Measuring Behavior

Part 1: Observations

For the first part of this assignment, select two people who will serve as your subjects for this paper. These individuals can be friends, family members, or coworkers. If you do not have access to others in your immediate environment, you are welcome to select television characters to observe.

Once you have selected your two subjects, observe them inconspicuously to determine which of their behaviors you will choose to target for Part 2 of this assignment. You must not make any attempt to share your observations, conduct any form of assessment, or intervene.

Helpful hint: Refrain from selecting clients that you work with. You already have experience measuring their behaviors and definitions for their skills/behaviors are likely already developed. Stretch yourself with this assignment by selecting people who you may not have formally observed before.

Part 2: Definitions and Observations

Now that you’ve selected your subjects and identified the behaviors you want to investigate for each person, let’s create some behavioral definitions. For each subject, select one behavior
and provide a brief definition (1–2 sentences) for that behavior based on the information you’ve gathered from your initial observations.

• Each definition should meet Hawkins and Dobes’s three characteristics (top of page 70) and Morris’s three criteria for testing a definition (page 70) as described in your Applied Behavior Analysis text.
• The definitions should not include inferences (for example, about internal state or thoughts), or include background, diagnostic, or historical information about the persons you observed.

Once you have defined one behavior for each person, plan and conduct three separate observation sessions for each subject.

• Each observation for each subject should be 10–20 minutes.
• You can conduct three separate observations in one day (that is, morning, afternoon, and evening) or across days. You have flexibility here.
• Clearly identify the data recording method you selected to record this data (frequency, duration, et cetera) and explain why you chose that method.

Part 3: Data Recording Forms and Discussion

Summarize the data from your observations on an appropriate data recording form and create a table of this summary. Copy and paste both the data recording form and the table into your assignment.

Important: Do not submit a spreadsheet or more than one document. The one document should contain definitions, observations, data form, and table for each of the two behaviors that you observed. You will be using the tables summarizing your data in the Unit 4 assignment.

Lastly, provide a discussion that covers (1) specific ways we can assess accuracy and reliability in behavioral measurement, (2) factors that threaten the accuracy, reliability, and validity of measurement and how we can account for these, and (3) how you controlled for measurement error during your process of data collection.

Assignment Requirements

Your assignment should meet the following requirements:

• Written communication: Should be free of errors that detract from the overall message.
• APA formatting: References and citations are formatted according to current APA style guidelines.
• Resources: A sufficient number of scholarly or professional resources.
• Length: 3–5 double-spaced pages.
• Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12 point.
• SafeAssign: You are required to use SafeAssign before submitting the completed assignment to your instructor. Submit your work to SafeAssign as a draft, review the results, and make any needed changes. When you are ready, submit your assignment to the assignment area for grading.