Question 1

The overarching goal of behavioral measurement is:

Accepted Answer

The overarching goal of behavioral measurement is to produce data that will guide correct and meaningful interpretations. It is not necessarily focused on decreasing problem behaviors or supporting a specific hypothesis, but rather on providing accurate and objective data. While providing a quantitative basis for covert events may be a component of this goal, it is not the primary focus.

Question 2

A behavior analyst conducts an interview with the parents of one of her new clients and asks them how they think their child has responded to a new intervention. In this example, the teacher is using what kind of measurement?

Accepted Answer

The behavior analyst is using indirect measurement because they are asking the parents for their perception of the child's response to the intervention, rather than directly observing and recording the child's behavior.

Question 3

A personal trainer records the number of miles her client can run when he first comes to her for help. After a month of training, she again records her client's performance to see if he has improved his stamina. In this example, the personal trainer is using what kind of measurement?

Accepted Answer

The personal trainer is using direct measurement by directly recording the number of miles the client can run. Interval measurement involves a scale with equal intervals (e.g. temperature measured in Celsius or Fahrenheit), indirect measurement involves using a proxy to estimate the variable of interest (e.g. measuring rainfall by the height of water in a container), and complete measurement is not a recognized type of measurement.

Question 4

Scientists always prefer direct measurement over indirect measurement because:

Accepted Answer

Indirect measurement requires scientists to make assumptions about what is being measured and what it is supposed to represent, which can introduce errors and inaccuracies. Direct measurement, on the other hand, provides more accurate and precise data because it involves measuring the variable directly without any assumptions.

Question 5

What must be done to legitimize the use of indirect measurement?

Accepted Answer

Indirect measurement can only be considered legitimate if there is clear experimental evidence that the measure is valid and reliable in representing the behavior or construct being measured. This evidence includes establishing a strong relationship between the indirect measure and the construct being measured through empirical research. Simply using the measure for an extended period of time, repeating measurements, or using a large sample size may not be sufficient to legitimize the use of indirect measurement without clear experimental evidence.

Question 6

What advantage does equipment have over human observation?

Accepted Answer

Mechanical equipment is designed to perform the same task repeatedly without being influenced by external factors, making it more reliable and accurate than human observation. Automated equipment can also analyze data faster and more consistently than humans, leading to more efficient and accurate results. Options A and B are incorrect because programming experience is necessary to program equipment and automated equipment can be designed to respond appropriately to events that fall outside of their design parameters. Option D is incorrect because there are clear advantages to using equipment over human observation.

Question 7

You are attempting to help your best friend stop smoking. In order to tell if your intervention works, you decide that you'll need some baseline data on the number of cigarettes that he smokes per day. You have some of the same classes, so you decide to record the number of cigarettes he smokes from 8:00am to 11:00am on Mondays and Wednesdays. In this example, you are using:

Accepted Answer

Incomplete observation is correct because you are only recording the number of cigarettes smoked during a specific time frame (8:00am to 11:00am) on specific days (Mondays and Wednesdays), not the total number of cigarettes smoked throughout the entire day or week.

Question 8

Amanda was conducting a study on vocal tics in children with Tourette's syndrome. Every 10 minutes, she would observe the child to see if he was engaged in a vocal tic at that exact moment. Amanda is using a procedure known as ______:

Accepted Answer

Amanda is using momentary time sampling because she is observing the child at specific moments in time (every 10 minutes) and recording whether or not he is engaged in a vocal tic at that moment.

Question 9

Clayton's watch beeped every 5 minutes, and he recorded whether he had sworn at any time during the 5 minutes since the previous beep. This is an example of:

Accepted Answer

This is an example of partial interval recording, which involves dividing the observation period into shorter intervals and recording whether the behavior occurred at any point during each interval. In this case, the intervals are 5 minutes and the behavior being recorded is swearing.

Question 10

Shawn's parents are interested in decreasing his hair-pulling behavior. To measure this, they recorded whether Shawn engaged in hair-pulling for the entire 10-second time period of each observation period. This is an example of:

Accepted Answer

Whole interval recording involves observing a behavior throughout the entire duration of a predetermined time period and recording whether the behavior occurred during the entire interval. This method is effective for measuring behaviors that have a clear beginning and end, such as hair-pulling. Momentary time sampling involves observing a behavior at specific points in time and recording whether the behavior is occurring at that moment. Indirect assessment involves collecting information about a behavior from sources other than direct observation. Partial interval recording involves observing a behavior at specific points in time but only recording whether the behavior occurred at any point during the interval, not for the entire duration of the interval.

Question 11

One of the drawbacks to using partial interval or whole interval recording is that it does not provide the investigator with any information about:

Accepted Answer

The answer of One of the drawbacks to using partial...

Question 12

The use of whole interval recording is most likely to cause the investigator to:

Accepted Answer

Whole interval recording only records the occurrence of behavior if it occurs throughout the entire interval. Thus, it underestimates the occurrence of behavior if the behavior only occurs partially within the interval. This can lead to an underestimate of the actual frequency of the behavior.

Question 13

Generally, the use of partial interval recording is likely to cause the investigator to:

Accepted Answer

Partial interval recording tends to overestimate the occurrence of the target behavior because it records an occurrence if the behavior happens at any time during the interval, not accounting for the duration or frequency within the interval.

Question 14

The ability of partial interval, whole interval, and momentary time sampling procedures to provide accurate descriptions of responding is affected by the:

Accepted Answer

The accuracy of partial interval, whole interval, and momentary time sampling procedures is affected by the size of the interval and distribution of responses. Specifically, smaller intervals increase the accuracy of measurement, while high rates of responses may result in overestimation with whole interval sampling and underestimation with partial interval sampling. Therefore, the size of the interval and distribution of responses can affect the accuracy of these procedures. The unit of analysis and number of participants are important factors to consider in research design, but they do not have a direct impact on the accuracy of these sampling procedures.

Question 15

The first step in designing an observation procedure with equipment is to:

Accepted Answer

Before designing an observation procedure with equipment, it is important to determine what changes in the environment consistently result from responding and whether equipment would work. This ensures that the equipment is appropriate for the task at hand and will yield reliable and accurate data.

Question 16

All of the following are steps in designing a human observation procedure, except:

Accepted Answer

Collecting interobserver agreement data is not a step in designing the procedure but rather a step in evaluating the accuracy and reliability of the observations after the procedure has been implemented.

Question 17

When researchers choose to limit observer's access to information about the study as a way of minimizing the chance that it might influence their judgments, we refer to observers as being ______:

Accepted Answer

When researchers limit observer's access to information about the study in order to minimize the chance that it might influence their judgments, observers are referred to as being "blind." This is known as a blind study design.

Question 18

The most notable advantage of using participants as observers is:

Accepted Answer

Using participants as observers ensures that they are always present when the behavior occurs, allowing for accurate and unbiased data collection. This is especially important in naturalistic observations where the behavior being observed may be unpredictable and difficult to replicate. However, participants may be biased towards their own actions or those of their peers, so care must be taken to ensure that data collection is as objective as possible.

Question 19

Some of the problems with interval recording and momentary time sampling can be minimized by:

Accepted Answer

Selecting very short intervals can help minimize errors in interval recording and momentary time sampling by providing more precise and frequent data points, reducing the chance of missing occurrences of the behavior.

Question 20

All of the following are guidelines that can be used to minimize the problems associated with discontinuous measurement procedures, except:

Accepted Answer

Running a large enough sample is generally a strategy to mitigate issues in statistical sampling or experimental design rather than specifically addressing the problems associated with discontinuous measurement procedures. Discontinuous measurement inherently involves sampling behavior at intervals, and while increasing the sample size can offer more data points, it doesn't directly minimize the problems such as missing out on important but transient behaviors or the potential for bias in the sampling times. The other options (B, C, D) are direct strategies to minimize issues specifically related to discontinuous measurement.

Quiz 6: Observing and Recording