Deck 5: Counting and Recording Behavior

Question 1

Which of the following procedures is used to determine the degree to which two observers accurately record a target behavior?

A) interobserver reliability
B) concordance reporting
C) subjectivity elimination
D) observer discrimination

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Counting the number of pencils broken, paper airplanes thrown, or spelling words answered incorrectly is an example of which type of recording technique?

A) frequency
B) permanent products
C) anecdotal
D) duration

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Which of the following terms refers to the process in which an individual's behavior changes as a result of believing he received a treatment when, in reality, he received something that lacked any intrinsic treatment value?

A) the false treatment interaction effect
B) the Stanley effect
C) the paradigm effect
D) the placebo effect

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Time sampling is beneficial to the observer because it does not require their undivided attention.

Question 5

Which of the following terms refers to the phenomenon of working harder and producing more because of a feeling of participating in something new and special even when the innovations have no corrective merit?

A) the Skinner effect
B) the vocational effect
C) the Hawthorne effect
D) the interrelated effect

Question 6

What is the purpose of the dead man's test?

A) to determine appropriate behaviors to decrease
B) to determine if the target behavior is a fair pair
C) to avoid targeting behaviors that require elaborate operational definitions
D) to ensure students understand instructions 

Question 7

A teacher is the only person who should make a behavior observation.

Question 8

Ms. Knebworth is recording the number of times Edgar initiates a conversation. Although this behavior was operationally defined, she begins to record behaviors that were not part of the original definition. Which of the following terms describes this phenomenon?

A) objectivity lapse
B) observer drift
C) occurrence subjectivity
D) reactive effects

Question 9

Why is it important to collect continuous rather than just pre- and post-test data on children's behavior?

A) it provides teachers with an estimate of students' intellectual functioning
B) it reduces the likelihood of a teacher prematurely terminating an effective intervention or unduly continuing an ineffective intervention
C) it increases the number of times a teacher must use duration or frequency recording techniques versus time sampling
D) it reduces the need for teachers to obtain records of students' scores on tests, quizzes, and assignments

Question 10

What type of recording technique is most appropriate for behaviors such as pencil tapping, thumb sucking, or rocking in a chair?

A) frequency
B) anecdotal
C) time sampling
D) duration

Question 11

The fair pair refers to:

A) allowing the student to select his or her own reward.
B) punishing the student only when the student agrees that he or she deserves to be punished.
C) the process of selecting a behavior that will decrease in the presence of a reinforcer.
D) the assumption that if you are going to decrease an inappropriate behavior, an appropriate behavior should be taught in its place.

Question 12

It is important to count behavior because it allows you to evaluate the effectiveness of intervention.

Question 13

Selecting an appropriate method for calculating interobserver reliability will depend on the type of recording technique used to observe behavior.

Question 14

Which of the following statements accurately reflects the definition of evaluation?

A) it entails the application of both formal and informal tests
B) it involves determining both structural and developmental deficits
C) it is based on the reduction formula that states that behavior can be measured in small components
D) it involves comparing performance to some standard and noting any discrepancies

Question 15

Observer drift can occur when two observers disagree on a behavior that has been simultaneously recorded.

Question 16

Which of the following statements best encapsulates a movement cycle?

A) A movement cycle exists when a child performs a behavior involving movement instead of behaving in a stationary fashion.
B) A movement cycle exists if a behavior has a specific beginning and ending point.
C) A movement cycle exists when teachers administer tests that have a specific number of questions on them.
D) A movement cycle exists when more than one adult observes a child's behavior.

Question 17

The stranger test ensures that a behavior:

A) is not punished unless a positive behavior is reinforced
B) is a danger to a child or others
C) is operationally defined
D) occurs across settings, teachers, and situations

Question 18

Which type of duration recording technique involves recording the length of time per episode that a child engages in a target behavior?

A) duration per distance or time span
B) total duration
C) duration per occurrence
D) average duration

Question 19

Mungo occasionally taps his pencil on his desk when working out the answers to division problems. Although this behavior does not interfere with his work or his peers, his teacher, Ms. Apple, wants to intervene on this behavior because it bothers her. Unfortunately, this behavior fails to pass the:

A) stranger test
B) dead man's test
C) operational definition test
D) so what test

Question 20

Recording behavior at the end of specified intervals is an example of:

A) anecdotal recording
B) time sampling
C) interval recording
D) frequency recording

Question 21

Describe the differences between latency recording and interval recording.

Question 22

Explain the necessary steps to take before counting behavior.

Question 23

Why is it important to take a baseline before an intervention is implemented?

Question 24

Discuss how the placebo effect and the Hawthorne effect relate to student observation. How can an observer deal with these phenomena effectively?

Question 25

How can technology assist a teacher with observations and recording student behavior? List some strategies and justify their ease of use.