BEHAVIORAL

ASSESSMENT
DR AMNA KHALID
 DIFFERENCES FROM TRADITIONAL
ASSESSMENT METHODS
• Emphases on situational determinants of behavior
vs behavior as the result of enduring, underlying
traits.
• Abstract vs concrete observation guiding
intervention
• Focus on the person and his or her unique situation
vs psychodynamic, biochemical, genetic.
• A typical behavioral assessment might include
specific measures of behavior (overt and covert),
antecedents (internal and external), conditions
surrounding behaviors, and consequences
 HISTORY

• Started with industrial and organizational context.

• Clinical settings 1960s single cases
• Reaction to psychodynamic approach (aims,
assumptions, applications)
• Target behavior for change
• 1970s group settings multifaceted
• 1980-90s DSM IIIR and DSM IV included behavioral
symptoms
• Expansion…
 ASSETS

• Any measurement of problem behaviors is usually

directly tied to how these behaviors can be
changed
• Relevant behaviors are given an empirical analysis,
which enables clinicians to make baseline
measurements of behavior and to assess the
antecedents and consequences of these
behaviors.
• An initial analysis can then allow clinicians to
evaluate whether change has actually occurred
during or after treatment. (Hypothesis-testing)
 LIMITATIONS

• Poor or untested psychometric properties

• observer bias
• Halo effects: inferring from impression
• Primacy effects: remembering primary info than later
• Low inter-observer agreement: between two people
• Confirmatory bias: focusing on info which clinician thinks
is important to confirm
• Cognitive assessment is difficult. Therefore, there is a shift
to cognitive behavioral assessment which includes self
report and differs from basic approach of behavioural
assessment
• Excessive resources are required
 STRATEGIES FOR BEHAVIOURAL
ASSESSMENT

• Behavioral interviewing

• Behavioral Observation

• Coding methods

 Narrative Recording
 Interval Recording
 Event Recording
 Ratings Recording
 BEHAVIOURAL INTERVIEWING

Four-stage problem-solving process.

1. Problem identification: problem is specified and
explored, and procedures are established to measure
current performance and desired target behaviors. The
vague and generalized descriptions that clients
typically come in with are developed into specific
behavioral descriptions.
2. Problem analysis: assessing the client’s resources, and
by noting the relevant environmental conditions
influencing behavior and the context in which the
behavior excesses or deficits occur.
3. Implementation: ongoing procedures for collecting
data relevant to the progress of the treatment.
4. Treatment evaluation: considering the pre- and post
treatment measures to determine whether the
intervention was successful.
 BEHAVIOURAL INTERVIEWING

Witt and Elliott (1983)

1. Overview of what needs to be accomplished and why
2. Identify the target behavior(s) and articulate them in precise
behavioral terms.
3. Identify the problem frequency, duration, and intensity
(“How many times has it occurred today,” “How long has it
been going on,” etc).
4. Identify conditions in which the problem occurs
5. Identify the desired level of performance and consider an
estimate of how realistic this is and possible deadlines.
6. Identify the client’s strengths.
7. Identify the procedures for measuring relevant behaviors.
What will be recorded, who will record it, how will it be
recorded, when and where will it be recorded?
8. Identify how the effectiveness of the program will be
evaluated.
9. Summarize to ensure that the client understands and agrees.
 BEHAVIORAL OBSERVATION

• In some cases, the behavioral interview is itself

sufficient to obtain an adequate assessment.
However, some form of actual behavioral
observation is often required before, during, and/or
after treatment.
• Whereas the interview is directed primarily toward
obtaining verbal information from the client,
behavioral observation is used to decide on and
actually carry out specific strategies and
techniques of measuring the relevant areas of
behavior discussed during the interview
 ASSETS

• In some cases such as assessing the

developmentally disabled, resistant clients, or very
young children, behavioral observation may
become one of the most important means of
assessment.
• These observations might be made by the
professional who is actually conducting the
treatment or by someone else who is more involved
in the client’s life such as a teacher, parent, spouse,
or self-monitoring by the client.
Settings
 NATURAL VS HIGHLY STRUCTURED
SETTINGS
• Natural settings are most effective when assessing
high-frequency behaviors and/or more global
behaviors, such as attentional deficits, social
withdrawal, or depressive behaviors.

• However, extensive time is required to make

observations.
• Problematic when trying to measure infrequently
occurring behaviors (aggression, nonassertiveness)
or behaviors that typically occur in the absence of
others (fire-setting, suicide).
 NATURAL VS HIGHLY STRUCTURED
SETTINGS

• To counter the difficulties inherent in naturalistic

observation, practitioners may wish to create
structured environments (role plays, work
simulations) that elicit specific types of behaviors.
Such environments are especially important for
infrequent behaviors.
• However, inferences need to be derived cautiously
from observations in these structured or analogue
situations, as they may not generalize into the
client’s actual life.
 LIMITATIONS

• Observer bias: leniency, lapses in concentration

• Inter-observer ratings for reliability
• Training of observers
• A system of coding behaviors usually needs to be
developed so that recordings are abbreviated and
simplified. If too many codes are used, it is difficult
for recorders to recall them, especially if behaviors
occur in rapid succession.
• Unobservable behavior
 CODING AND RECORDING

• Recording method and the coding system depend

largely on the goals of assessment.
• A coding system that is clear, simple, and closely
connected to the presenting problem is likely to be
both useful and reliable.
• Important considerations in selecting a recording
and coding system and the number of times the
behavior needs to be observed, the length of
observation periods, when to make the recording,
the type of recording to be made, and the target
behaviors to be recorded.
 NARRATIVE RECORDING

• It requires that the observer simply make note of behaviors of

interest.
• There is little quantification, and the observations can vary in the
degree of inferences made. For example, an observer may stick
closely to direct descriptions of behavior, such as noting that
someone frequently laughs and smiles at his or her friends, or
may infer from these behaviors that the client has good peer
relations.
• The primary value of narrative recordings is that they may help
define future, more specific areas, which can then be measured
in a quantitative manner. Thus, narrative recording is usually a
precursor to alternative forms of measurement.
 NARRATIVE RECORDING

• It has the advantages of potentially discovering

relevant behaviors; it can elaborate on these
behaviors; it requires little, if any, equipment; and
numerous hypotheses can be generated from the
narrative descriptions.
• Limitations are that it doesn’t enable the observer
to quantify the observations, it may have
questionable validity, and the usefulness of the
observations depends largely on the individual skill
of the observer.
 INTERVAL RECORDING

• This technique is also referred to as time sampling, interval

sampling, or interval time sampling.
• Intervals vary from 5 to 30 seconds and may be based either
on set schedules for each observation period (e.g., every five
minutes) or may be selected randomly.
• Good for measuring overt behaviors with moderate
frequencies (e.g., once every 5 to 20 seconds) with no clear
beginning or end. This might include behaviors such as
walking, listening, playing, reading, or looking up and down.
• Clinicians must decide on the length of time between each
observation, the method of recording, and the length of the
observation period. This depends largely on the type of
behavior. For example, different types of verbal interaction
may vary in length and, as such, the observation periods must
be adjusted
 INTERVAL RECORDING

• Some strategies might require the observer to alternate

between recording (e.g., for 10 seconds), then observing
(e.g., for 20 seconds), and then going back to recording the
observation just made.
• Cues regarding the beginning and end of each behavior
must be specified.
• The target behaviors for observation are derived from
information based on such sources as the initial interview, self-
report inventories, narrative observations, and especially from
descriptions of the presenting problem.
• It is time efficient, highly focused on specific behaviors, and
has the potential to measure almost any behavior.
• Interval recording is not designed to assess the quality of the
target behaviors, however, and can be artificial or may
overlook other important behaviors.
 EVENT RECORDING

• Recording on the occurrence of the behavior itself.

• The observer must wait for the target behavior to occur,
and then record relevant details of the behavior.
Examples: aggressive actions, greetings.
• The basic design of event recording systems is to note
the behavior’s frequency, duration, and intensity, and to
record the behavior on such devices as a checklist, or
hand counter. Although the main emphasis is on
quantifying the frequency of responding, its duration
also can be measured with a stopwatch.
• The intensity of the behavior can be noted by simply
specifying whether it was slight, moderate, or strong.
 EVENT RECORDING

• Event recording is especially good for recording

behaviors having low frequencies, measuring changes in
behaviors over time, and for use in studying many
different types of behavior.
• Event recording is relatively poor at measuring behaviors
that do not have clear beginnings and endings, and
presents difficulties in keeping the attention of observers
for behaviors of long durations.
• Because event recording does not provide information
regarding sequences of behaviors, it is difficult to make
inferences about how and why behaviors occur.
 RATINGS RECORDING

• By obtaining general impressions of relevant dimensions

of behaviors and have these impressions rated on a
checklist or scale.
• Such measures tend to be more global and may involve
more abstract terms, such as the client’s level of
cooperativeness or ability to maintain self-care.
• Typically, ratings recordings are made after a period of
observation. A typical format might request the
evaluator to rate, on a scale from one to five or one to
seven, the client’s frequency of temper tantrums, quality
of peer relations, or conscientiousness.
 RATINGS RECORDING

• Ratings recordings can potentially be used for a

wide variety of behaviors. The data can be
subjected to statistical analysis; the ratings can be
made for either individuals or groups; and because
of the time efficiency of ratings recordings, they are
likely to be cost-effective.
• Disadvantages include possibly low interrater
agreement because of the subjectivity of the
ratings; little information regarding antecedent and
consequent events; and possibly inaccurate ratings,
especially if much time elapses between making
the observations and making the ratings.
 RECORDING COGNITIONS

• Thinking aloud
• Private speech
• Articulated thinking
• Production methods
• Endorsement method
• Thought listing
• Thought sampling
• Even recording