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Observations might be made simply to describe a person’s response repertoire at a given time. These are recordings of response frequencies in particular situations before any treatment or intervention has been made. For example, if the goal of assessment is to detect a tendency toward depression, the responses recorded should be those that are relevant to that tendency, such as degrees of smiling, motor activity, and talking.Ī type of behavioral assessment called baseline observations is becoming increasingly popular. The value of behavioral assessment depends on the behaviours selected for observation. In either case, observational data must meet the same standards of reliability as data obtained by more formal measures. Examples of such observations include the frequency of a particular type of response, such as physical attacks on others or observations by ward attendants of certain behaviours of psychiatric patients. Behavioral observations are used to get information that cannot be obtained by other means. It is often used to identify behavioral problems, which are then treated in some appropriate way. Such objective information is measured by behavioral assessment.
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Objective information includes the person’s observable behaviour and usually does not require the assessor to draw complex inferences about such topics as attitudes toward parents, unconscious wishes, and deep-seated conflicts. Interviews, personality inventories, and projective techniques provide indications of subjective experience, although considerable clinical judgment is needed to infer what is going on within the client from test responses. Subjective information includes what clients think about, the emotions they experience, and their worries and preoccupations. In most cases, the clinician is interested in both subjective and objective information. Because of the variety of data that are potentially available, the assessor must decide which types of information are most feasible and desirable under a given set of circumstances. Making all of these assessments would be a major undertaking. The following types of assessment might be considered: (1) a measure of the boy’s general intelligence, which might help explain his poor schoolwork (2) an interview with him to provide insights into his view of his problem (3) personality tests, which might reveal trends that are related to his inadequate social relationships (4) observations of his activities and response patterns in school (5) observations of his behaviour in a specially created situation, such as a playroom with many interesting toys and games (6) an interview with his parents, since the boy’s poor behaviour in school may by symptomatic of problems at home and (7) direct observation of his behaviour at home. A variety of assessments could be considered, for example, in the case of a seven-year-old boy who, according to his teacher, is doing poorly in his schoolwork and, according to his parents, is difficult to manage at home and does not get along with other children. Objective observation of a subject’s behaviour is a technique that falls in the category of behavioral assessment.
BEHAVIORAL OBSERVATION HOW TO
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