Thursday, 23 March 2017

Psych 162: Observation

Behavior-Based Inventories, Checklists, Rating Scales

- Words, phrases or statements descriptive of some person or event
- Brief pencil-and-paper questionnaires that assess one or more traits or problem areas

Assumptions
- Shared understanding about the construct
- Ability to detect information/ behavior relevant to the attribute of interest

Advantages
- Standardized format
- Draw on past experiences (varied situations)
- Convenient and economical to use
- Detect potentially rare but salient behaviors
- Different formats, different topic areas
- Quantifiable information regarding frequency, severity
- Ideal for initial screening measures for new referrals
- Summarizes data obtained from observations and interviews
- Can be administered more than once

Disadvantages
- Social desirability can affect behavior ratings
- Rater’s degree of familiarity with both the person an his/her environment
- Cannot take into account the situation or context of the person’s behavior
- Accuracy and consistency of ratings can be influenced by rating scale characteristics

Types of Checklists (Respondent)

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- Self-report instruments
• The person being observed/ assessed rates him/herself
- Informant instrument
• Parent/teacher/close other rates the behavior of the person

Type of Checklist (Scope)

- Broad band scales
• Broad overview of a person’s social, behavioral, and emotional functioning
- Narrow band scales
• More in-depth examination of specific disorders or problem areas

Types of Checklist (What they measure)

- Adjective Checklist
• Series of adjectives (e.g. aggressive, ambitious, competitive, efficient, etc.)
- Problem Checklist
• Designed to identify problems
- Symptom Checklist
• More clinically oriented than adjective checklists of (or) problem behaviors

Sources and Types of Errors

- Central tendency: tendency to pick the middle response
- Leniency or generosity
- Primacy effect (first impressions)
- Halo effect
- Personal values
- Overestimation of traits and behaviors that are barely self acknowledged
- Observer drift
- Omission

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- Expectancy effect
- Observer reactivity
- Unrepresentative sample

Reliability
- Inter-observer reliability
- Test-retest reliability
- Internal consistency reliability

Validity
- Construct validity: whether coded observation fit the construct observed
- Content validity: data must reflect the nature and degree of the construct observed
- Concurrent validity: reflect individual’s reactions in other situations
- Predictive validity: behaviors predict other important criteria