A method for recording verbal behavior in free-play settings

The present study attempted to test the reliability of a new method of recording verbal behavior in a free-play preschool setting. Six children, three normal and three speech impaired, served as subjects. Videotaped records of verbal behavior were scored by two experimentally naive observers. The results suggest that the system provides a means of obtaining reliable records of both normal and impaired speech, even when the subjects exhibit nonverbal behaviors (such as hyperactivity) that interfere with direct observation techniques.     

A computer-oriented system for high-speed recording of operant behavior

A method is described by which large quantities of data, generated at high and variable rates from a large number of test boxes, are recorded on a single eight-channel punched paper tape. The data, which include a record of the occurrence time of each event in 1/10-sec units, are in a compact form, suitable for conversion to standard Hollerith punched card codes and for decoding and summarizing by a large digital computer. Experience with the system has demonstrated a high degree of accuracy and reliability, and low operating cost.     

A microprocessor control and recording system for instrumental behavior research

This paper describes a miroprocessor system developed for experimental control and data collection in real time. By connecting the experimental equipment to the microprocessor via a serial communication interface, transmission of various animal test-chamber functions over greater distances with only a few cables is facilitated. The microprocessor is programmed on a host computer (PDP/8). A combined terminal station with a cassette deck is used for data and program storage.     

A device for recording automatic audio tape recording

Adaptation of a commercially available timer for use as a means of operating an audio tape recorder several times during the day is described. Data on a mother's rates of commanding her children were collected via both physically present observer and recorder methods in order to compare the usefulness of the recordings with direct observation. There was a high positive relationship between observer-recorder command rates, with the observer rates being consistently higher, when data were collected via both methods simultaneously as well as at different points in time.     

A system for recording family sessions

A diagrammatic technique for recording family sessions is presented. The Interaction Chronogram is a visual display system originally devised for use in group psychotherapy by Cox, but can be modified for work with families. The system permits a family session to be summarized diagrammatically and aids review of a family's treatment. A 'diagnostic' and treatment session with one family is presented to illustrate the system's use.     

A stand camera for line-of-sight recording

The paper describes a method that has been extensively used to superpose a spot marking the position of the line-of-sight on photographs of stimulus scenes. The spot, reflected from the cornea, determines the line-of-sight with an accuracy of plus or minus 1°. Some of the useful measurements that can be made of fixation patterns are described. Two basic themes have guided the experimental applications: the relation between attention and the line of sight, and the association between peripheral and central vision. Comparisons among age groups have also demonstrated the erratic and piecemeal nature of children’s visual input. Comparisons among scenes have shown that certain areas of a picture, judged highly informative, receive most of the visual fixations. More than 20 other laboratories have also used the camera in a wide range of research on perception, cognition, and psycholinguistics.     

Standardized questionaire for the recording of data on behavior typical of encephalophathies

The author in his present paper describes the testing, standardization, and applications of a newly developed questionnaire to obtain quantitative data on encephalopathic behavior patterns of five- to ten-year-old children by interrogating parents, teachers, and educators. The results of extreme-group and factor-analysis validation show that the questionnaire is suitable for use in pedoneuropsychiatric interrogation.     

A wood-gnawing sensor for recording collateral behavior emitted by rats on differential reinforcement of low rate schedules

The difficulties in measuring the idiosyncratic collateral behavior emitted by rats on a DRL schedule are overcome by providing woodblocks attached to a sensor. Wood gnawing is recorded by stylus transducer signals. An audio amplifier raises these signals to a suitable level for the operation of a threshold control unit. A pulse former operates the final relay amplifier for 150 msec from the onset of disturbance to the transducer.     

An automatic recording system of the positional behavior of mice for experimental analysis

A device for automatic recording of a mouse positional behavior within a circular corridor-like cage is described. The animal’s position is successfully monitored by capacitor detection and its time spent at each position measured; the results are punched on the paper tape as binary coded numbers, and the data are processed off-line by a general-purpose computer.