Behavioral Assessment Methods Research Articles

Das Elektronische Bonner Schmerztagebuch (EBST): Vorstellung einer PC-Desktop-Version für den stationären Bereich

The Electronic Bonn Pain Diary: A Desktop Version for the Inpatient SettingComputer-assisted self-monitoring of subjective experience has become one of the most promising methods of behavioral assessment in multidisciplinary pain diagnosis and therapy. This technical report presents a PC software, called ‘Elektronisches Bonner Schmerztagebuch’ (Electronically Bonn Pain Diary), which provides 1. estimators for intensity, affective, and sensory quality of pain based on the scaling of verbal descriptors and 2. self-report data for various topics such as hassles, duration of pain, sleep, and medication. This desktop software (Visual Basic under Excel 97, Windows 95 and higher) allows data acquisition and automatic evaluation in in-patient settings. The automatic evaluation comprises graphical and statistical analysis of time series data. Furthermore, parameters for scaling consistency are provided. Later reduces the vulnerability to several scaling biases. Application and interpretation are described in detail.

An International Thermal Comfort Standard for People with Special Requirements

The International Standards Organisation (ISO) is currently working on a project to produce an international standard entitled; “Ergonomics of the Thermal Environment: application of international standards for people with special requirements”. Progress has led to a draft of the standard that will be considered for international voting and comment. Eventually, with acceptance, ISO 14415 will be published in full standard or technical report form. The work recognises that people with physical disabilities may have special requirements in terms of what are appropriate thermal environments and that current international standards may not apply or would need to be modified. Examples include standards for the estimation of clothing insulation and metabolic heat production. There may also be modifications to methods of assessment such as those given in thermal comfort standards. This paper describes the development of the standard and its current form. It also provides a discussion of possible improvements to the standard including a new approach based upon adaptive and behavioural assessment methods.

Role of Cognition and Affect in a Functional Behavioral Analysis

Erroneous beliefs, distorted thoughts, and poorly controlled emotional responses to stress contribute to behavior problems as fundamentally as do observable environmental antecedents. The methods of this classical functional behavioral assessment for evaluating high-frequency problem behaviors are insufficient for understanding such low-frequency behavior as drawing a weapon or such covert behavior as possessing drugs. To understand the function of problem behaviors in students' lives, assessment of their social perspectives, beliefs, and feelings is as necessary as assessment of their immediate desires for attention, task avoidance, or escape. The purpose of this article is to present a multidimensional perspective that will lead to psychoeducational interventions in which students are taught to think clearly, solve problems, and self-regulate the intensity of their emotions.

Behavioral assessment of personality disorders

This article examines the definition of personality disorders (PDs) from a functional analytical framework and discusses the potential utility of such a framework to account for behavioral tendencies associated with PD pathology. Also reviewed are specific behavioral assessment methods that can be employed in the assessment of PDs, and how information derived from these assessments may be linked to specific intervention strategies.

Voltage associated with spontaneous embryonic motility in the developing chicken: An automated characterization during mid–late embryogenesis

Movement of developing chicken embryos and their associated membranes generates voltage detectable with electrodes inserted just beneath the eggshell. Use of such voltages as a motility indicator offers an embryonic behavioral assessment method less subjective and invasive than observational methods using windows that disrupt substantial portions of the eggshell. We used a computerized signal recording and processing procedure to compare voltages from embryonic Day 12 (E12), E15, and E18 chicken eggs with embryos, assessed on the same day. Larger voltages were recorded from E18 subjects than from E12 or E15 subjects. Because this could have been due to embryonic size (mass) and/or proximity to the electrodes, making age comparisons uninterpretable, we used standard deviation-normalized and Z-scorebased data transformations, comparing groups for relative deviations from basal voltages. E18 subjects still appeared more active than E12 subjects, with E15 a transitional age, in contrast to results from earlier window-based studies. The automated assessment method we used could enhance behavioral teratology studies of avian species. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Dev Psychobiol 34: 5–19, 1999

Voltage associated with spontaneous embryonic motility in the developing chicken: An automated characterization during mid-late embryogenesis

Movement of developing chicken embryos and their associated membranes generates voltage detectable with electrodes inserted just beneath the eggshell. Use of such voltages as a motility indicator offers an embryonic behavioral assessment method less subjective and invasive than observational methods using windows that disrupt substantial portions of the eggshell. We used a computerized signal recording and processing procedure to compare voltages from embryonic Day 12 (E12), E15, and E18 chicken eggs with embryos, assessed on the same day. Larger voltages were recorded from E18 subjects than from E12 or E15 subjects. Because this could have been due to embryonic size (mass) and/or proximity to the electrodes, making age comparisons uninterpretable, we used standard deviation-normalized and Z-score-based data transformations, comparing groups for relative deviations from basal voltages. E18 subjects still appeared more active than E12 subjects, with E15 a transitional age, in contrast to results from earlier window-based studies. The automated assessment method we used could enhance behavioral teratology studies of avian species.

INFORMING READERS OF THE PRESENCE OF DATA COMMON TO MULTIPLE INVESTIGATIONS

Applied behavior analysts have shown increased interest in how behavioral assessment methods (e.g., functional analysis, reinforcer assessment) may be used to increase our understanding of and ability to treat aberrant behavior. For example, one of our patients, Carly, displayed destructive behavior (aggression, disruption) that was maintained by escape, attention, and access to tangible items. She participated in an investigation on the effectiveness of combining positive and negative reinforcement in the treatment of escape-maintained behavior (Piazza et al., 1997). She also participated under a different pseudonym, Carla, in an investigation that illustrated how a modified concurrentchains procedure could be used to evaluate client preferences for different treatment packages (Hanley, Piazza, Fisher, Contrucci, & Maglieri, 1997). Her functional analysis

Stages of change for fruit, vegetable and fat intake: consequences of misconception

In order to study whether the Stages of Change concept of the Transtheoretical Model is applicable to fruit, vegetable and fat intake, data on two different study populations were analysed. Two methods of classifying stages of change were compared in both study populations. The first, more traditional, classification method was based on intentions and self-rated intake. In the second classification method, estimated level of consumption (using a food frequency questionnaire) of fruit, vegetables and fat was included. Differences between both classification methods in distributions of respondents over stages of change were large, especially for vegetable and fat intake. Many subjects who were in maintenance based on the traditional classification method were classified in the precontemplation stage if the alternative classification method was used, since these subjects were unaware of their unfavourable dietary intake. Nutrition education that uses the Stages of Change as a base for developing educational messages should not provide these subjects with information aimed at sustaining the present behaviour but with information that creates awareness of personal dietary behaviour. Considerations should be given to including more objective behavioural assessment methods in Stages of Change classification methods when the Transtheoretical Model is applied to nutrition research.

Behavioral assessment and treatment of PTSD in prepubertal children: Attention to developmental factors and innovative strategies in the case study of a family

This paper describes the assessment and treatment of a family of 4 prepubescent children following the experience of a traumatic attack of the 6-year-old girl by a dog. The two eldest children received diagnoses of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and in addition, the 6-year-old victim developed a simple phobia of medical procedures. The younger children also developed posttraumatic reactions specific to their developmental level. Because the traumatic experience was witnessed by all of the children in the same family, their comprehensive data provide a cross-sectional illustration of the developmental expression of posttraumatic reactions in very young children. Established behavioral treatment approaches for PTSD were adapted to be developmentally appropriate and involved individual hierarchical, imaginal, and in-vivo exposure, coupled with joint sessions utilizing the older sibling as a behavioral model for his sister's simple phobia. This family case study illustrates the use of behavioral assessment and treatment methods in a clinic setting.

Assessment of obsessions and compulsions: Reliability, validity, and sensitivity to treatment effects

Advances in the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) require reliable and valid measures of sufficient sensitivity to detect treatment effects. The present article critically reviews the instruments used in OCD treatment-outcome research. Behavioral methods, self-report inventories, and observer-rated scales are reviewed with respect to content, reliability, validity, and sensitivity to treatment effects. The latter was determined by meta-analyses of trials of behavior therapy (exposure plus response prevention) and clomipramine. Little is known about the psychometric properties of behavioral assessment methods, and they are used increasingly less often in outcome research, despite certain advantages. Self-report inventories tend to have acceptable reliability and validity, except for the SCL-90-R OC scale (and its predecessors) which has weak discriminant validity and appears to be essentially a measure of nonspecific distress. Little is known about the reliability and vatiduy of most observer-rated scales, despite the fact that they are popular in treatment outcome research. All measures appear sensitive to treatment effects, although observer-rated scales tend to yield larger effect sizes than self-report measures. For treatment outcome research, the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (YBOCS) appears to be the best available instrument in terms of range of obsessive-compulsive features assessed, reliability, validity, and sensitivity to treatment effects. Computer-administered and self-report versions of the YBOCS have been developed, which appear promising but require further evaluation. The effects of treatment may be best understood by using measures of specific symptoms rather than relying on global measures of symptom severity. The YBOCS can be readily used for these purposes. The article concludes by considering additional requirements for a comprehensive assessment of obsessions and compulsions.

A Comparison of Methods for the Functional Assessment of Stereotypic Behavior

Three functional assessment methods were conducted with four adults with severe to profound mental retardation who exhibited stereotypic behavior. We compared the results of an informant assessment using the MAS, an A-B-C direct observation assessment, and a functional analysis in which variables were manipulated in four experimental conditions. The results of the A-B-C observations and the MAS indicated a sensory function of the stereotypic behavior for all subjects. The functional analysis results were more ambiguous, with a different pattern of results for each subject. These results are discussed with regard to the practicality and utility of each functional assessment procedure conducted in an applied setting.

What You Should Know About Behavioral Assessment

The article provides the reader with an introduction to behavioral assessment. The assumptions and methods of behavioral assessment are described and are then compared and contrasted with those of traditional assessment. Recent developments in behavioral assessments are reviewed. Two case examples illustrate many of the principles and methods of behavioral assessment that are discussed.

Quantitative Behavioral Assessment Methods for the Analysis of Graft‐Induced Motor and Cognitive Function in the MPTP‐Treated Parkinsonian Monkey

Although the MPTP-treated monkey is the best available model of Parkinson’s disease in terms of neuropathophysiology, the usefulness of the model for the functional analysis of neural grafts requires methods that can determine the severity and persistence of the symptoms. Wide variation in response to MPTP and reports of recovery may warrant a variety of assessment methods to determine the severity of parkinsonism and this requires large numbers of subjects and groups. It is critical that the severity of the MPTP deficit be known in order to compare MPTP-treated subjects with fetal substantia nigra (SN) implanted into the caudate nucleus (CN) with similarly affected subjects given sham surgery, inappropriate surgery (cerebellar tissue into the CN or SN tissue into the cortex), or no surgery. If subjects in these groups are not compared by severity it will not be possible to differentiate between graftinduced and spontaneously-induced improvements. We have aimed to establish a variety of behavioral assessment methods that can identify the severity of the MPTP-induced behavioral deficit. With these methods we can more accurately study the restorative effects of grafts in MPTP-treated monkeys with which the biochemical and morphological effects can be compared. We have used the following methodologies in our studies: 1) spontaneous behavioral ratings; 2) cognitive and subtle motor skill task performance, and 3) eye-blink rate measure

Behavioral disturbance in dementia of the Alzheimer's type.

Behavioral problems are thought to be pervasive and devastating to patients with dementia of the Alzheimer's type and their families. Despite this, little empirical data are available concerning the nature of such impairments, their rate of occurrence or their relationship to the disease process. This study investigated 127 patients with a primary diagnosis of dementia of the Alzheimer's type. Two methods of behavioral assessment were employed: a standardized dementia rating scale and a checklist of behavioral problems. Results indicated a) the overall number of problems significantly increased with increased cognitive impairment, b) the types of problems reported varied with cognitive severity, and c) behavioral problems were not significantly associated with patient's age, gender, duration, or age at onset of dementia. These findings are discussed as they relate to the phenomenology of dementia of the Alzheimer's type and to suggestions for interventions at different stages of the disease process. Problems found associated with level of impairment such as wandering, agitation, incontinence, and poor personal hygiene are thought to be characteristic of the disease and therefore predictable. Problems found not associated with level of impairment such as hallucinations, irrational suspicions, falls, and restlessness are likely to be idiosyncratic. The former should probably be incorporated into education and intervention programs; the latter addressed as needed on an individual basis.

Advances in Neonatal and Infant Behavioral Assessment

Recognizing the impressive range of behavioral capacities of newborn infants, clinicians and researchers have long searched for valid assessment instruments to help evaluate infant behavior. Behavioral assessments with high predictive validity would aid the goals of developmental diagnostic, prognostic, and treatment programs for infants born at risk from biological or environmental circumstances. The failure of current assessments to predict developmental outcome based on infant behavior may be due to the limited information about higher central nervous system (CNS) functioning obtained from available measures, or to the very dynamic nature of CNS organization in young infants. We begin our review by discussing some major functional characteristics of neonates and then proceed to describe critically the commonly used methods of neurological and behavioral assessment. Noting the need for measures that are more predictive, we turn next to a discussion of a number of experimental techniques that seem to hold great promise for developmental prediction and clinical application.

Tackling Writer??s Block

Writing is an important and pervasive part of every administrator's duties, and problems with writer's block and procrastination can impede one's productivity. This article describes behavioral assessment and intervention methods (e.g., task analysis, reinforcement analysis, time-structuring, charting, and deposit contracting) that an individual can use to modify his or her writing habits.

The Role of Learning in Chronic Pain States

SUMMARY This chapter provides a discussion of the role of learning and conditioning in the initiation, development and maintenance of clinical pain states, with emphasis on chronic pain. The chapter begins by providing a brief overview of conditioning/learning theory, concluding that an interactional/mixed theory of learning which accommodates respondent, operant and observational learning models offers the greatest degree of application. A multiple response model of clinical pain is then presented, with pain being defined as an interacting cluster of individualized overt, covert and neurophysiological responses capable of being produced by relevant tissue damage/irritation, as well as produced and maintained by other antecedent and consequent stimulus conditions. The point is established that pain responses, like all other behaviours, are subject to the principles and laws of conditioning/ learning. Given this, prevalent antecedent and consequent stimulus conditions typically seen in acute and chronic pain states are outlined, as well as primary and secondary pain responses typically encountered across these states. In addition to tissue damage/irritation, the observation is made that major environmental stressors can also play an important role in initiating and maintaining acute pain responses. Likewise, pain responses can be significantly influenced during the acute state by reinforcing consequences (i.e. the presentation of rewards or the removal of aversive conditions). Such conditions set the occasion for development of chronic pain states, which may be only secondarily influenced and maintained by tissue damage and irritation. A list of indicators which suggests that learning effects are making a significant contribution to pain responses is provided, with emphasis on identifying the presence of controlling antecedent or consequent stimulus conditions in addition to tissue damage/irritation. The chapter concludes by focusing on the need for incorporation of behavioural assessment and treatment methods in acute and chronic pain states that adequately evaluate and treat learning effects.

Japanese intercultural communication competence and cross-cultural adjustment

This study explores the relationship between language and communication skills and patterns of success and failure in the cross-cultural adjustment of Japanese university students. Seven interpersonal communication skills which were selected by Ruben and Kealey as important to cross-cultural adjustment were examined: empathy, respect, role behavior flexibility, orientation to knowledge, interaction posture, interaction management, and tolerance for ambiguity. Besides these skills, language was taken into consideration as a major component influencing Japanese intercultural communication. The behavioral assessment method developed by Ruben was utilized to measure communicative performance and behaviors of Japanese university students who visited the United States for 4 weeks for their English training. In order to assess the language skills of these individuals, listening, speaking, structure and written expression, and vocabolary and reading comprehension skills were measured. At the end of their stay in the United States, the dimensions of culture shock, psychological adjustment, and interactional effectiveness were examined. Comparisons of pre- and post-test measures indicated that six out of the seven communication behaviors observed in the Japanese students did not predict success or failure in adjustment to the United States. Only ambiguity tolerance yielded correlation with culture shock. However, speaking and listening skills were closely correlated with interactional effectiveness.

Psychophysiology of type A behavior pattern: A critical analysis

Based on an analysis of 45 studies recently reported in the literature and data from a psychophysiological investigation, the hypothesized physiological mechanisms underlying Type A behavior and the methods used to determine Type A behavior (e.g., Structured Interview, SI, and the Jenkins Activity Survey, JAS) are tested. After determining behavior type with both the SI and JAS, subjects ( N = 58 physical-education students) participated in a laboratory/field experiment with two replications consisting of the following conditions: (1) rest, (2) mental arithmetic, (3) reaction time test, (4) preparing and giving a speech, (5) Cold Pressor Test, (6) bicycle ergometric exercise, and (7) 1000 m run. Blood pressure, heart rate, stroke volume, cardiac output, ventricular ejection time, pulse volume amplitude, pulse transit time, pulse wave velocity, electrodermal activity, respiratory volume, oxygen uptake, and uric catecholamine levels were measured. Results of the analysis of the literature indicate that, with the exception of change scores on systolic blood pressure, mean differences on the physiological measures exhibited by Type A and B men are primarily not significant. The Structured Interview shows only a modest inter-rater reliability. The Jenkins Activity Survey demonstrates relatively low stability upon retest and fails to show sufficient internal consistency. Correlations between these measures are low. No consistent differences on physiological measures could be found in our subjects based on behavior type (according to SI or JAS criteria), although the challenging conditions were selected to elicit Type A behavior. For our data, differences between Types A and B were also not found for systolic blood pressure, regardless of which behavioral assessment method was employed.

Behavior therapy: an overview.

The authors examine the broad field of behavior therapy, the theories underlying its development, and the techniques that are used to change behavior. They review recent developments in behavior therapy as they relate to behavioral medicine and to treatment of psychiatric disorders, and briefly describe the use of cognitive behavior therapy in the treatment of depression and other problems. They discuss methods of behavioral assessment and the application of behavior therapy in large populations, as well as new uses of behavioral techniques in business and industry, gerontology, and marital therapy.