Behavioral Observation Research James M. Harper September 26, 2014 Family Studies Center

Why would I want to do Behavioral Observation Research? Actual behavior often predicts differently than self-report May give leverage to get into better journals May be a better fit to your research question

Decision Tree(Wampler & Harper, 2014)

Types of Coding Systems Micro (time, thought phrases, talk turns) Macro (watch entire taped segment and then rate) Mutually Exclusive? Sequential behavior or simultaneous behavior Verbal Non-verbal

Types of Tasks High Conflict Activity (tinker toy, build something, cook recipe together) Discussion based Event based

Flourishing Families Tasks 1st Wave Marital 25 min. discussion Parent-child 15 min. discussion Family (parents and target child) 15 min. problem solving 2nd Wave Marital: 3 min. discussion of what to teach child 5 min. Teach child something he/she doesn’t know Parent-child 9 min. discussion 15 min. family problem solving

Wave 3 Marital 10 min. discussion of how economic downturn affected them Marital 9 minute discussion about target child Parent-child 9 min. discussion 5 min. family problem Wave 4 5 min. family problem solving Wave 5

Iowa Family Interaction Rating Scales (IFIRS) Macro Coding System Coder watches segment twice for each target person Gives 1-9 score for each type of behavior

Individual Characteristic Codes

Dyadic Interaction Scales

Parenting Scales

Problem Solving Scales

Group Interaction Scales SP Silence/Pause RQ Relationship Quality GE Group Enjoyment

Creating Latent Variables from Observational Codes—Examples using Flourishing Families data

Micro Coding Frequencies & Ratios Temporal Counts Sequential

Conditional Probability Matrix Antecedent Behaviors Consequent Behaviors W H Initiation Terminate Conditional Probabilities

Training Coders Manuals Behavioral Spots Criterion Coded Task Inter-rater reliabilities Coder Drift