participants using an ED implemented by palmtop
computer completed 94% of scheduled assess-
ments at the time of the scheduled prompt.
Thus, real-time computerized monitoring is clearly
advantageous.
Role-Playing Methods
Role-playingis another technique that has been used
in behavioral assessment. Role-playing orbehavioral
rehearsal(Goldfried & Davison, 1994) can be used
as a means of training new response patterns.
Although role-playing is an old clinical technique,
behavioral assessors have carried out few systematic
studies on the methodological problems inherent in
the technique as a means of assessment—among
them, demand characteristics, standardization of
procedures, rater halo effects, and sampling prob-
lems involved in role selections.
Role-playing has been widely used in the
assessment of social skills and assertiveness. In a
study of social skills in shy men, for example,
Twentyman and McFall (1975) developed six social
behavior situations that required the individual to
play a role. Participants were instructed to respond
aloud as they would were they actually in the situ-
ation described to them. For example:
You are on a break at your job. You see a
girl who is about your age at the canteen.
She works in another part of the store, and
consequently you don’t know her very
well. You would like to talk to her. What
would you say? (p. 386)
Once the individual began speaking, a trained
female assistant responded to his efforts. The con-
versation continued until the participant terminated
the conversation or 3 minutes had gone by.
McFall and Lillesand (1971) also used role-
playing in assessing assertiveness. Individuals were
asked to respond aloud to nine recorded stimuli.
For example:
Narrator: A person you do not know very
well is going home for the weekend. He,or she, has some books which are due at
the library and asks if you would take them
back so they won’t be overdue. From
where you live it is a twenty-five minute
walk to the library, the books are heavy,
and you hadn’t planned on going near the
library that weekend. What do you say?
(Subject responds aloud.) (p. 315)
Obviously, role-playing techniques are not
new. They have been used as therapeutic devices
for many years (e.g., Kelly, 1955; Moreno, 1946;
Rotter & Wichens, 1948). The behaviorally ori-
ented clinician is interested in role-playing techni-
ques because they provide a simple, efficient means
of sampling the client’s behavioral skills and deficits.
However, we cannot assume that the behavioral
skills developed in the therapy room are practiced
consistently in the real world.Inventories and Checklists
Behavioral clinicians have used a variety of self-
report techniques to identify behaviors, emotional
responses, and perceptions of the environment. For
example, the Fear Survey Schedule (Geer, 1965;
Lang & Lazovik, 1963) and the Fear Questionnaire
(Marks & Matthews, 1979) have been widely used
to assess behaviors associated with anxiety dis-
orders. The Fear Survey Schedule consists of 51
potentially fear-arousing situations and requires
the patient to rate the degree of fear each situation
arouses, and the Fear Questionnaire includes 15
items that cover situations that are avoided due to
fear. Behavioral inventories also exist to assess a
range of behaviors, including physical activity
(Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly; Washburn,
Smith, Jette, & Janney, 1993), binge eating (Binge
Eating Scale; Gormally, Black, Daston, & Rardin,
1982), and alcohol use (Alcohol Use Disorders
Inventory Test; World Health Organization), for
example. Other frequently used self-report inven-
tories in behavioral assessment include the Rathus
Assertiveness Schedule (Rathus, 1973), the Beck
Depression Inventory-II (Beck, Steer, & Brown,274 CHAPTER 9