Behavioral Observation of Children in Psychology

Behavioral observation

Behavioral observation is a widely used method of behavioral assessment. Unlike other

methods of behavioral assessment, most of which rely on people’s perceptions of behavior,

behavioral observation involves watching and recording the behavior of a person in typical

environments (e.g., classrooms).

Depending on the nature of the behaviors of concern, observers may be interested in any

one or a combination of several characteristics related to the behavior. The most common

characteristic observed is frequency, or how often a behavior occurs. Other characteristics

include magnitude (how intense a behavior is) and duration (how long a behavior lasts). A

behavior change agent might be interested in reducing the frequency of a problem behavior,

reducing its intensity, or reducing its duration.

Child Observation is the method of watching, listening, asking questions, documenting,

and analyzing the observed words and actions of children as they interact with their surroundings

and other people. Proper observation in childcare is crucial in helping educators and parents

address the needs of early childhood development.

Purpose of Child Observation

The intention should be clear before you begin with child observation. is it to come up

with an action plan with the parents to help improve their child’s behavior? Is it to document a

child’s milestone or learning progress? Do you want the parents to see their child’s new skill as

demonstrated in the creation of an artwork? Is it to closely track a child’s language development?

 You’re uniquely positioned to watch and understand your child. And your notes and

observations can help your child’s doctor and others better understand what your child is

experiencing. They may even ask you to look for specific things.

Child Observation Methods

A keen observer and systematically recording observations takes skill. The most difficult

aspect is learning to be objective and not judgmental of a child's behavior. Taking care to reflect

upon what the child did, not what the observer thought about the behavior is critical. During the

observation time, describe behaviors rather than interpret. Later, one can reflect upon

observation notes to draw conclusions.

Being objective means recording exactly what a child is doing. Objective statements are

based on facts that would be agreed upon by others. Objective observation does not infer or

make judgments. Subjective statements are interpretive and include personal impressions of what

was observed. Words such as lazy, anxious, stubborn or aggressive may not be terms that would

be agreed upon by all observers. Subjective perceptions can often be flavored by personal biases

and experiences. Such judgment’s about observations often may be inappropriate or unmerited.

Anecdotal Records

Anecdotal records are brief narrative accounts describing an incident of a child’s

behavior after it occurs. For anecdotal records, brief descriptive notes are written after the

behavior or event has occurred. This technique allows for unusual or unexpected events to be

recorded. A series of anecdotal records over time can be extremely useful in providing rich

details about the person being observed.

Running Records

Running records are detailed narrative accounts of behavior written in a sequential

manner as it happens. A running record differs from an anecdotal record because it includes all

behavior and not just selected incidents and is written as the behavior occurs instead of later.

Using this method, the observer focuses on specific individuals or a specific area of the

classroom. The observer becomes aware of some behaviors which may have previously gone

undetected. Running records can be taken in various centers of activity around the room. For

example, if there is a problem in the reading corner, close observation can be made of that area.

If there is a problem between two children, close observation can be made of just these two

children. Running records capture important developmental behaviors of preschool children and

can provide insight into individually meeting children’s needs.

Event Recording

Event recording involves keeping track of how many times a behavior or event occurs

during a pre-specified time interval. This approach focuses on one specific behavior that is of

interest to the observer (e.g. aggressive acts or thumb sucking). In order to conduct an event

recording, the target behavior must first be clearly defined and have an identifiable beginning

and order for an accurate count to be reached.

An event recording captures the frequency of a behavior which may prove useful when

comparing a child’s behavior over time or when evaluating the usefulness of a new intervention

or change in a classroom routine.

Learning Stories

this is the method of telling a story about the child (or a group of children) and the child’s

decisions and the events or scenarios that followed because of those decisions. Can be one short

paragraph or more than a whole page depending on the story.

Time Samples

a method of recording observations on the child's behavior and what the child is doing at

specific times. This can be done at regular intervals and can be a useful method to help identify

and reduce the child's negative behavior by understanding the context surrounding the situation.

Work Samples

these are the child's paintings, clay figures, drawings, cutouts, writings, and other creations.

Educators can provide descriptions based on jotted down notes narrating what the child may

have said or done surrounding these work samples.

Milestone

Developmental milestones are behaviors or physical skills seen in infants and children as

they grow and develop. Rolling over, crawling, walking, and talking are all considered

milestones. The milestones are different for each age range.

Developmental milestones record

There is a normal range in which a child may reach each milestone. For example, walking

may begin as early as 8 months in some children. Others walk as late as 18 months and it is still

considered normal.
 One of the reasons for well-child visits to the health care provider in the early years is to

follow your child's development. Most parents also watch for different milestones. Talk to your

child's provider if you have concerns about your child's development.

Closely watching a "checklist" or calendar of developmental milestones may trouble parents

if their child is not developing normally. At the same time, milestones can help to identify a child

who needs a more detailed check-up.

Types of Milestones

There are four basic categories for developmental milestones, including.

Physical milestones: These milestones involve both large motor skills and fine motor skills.

The large motor skills are usually the first to develop and include sitting up, standing, crawling,

and walking. Fine motor skills involve precise movements such as grasping a spoon, holding a

crayon, drawing shapes, and picking up small objects.

Cognitive milestones: These milestones are centered on a child's ability to think, learn, and

solve problems. An infant learning how to respond to facial expressions and a preschooler

learning the alphabet are both examples of cognitive milestones.

Social and emotional milestones: Centered on children gaining a better understanding of

their own emotions and the emotions of others, social and emotional milestones also involve

learning how to interact and play with other people.

Communication milestones: These milestones involve both language and nonverbal

communication. A one-year-old learning how to say his first words and a five-year-old learning

some of the basic rules of grammar are examples of important communication milestones.
Kids Develop at Different Rates

While most of these milestones typically take place during a certain window of time, there is

one important caveat. Parents and caregivers must remember that each child is unique. Not all

kids are going to hit these milestones at the same time. Some children might reach certain

milestones very early, like learning how to walk or talk much earlier than their same-age peers.

Other children might reach the same milestones much later. This doesn't necessarily mean that

one child is gifted or that another is delayed.

These developmental abilities also tend to build on one another. More advanced skills like

walking usually occur after simpler abilities such as crawling and sitting up have already been

achieved. Just because one child began to walk by 9 months of age does not mean that another

child is behind if he still isn't walking at 12 months. Most kids generally begin to walk between

the ages of 9 and 15 months, so anytime between those ages is considered normal. If your child

hasn't learned to walk by 18 months and you're concerned, check with your child's doctor.

Rolling over

A child will probably be able to roll over from his front to his back when he's about five

or six months, when his neck and arm muscles are strong enough. He’ll then learn to roll from

his back to his front from about six to seven months. All babies develop at different rates though.

Some babies manage to roll over as early as four months, whereas others may take longer.

Some babies don’t like being on their tummy at first. Being in this new position can be a

strange experience for your little one. If this happens, try to distract him with a toy or get down

to where he can see you, and offer lots of encouraging smiles and chatter.
Crawling

Crawling is probably the first way baby will get moving. She may start by shuffling around on

her tummy also called the commando crawl.

Soon your baby will learn to balance on her hands and knees. From this position she can push

off with her knees to move forwards and backwards. She'll be scooting around your home in no

time.

Your baby may start learning to crawl from about six months and most babies are moving

around by the time they’re nine months old. she will be able to do mini push-ups. She will lie on

her tummy and lift her head and chest up, using her arms for support. By the time she reaches

her first birthday, she's likely to be crawling well and exploring her surroundings.

Your baby may then start to move around by commando-crawling, pulling herself along on

her tummy using her forearms. She may then get up on all fours and rock backwards and

forwards, with her arms straight and her body parallel to the floor.

Sitting

While you can support your baby in a sitting position almost from day one, sitting

independently doesn't begin until your baby has head control.

Three months to four months.

Repo building

Repo building is the basis of meaningful, close and harmonious relationships between

people. It's the sense of connection that you get when you meet someone you like and trust, and

whose point of view you understand. It's the bond that forms when you discover that you share

one another's values and priorities in life.

 Building rapport with your clients is one of the most important counseling skills to

possess. Did you know that approximately 40% of client change is due to the quality of the

counseling relationship?

It’s no secret that we must get clients to trust us and feel comfortable in the counseling

room. If we don’t, then clients won’t share important details with us, won’t trust what we say,

and in general won’t participate in the counseling process in the way that we need them . But

how do we build this rapport? Here are some suggestions:

1.Use your active listening skills to understand the client and their story. Before you

make any attempt at an intervention, demonstrate to the client that you understand where they are

coming from. It may sound silly, but I actually visualize myself really tiny inside of their head.

2. Watch your speed. Your speed of intimacy, that is depending on the client’s culture,

background, personality, etc.it may take longer to build the trust required to discuss more

personal and sensitive issues. In order to assess the trust level, pay attention to both the content

of what the client is sharing (some clients will only share surface-level details at first) and the

client’s body language, as they will be important indicators of how much the client is ready to

share. It is important to be aware of these non-verbal signals because not all clients will clearly

verbalize their discomfort.

3. Small successes first, Before delving into their biggest problem, try giving helpful

information, positive feedback or encouragement. You may even try an intervention on a smaller

problem early on in the process. But at this stage only attempt those problems you are reasonably

confident you can address successfully. This will help the client build confidence in you.
 4. Treat the client with respect. This may seem obvious, but from your very first contact

treat the client as an important person. Return calls promptly, start sessions on time, dress

professionally, have paperwork ready for them, etc.

5. Match styles. Watch your client and become aware of their communication style. A

wise teacher once said that as counselors we were like tuning forks. Our jobs were to get the

client to come closer to wellness, or normalcy .So, we should try to match our clients’

communication rhythm but stay a little bit to the center. So for hyperactive clients, we stay on

the calm side of hyperactive

6.Be competent. It should seem obvious, but probably the best way to destroy a

counseling relationship is to be incompetent. The client isn’t going to trust you if you don’t know

what you are doing. Ensure you have proper training and experience before tackling the client’s

issue.

Types of repo building

First impression count

First impression count and your appearance should help you to connect with people, not

create a barrier. A good rule of thumb is to dress just a little “better" than the people you're about

to meet. However, if you arrive and see that you're overdressed, you can quickly dress down to

suit the situation.

Remember the basics

Always remember the basics of good communication

Be culturally appropriate .

Smile
 Relax

Remember people’s name

Hold your head up and maintain a good posture.

Listen carefully and attentively

Listen carefully and attentively

Don’t outstay your welcome.

These basic tenets form the foundation of great communication. It will be hard to

establish rapport without them, as they will help you to establish trust, empathy, and a feeling in

people that you are listening to them.

Find Common Ground

Identifying common ground can help to establish rapport, so use small talk to find

something that you both share. Most people like talking about themselves, and more genuine

interest you show in them, the more likely they are to relax and "open up." Use open-ended

questions to discover personal information: perhaps you attended the same college, share the

same hobbies, grew up in the same city, or support the same sports team. Even just expressing

your shared frustration at the traffic that delayed your journeys to work can help you to draw

closer to someone.

Create shared experience

Rapport grow with human interaction, and a great way to interact is to create new, shared

experience. Shared experiences can be as simple as attending the same conference session

together, or as complex as cooperating on a new management process. Working collaboratively

to define problems, devise solutions, and design strategies, for example, can help to bring you

and the other person closer.

Be Empathic

Empathic is about understand other people by things from their perspective, , and

recognizing their emotions. So, to understand and share another person's perspective, you need to

learn what makes him tick. As we've already mentioned, many people enjoy talking about their

likes and dislikes, needs and wants, and problems and successes, so ask open-ended questions

and give them space to talk.

You need to really hear what they say, so that you can respond intelligently and with

curiosity. So, it's important to be a good listener, and to fined tune your emotional intelligence.

You can also perceptual positions a technique for seeing form other people’s perceptive.