The Behavioral Observations Podcast with Matt Cicoria

How Does Interviewer Behavior Influence Children's Responses? Inside JABA 19

12 snips

May 22, 2024

Guest

John Borrero

Guest

Milad Najafichaghabouri

Guest

Ray Joslyn

Ray Joslyn, an assistant professor at West Virginia University, Milad Najafichaghabouri, a doctoral student specializing in ABA, and John Borrero, editor-in-chief of JABA, dive into how interviewer behavior impacts children's response accuracy. They discuss the nuances of question phrasing and its implications in educational and legal settings. The trio emphasizes the necessity of tailored interviewing techniques, especially for vulnerable populations, and highlights the critical role of replication studies in strengthening research validity.

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INSIGHT

Children's Interview Sensitivity

Children’s responses are highly sensitive to how interviewers phrase questions and behave during interviews.
Different kids react idiosyncratically, highlighting the complexity of obtaining accurate information from them.

ADVICE

Avoid Leading Questions

Avoid phrasing questions in ways that influence or suggest answers to children.
Use neutral, non-leading questions to maintain accuracy in children’s responses.

INSIGHT

Ethical Assent Practices

Incorporating assent from children over seven respects their autonomy and improves ethical research practices.
Continuous assent checks during sessions ensure ongoing willingness to participate.

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If you've ever watched a police procedural show on television, you're probably noticed that there are different ways to phrase questions to people. I've just given you a few examples that will be salient to the forthcoming discussion.

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In the 19th installment of Behavioral Observations' Inside JABA Series, Dr. John Borrero and I discuss a paper in the most recent issue called, Idiosyncratic effects of interviewer behavior on the accuracy of children’s responses, with its authors: Milad Najafichaghabouri, Dr. Ray Joslyn, and Emma Preston.

Here's some additional background on our guests:

Dr. Ray Joslyn is currently an assistant professor in the psychology department at West Virginia University. He has research interests in group contingencies, behavior analysis in education, and crime and delinquency.
Milad Najafichaghabouri is a doctoral student in the Disability Disciplines program at Utah State University specializing in ABA. His primary research interests include group contingency-based intervention in the classroom, and social validity practices in research
Emma Preston is currently a graduate student in the Disabilities Disciplines program at Utah State University specializing in ABA. Her research and practice interests include the Good Behavior Game, manipulating parameters of reinforcement to improve intervention outcomes, and Tier 3 school-based interventions.

I'll refrain from spoiling the discussion here, but there are a few things to note. First, this is the first time we've discussed a replication in the Inside JABA Series, and John dons his Editor in Chief hat for a few minutes at the end and discusses the importance of replication studies in general, and what makes for good replication more specifically.

Second, this topic - describing the conditions in which children do and do not report incidents accurately - has huge implications. From schools, to child services, to law enforcement, understanding the potential influences of phrasing questions and acknowledging responses could be crucial contributions in these areas.

Third, this study featured a clever assent procedure that again, I won't spoil here, but it's worth tuning into.

And lastly, we get into all sorts of nitty-gritty details, including some of the participants' unexpected responses to the experimental procedure... and these are the things that generally do not make the printed page that you can only get in these types of conversations.

This podcast, along with all of the Inside JABA Series ones, is eligible for continuing education. If you've never gotten CEUs from Behavioral Observations before, it's really easy. Just listen to the episode, go to behavioralobservations.com/get-ceus, make purchase... and fun fact: there are great discounts available if you need to snap up many CEUs, take a quiz, and you're good to go.