Anagha .G Behaviour Assessment Sulbha is a 31 year old woman who stays in Mumbai.

She works in a corporate office in South Mumbai. However, since the age of 19 years, Sulbha had developed the habit of biting her nails. She would start biting them without knowing, especially when she was tensed or travelling by public transport. Sulbha would get embarrassed by the attention this act would garner in her office, more so, if she was in a boardroom meeting and started biting her nails in the middle of the meeting. Sulbha has tried various solutions for this issue. Someone recommended that she paint her nails a bold, metallic, jarring colour and that would revolt her enough that she would stop biting her nails. However, this only helped in revolting her colleagues who would get disgusted with her nail colours. Finally, she decided to go for counseling, after a close friend enquired if she gets tensed easily and that it could lead to anxiety or panic attacks. Fearing some dire consequences, Sulbha went in for her counseling sessions. The counselor helped her recognise anxiety signs or stressors and taught her techniques that she could use to alleviate the habit. Sulbah observed a marked improvement when her beautician commented on how her nails were so glossy and healthy looking. Sulbha is happy she has succeeded through sustained efforts which paid off.

Anagha .G The term behaviour can be explained as something that people do or say, it involves a persons actions; hence, it is not a static characteristic of a person. Behaviour can be overtwhich is seen, or covert- which is private. This technique was given by many individuals like B.F.Skinner, Thorndike, John Watson. The technique which leads to the change or alteration in Sulbhas habit is known as behaviour modification. Behaviour Assessment is the measurement of the target behaviour or behaviours in behaviour modification and is important for measuring behaviour before treatment, whether the treatment is necessary, choosing the best, and after the treatment. In the case study provided above, the target behaviour would be to alter the habit of biting nails. Target behaviour is the behaviour that one wishes to modify or change. Logistic of recording: The individual to be assessed. In the case study mentioned above, the assessee is Sulbha. The assessor is the counselor as well as the individual himself. In such cases, the method is called self-monitoring. The assessor will record and observe the target behaviour. Selfmonitoring is used here because the individual (Sulbha) is keen and motivated to modify her behaviour of nail biting. So the chance of bias is expected to be low. Assessed behaviour: The target behaviour of nail-biting is being assessed here. It is observed that the target behaviour is observed to occur whenever the individual, Sulbha, is in a stressful situation or when she is thinking in a concentrated manner. The antecedent to this behaviour is assumed to be the stress of performance (office meeting), to meet expectations (target achievement in office), and solving a difficult issue or a problem (how to reach office by 9am).

Anagha .G Type of assessment: Direct assessment is used. Naturalistic observation where the counselor or mainly, the client records her own behaviour through observation. Here, the frequency of behaviour would be how frequently Sulbha indulges in nail biting during the day. Duration would be how long does the behaviour occur. Here, it would be how long does Sulbha bites here nails when she starts biting them (onset) till what time or after how long it stops (offset). The intensity of the behaviour, here nail biting, is a little difficult to measure. One method could be to check how much of the nail has been bitten in between one onset and offset of that behaviour (nail biting). The behaviour is recorded in a concrete sheet, e.g., a diary or a record sheet for each with time of onset and offset and a description of the intensity.Using continuous interval. That is recording the target behaviour throughout the day. Setting: The place of recording or the setting of recording and observation could be anyplace the individual is and where the target behaviour occurs. Here, it could be when Sulbha is at home, in the office, at the gym, etc. The target behaviour is recorded to get a baseline data about the said behaviour. This behaviour is plotted on the graph. Graphical analysis and representation of the data helps to understand if the treatment is effective, or stagnant. How: the method of collection of data used here is direct method as mentioned earlier, where Sulbha will observed her own behaviour and record the same. Method of recording: For the case study mentioned above, continuous recording is suggested. The target behaviour is continuously recorded throughout the day. The Frequency, the duration and the intensity are recorded.

Anagha .G Frequency- How frequently does Sulbha bite her nails during the day? This is recorded in a record sheet which is kept according to the day. Or Sulbha can maintain a diary for the same. Duration- It measures how long the behaviour has occurred. This consists of the onset time (when the target behaviour starts), the offset time (when the target behaviour is stopped) and the latency period (how long after a particular situation does the onset period start). Intensity- It measures the force or strength of the behaviour which is targeted. Instrument for recording: A record sheet was suggested to Sulbha. In this sheet, she could mark the frequency during the day. In the duration sheet, she can mark the onset time and the offset time for each instance of target behaviour. The intensity sheet could be a record of the force with which the nails were bitten or how much of the nail bed has been bitten off. Thus, the technique of behaviour assessment will help in modification of the selected target behaviour. Here, Sulbha has benefited from this technique. -Anagha .G