiological, Experience, Passive and Active
What is active experience data
Self-reported by participants in such as mood, pain ratings, stress ratings
Can be diaries, event sampling or experience sampling
What is active data
The participant is involved in providing measurements such as self-report measures or voluntary action such as saliva sample
What is passive data
Data collected without direct involvement of the participant
Give examples of experience data
Mood, pain, fatigue, cognitions, perceptions and appraisals
What is behaviour data
Actions observable by others such as drinking, smoking, exercise, talking, eating, interactions and location
What is physiology
The interal workings of the body and brain such as heart rate, temp, breathing, blood pressure and hormone levels
