Week 2 OL Defining & Measuring Behavior

Vocabulary practice flashcards generated from the EPY 6113 lecture notes on selecting, defining, and measuring behavior.

Direct Assessment

An assessment method where a person observes and records behavior as it occurs, which is the preferred assessment method.

Indirect Assessment

An assessment method utilizing interviews, questionnaires, and rating scales, which does not occur when the behavior happens.

Operational Definition

Providing objective, clear, concrete definitions of target behaviors to minimize disagreement among observers regarding a behavior's occurrence.

Dead Man's Rule

A standard requirement that operational definitions should pass to ensure the target behavior describes an active behavior.

Stranger Test

A test that operational definitions should pass to verify that an independent observer can clearly identify the target behavior.

Frequency

A measurable physical dimension of behavior, also called event recording, that involves a count of a given behavior.

Duration

A measurable physical dimension of behavior that involves timing behavior from onset to offset based on defined criteria.

Intensity

A physical dimension measuring the strength or magnitude of a behavior, often evaluated with a special instrument or rating scale.

Latency

A physical dimension of behavior measuring how long it takes to initiate an action after a prompt was delivered.

Interval Recording

A behavior recording method designed to sample behavior by selecting an observation period and breaking it down into smaller intervals.

Whole Interval Recording

An interval recording method where behavior has to occur during the entire interval; it often underestimates behavior, and longer intervals promote problems.

Partial Interval Recording

An interval recording method where behavior only has to happen once during the entire interval, which often overestimates behavior.

Momentary Time Sampling

A time sampling method where behavior is recorded at a specific moment (usually when an interval ends), beneficial when time constraints prevent whole-time observation.

Reactivity

The phenomenon in which the process of recording a behavior causes the target behavior to change.

Interobserver Agreement (IOA)

An evaluation method where two people observe the same behavior independently, compare recordings, and calculate percentage agreement; aims for at least $80\%$ agreement and should cover approximately $\frac{1}{3}$ of observations in research.