Situational Effects on Observer Accuracy: Behavioral Predictability, Prior Experience, and Complexity of Coding Categories

Frequency, complexity, and clarity as covariates of observer reliability

“…The most reasonable hypothesis is that as the number of different discriminations required of an observer increase so do the errors of detection (Arrington, 1939;Mash & McElwee, 1974). A similar phenomenon is reported in the self-monitoring literature where accuracy decreases when concurrent tasks are required of the person self-monitoring (Epstein, Webster, & Miller, 1975;Epstein, Miller, & Webster, 1976;House & Kinscherf, 1978).…”

“…At high rates the most probable errors would be "false positives," the observer assuming that a behavior had occurred again even when it had not. What is suggested here is that the observer's subjective estimate of the response probability may have an effect on his/her detection of actual occurrence (Mash & McElwee, 1974;Mash & Makohoniuk, 1975). Further controlled studies would be necessary to determine if this is the case.…”

The comparative effectiveness of two modes of observer training on the Staff-Resident Interaction Chronograph

“…The specific criterion videotapes were 2.5 times more active than the in vivo programs in the present study, and more active than all but one "real life" program observed in the validity sample (Licht, 1979). The complexity of the material to be coded has previously been associated with increased coding errors with different observational instruments (Jones, et al, 1974;Mash & McElwee, 1974;Reid, et al, 1973). Therefore, future examinations of observational methodology require investigations into the role of the complexity of observational scenes themselves for different types of observational tasks, as well as the possible interaction with modes of presenting the material to be coded.…”

Evaluation of self-contained training procedures for the Time-Sample Behavioral Checklist

“…Identification and investigation of these relationships would contribute to a better understanding of human information processing in general and would help determine the circumstances in which videotape material might be used in scientific investigations for representation of in vivo behavior. However, for practical purposes, training on the most complex scenes that are likely ever to be encountered appears to be the best strategy (see Licht et al, 1980;Mash and Makohoniuk, 1975;Mash and McElwee, 1974).…”