Chapter 11
Assessment of Behavior
Brief Summary
Chapter 11 focuses on the assessment of behavior. After reading this chapter your students should be
able to understand the following:
▪ The purpose of a behavioral assessment Projective drawing tests
▪ Observational techniques Apperception tests
▪ Recording behaviors Sentence completion tests
▪ Interviews Adaptive behavior
▪ A student’s behavior during testing Functional behavioral assessment
▪ Psychological tests Behavioral intervention plans
Lecture and Discussion Outline
I. Overview
II. Assessing Problem Behavior
III. Observation
A. Observation of a specific situation
B. Observation in various settings
C. Observation at different times during the day
D. Target behaviors
E. Types of recording that are often used when doing an observation
1. Anecdotal recording
2. Event recording
3. Latency recording
4. Duration recording
F. Goals of Observations
IV. Interviews
A. Structured interview
B. Unstructured interview
V. Understanding a Student’s Behavior During Assessment
A. Adjustment to the Situation
B. Reaction Time
C. Nature of Responses
D. Verbalizations
E. Organizational Approach Used During Testing
F. Adaptability
G. Attitude
VI. Assessing Emotional and Social Development
A. Psychological Tests
1. Projective Drawing Tests
a. Goodenough-Harris Drawing Test (GHDT)
b. Draw-A-Person: Screening for Emotional Disturbance (DAP: SPED)
2. Apperception Tests
a. Children’s Apperception Test (CAT)
b. Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)
3. Sentence Completion Tests
a. Examples from a sentence completion test
4. Rating Scales
VII. Assessment of Adaptive Behavior
VII. Functional Behavioral Assessment
VIII. Behavioral Intervention Plans
VIII. Conclusion
Essay Questions
▪ Discuss the importance of doing observations in assessment. Explain the various types of
observations that can be done and the different types of recording you can do when doing an
observation on a student.
▪ Why are interviews necessary when doing an evaluation on children? What are the two types of
interviews and define each?