Abstract
This study assessed the relative utility of audio and audiovisually recorded versions of structured interactions from the Behavioral Assertiveness Test-Revised. The subjects were 28 adult male psychiatric patients who participated in an assertion training program. The systems were evaluated on a number of dimensions including reliability, comparability, sensitivity to change, concurrent and discriminant validity, and cost. The two systems were found to be approximately equally reliable, to produce comparable results on measures that were assessed by both systems, and to be approximately equally sensitive to change. The main advantage of the audiovisual system was the inclusion of a measure of eye contact — which proved to be one of the most valid component behaviors assessed. Potential users need to weigh the additional information obtained from this measure against the substantially greater cost of the audiovisual system. It was concluded that both systems could be simplified, and limitations of the study were noted.
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Glasgow, R.E., Ely, R.O., Besyner, J.K. et al. Behavioral measures of assertiveness: A comparison of audio and audiovisual coding of structured interactions. Journal of Behavioral Assessment 2, 273–285 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01666786
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01666786