Graphing Behavior - Grade: 100% PDF

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PSY7701 Graphing Behavior...

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Graphing Behavior PSY 7701 Professor Andrea Murray May 19, 2018

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Introduction For three consecutive days I observed two different females who presented different behaviors in which I observed. Female one is in her early twenties and presents the behavior of picking her arm while sitting in a meeting. Female two is in her early thirties and presents the behavior of nail biting while in a meeting setting. The duration of time for each observation was fifteen minutes for each occurrence. Neither of the females knew that they were observed. In this paper I will discuss the definition of the behaviors, observation method and schedule, along with the data method recording that I use. Defining the Behavior Skin picking is also referred to as excoriation (Fama, 2010). It is a behavior where a person picks their own skin causing it to bleed. The picking can cause tissue damage. Skin picking can cause issues at work and in a social environment (Fama, 2010). Nail biting is also referred to as onychophagy or onychophagia (Ghanizadeh, 2011). It is an unanswered dilemma in psychology, dentistry, psychiatry, and medicine. The operational definition of this behavior is the putting of one or more fingers into the mouth and biting the nail with their teeth. (Ghanizadeh, 2011). Observation Method and Schedule Female one was observed on May 8, 9, & 10, 2018 for fifteen minutes each time for the behavior of picking her arm. On the 8th and 10th of May, I observed the behavior from 10:15 AM to 10:30 AM and from 9:00 AM to 9 :15 Am on the 9th of May. Female two was observed on the same consecutive days as female one for the behavior of nail biting. On the 8th and 9th of May, I observed the behavior from 11:00 AM to 11:15 AM and from 11:30 AM to 11:45 AM on the 10th of May. As previously stated neither of the females knew they were being observed.

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Data Recording Procedure To obtain this data, I used a hand clicker for tally’s. Each click represents one tally. During all my observation I would push the clicker each time the above behaviors were performed. Both females were in my direct eye contact as they sat across the table from me for the duration of time in which I was observing them. I completely focused on them during this time as I clicked the hand clicker each time the performed the behavior of picking the arm and nail biting. I utilized my cell phone as a timer. The start and stop time was put in. My cell phone was on vibrate which allowed me to know when the fifteen minutes observation time was over. I utilized this method to be discrete. This was to ensure neither female knew what I was taking place and it did not distract any of us in the meeting. See tables below:

Tables

Femle One 6

Arm Picking

5 4 3 2 1 0

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2

Sessions

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Female Two 8 7

Nail Bitng

6 5 4 3 2 1 0 1

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Sessions

Conclusion In conclusion, neither of the females knew that they were being observed during any of the sessions. Each observation was a total of fifteen minutes in duration. The tables show you the trend in the behaviors. Each table can show an increase or decrease in the behavior. To make an accurate behavior plan more data is needed.

Running header: GRAPHING BEHAVIOR References Fama, J. (2010). Skin Picking Disorder Fact Sheet. Retrieved May 18, 2018, from https://iocdf.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Skin-Picking-Disorder-Fact-Sheet.pdf Ghanizadeh, A. (2011). Nail Biting; Etiology, Consequences and Management. Iranian Journal of Medical Sciences, 36(2), 73–79.

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