Using laptop based The Observer 5.0 and palm handheld based Visual Basic
(appforge add- on) software to assess social
referencing skills among young children
P. Verma1, A. Dutta2, U. Dhingra2,
B. Lozoff3, R.M. Angulo-Kinzler4, V.P. Menon1,
P. Dhingra1, A. Sarkar1, R.E. Black2, M. Osmany1,
R. Juyal1, S. Sazawal2, J. Kumar1 and
M. Black2
1Center for Micronutrient Research, Annamalai University,
India
2Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of
Public Health, Baltimore, MD,USA
3Center for Human Growth and Development, University of Michigan, Ann
Arbor MI, USA
4Division of Kinesiology, Center for Human Motor Research, University
of Michigan, Ann Arbor MI, USA
The Netherlands Social referencing is a process of emotional communication
in which the child uses mother’s interpretation of the events to
form an understanding of that event, which plays a significant role in
the child’s development. Manual recording of these skills is prone
to observational errors and inconsistencies. With recent advent and increasing
use of observational software’s, recording, storing and analysis
of complex behavioral data has become efficient. We compared two innovative
computer based methods of assessing social referencing skills by using
The Observer® 5.0
(Noldus Information Technology bv, The Netherlands) installed on laptop
(O) and the palm handled (H) device using Visual Basic (Appforge Add-on)
with multiple screen for recording of behaviors. Social referencing assessments
done for 11 mins among 30 preschool children, using laptop and palm hand
held device and both the methods were compared. Social Referencing skills,
including mother and child’s affect proximity to mother, active exploration
and wariness were similar between The Observer 5.0 installed on laptop
and palm handled device [Show Mother: O 14 (46.7), H 12 (40.0), Verbal
Mother: O 18 (60.0), H 12 (40.0), Look Mother: 28 (93.3), H 20 (66.7),
Offer Mother: O 7 (23.3), H 5 (16.67)]. Similarly, neutral state of the
child, contact with familiarization and stimulus toys, mother not talking,
mother initiate positive action, mother respond positively, the trend
was same. The results suggest that software installed in laptop and palm
based device are equally good for behavioral studies involving continuous
complex observations.
Paper presented
at Measuring Behavior 2005
, 5th International Conference on Methods and Techniques
in Behavioral Research, 30 August - 2 September 2005, Wageningen, The
Netherlands.
© 2005 Noldus
Information Technology bv
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