1. Social validity (Wolfe, 1978) Definition: “degree to which behavior-change efforts impact favorably upon consumers” (Carr et al. 1999) Important to evaluate in applied research. Social validity is concerned with: 1.are the goals of the study socially relevant? 2.are the procedures acceptable in light of the outcomes? (costs/benefits) 3.are the results socially meaningful?

2. Social Validity In other words, –How do the clients feel about the treatment program? –Do they agree with the goals ? –Do they find the methods acceptable (given the costs/effort/time/ethical values)? –Dot are they satisfied with the results? Researchers need to evaluate social validity, or consumers may not use the treatment

3. Example: A child is emitting many behavior problems, throwing tantrums when asked to go to bed, refusing to get dressed, bullying their sibling, etc. You decide to focus on the morning routine. You decide to implement a timeout procedure (5 min timeout in a corner) every time the child says “NO” and refuses to put on their clothes. Goals –Do the parents agree that getting dressed is the most important behavior to target? Maybe they think that bullying is more important. Methods – Do the parents find using timeout acceptable? Do they have ethical concerns about using it? Do they think they can manage doing it? Outcomes – After two weeks, the child’s refusals decrease, and the child get dressed 4 out of 7 mornings without trouble. Are the parents satisfied with this outcome? Do they feel that the problem is significantly improved?

4. Social validity (Poling) How might investigators evaluate social validity? 1.Subjective evaluation – asking consumers Problems: −evaluation may be inconsistent with actual changes in behavior −reports may be biased −determining who are the consumers −Always best to determine the source of discrepancies

5. Social validity (Poling) How might investigators evaluate social validity? 2.Social comparison – comparing with peers Problems: −Identifying an appropriate peer group −Normal levels may be undesirable

6. Example: Social validity You are interested in implementing a weight loss program. You decide to implement a self-management program whereby each person charts their own calories consumed and exercise time. Your plan is to have participants make graduate changes in calories/exercise across weeks. What are some of your social validity concerns? *Goals *Procedures *Outcomes Subjective evaluation? Social comparison?

7. Example: Social validity You are working with a restaurant to increase sanitation among employees. You decide to use managers to record behavior of employees across a shift, chart and display the behavior, and delivery monetary bonuses to employees with the best performance. What are some of your social validity concerns? *Goals *Procedures *Outcomes Subjective evaluation? Social comparison?