The majority of current computer-based psychological tests are traditional paper-and-pencil measures that have been transferred to automated scoring, administration, and interpretation systems. We suggest the possibility of more fully using microcomputer capabilities through computer-based unobtrusive measurement. Such procedures may be particularly useful as supplements to self-reports in such sensitive areas as alcohol use or treatment outcome. We report the results of a preliminary study with 66 7th and 9th grade students that provided evidence for convergent validity of two computer-based unobtrusive measures of alcohol-related behavior. We hope to stimulate development of other such measures, but note that should computer-based unobtrusive measurement prove practical, fuller consideration of ethical issues will be necessary.Contemporary computer applications in professional psychology have predominantly involved psychological testing, with most developers of computer-based tests focusing on the simple translation of manual procedures to automated scoring, administration, and interpretation (Butcher, 1987;Hedlund, Vieweg, & Cho, 1984). Although these efforts improve the reliability of scoring, they do little to advance basic measurement procedures or take advantage of microcomputer capacities. In this article we provide an example for more fully using the microcomputer through unobtrusive measurement.With unobtrusive measurement, subjects are unaware that they are being observed, thereby eliminating concerns about reactivity. Subjects' awareness ofbeing measured does not necessarily invalidate the results of the measurement, but it raises doubts about whether the data may be generalized to situations in which subjects do not believe they are being observed or evaluated (Kazdin, 1980). Unobtrusive measures have been proposed as a viable alternative and supplement to traditional measurement strategies (cf. Webb, Campbell, Schwartz, Securest, & Grove, 1981). Unobtrusive measurement is particularly important in situations in which we have reason to suspect that subjects' awareness of procedures may change their responses.
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