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While the use of simulated patients for the assessement of medical students' skills is increasing there is little data on whether students perform differently vs real patients. The present study examined this issue using second-year medical students' ability to empathize with simulated and genuine patients. Forty second-year students each conducted two interviews which were audio-recorded and later rated by raters who had achieved a high degree of reliability using the 9-point accurate empathy scale (Truax, 1967). Ten students saw a genuine patient for each interview while ten students saw simulators on both occasions. Of the remaining twenty students, ten saw genuine patients at the first interview and simulated patients at the second session. This order was reversed for the remaining ten students. No significant differences were found in the levels of empathy between students' interaction with genuine or simulated patients. As the students were also unable to discriminate between the two groups of patients it was concluded that simulators represent a viable procedure given the skill to be assessed in the present research and the experience of the students.

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The study sought to examine the effects of varying interval length on the representation of data obtained using modified frequency time sampling. A 7-category scale was used to observe reliably the behavior of eight psychiatric inpatients. Using electronic real time recording equipment, it was possible to computer analyze the obtained data at varying interval lengths, the shortest interval being 1.0 seconds. It was found that increasing the interval length had little effect on the percentage of total duration recorded within each behavioral category, suggesting that this is a relatively stable measure of behavior. Percentage total events for each category was less stable with increasing interval lengths. The number of recorded events within each category tended to decrease, while their average durations tended to increase, as a function of increasing the interval length. The data suggest that the current practice of determining interval length in an arbitrary fashion, or on the basis of convention, should be abandoned. Rather, such a decision should be empirically determined for each particular observation scale and subject group. One method by which this might be achieved is presented. DESCRIPTORS: interval length, within-interval error, empirical method of determinationJohnson and Bolstad (1973) and Jones, Reid, and Patterson (1975) have suggested that the development of direct observational techniques may well be the single most important contribution of applied behavior analysis to the discipline of psychology. Certainly such techniques are widely used by behavioral scientists.Reviewing studies published in the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis between 1968, Kelly (1977 found that 76% employed direct observation procedures. Of the recording techniques used in those studies, 29% involved event recording, 20% interval recording, and 21 % time sampling. Each of these observation tactics seeks to record data that accurately represent the actual stream of behavior being obThe authors extend their thanks to all staff and patients who permitted this study to be undertaken.

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