Reliability ActivityYaime Camacho

Ball State University

SPCE 611

Part A

PRIMARY COLLECTOR: Yaime Camacho

SHOW: The Big Bang Theory

CHARACTER: Sheldon

BEHAVIOR: Cleaning

Behavior Definition:

The operational definition for cleaning is defined as any period of time in the show in which the character (Sheldon) is observed picking up objects from an area using his hands, organizes, washes or wipes and area, puts items away or discusses about cleaning an area. Non-examples: Making bed or washing dishes are non-examples for this activity.

Measurement System:

Data collection will be quantified by how often Sheldon’s cleaning behavior happens across the session in order to track Sheldon’s repetitive cleaning activity. Because it gives a particular number of times the behavior occurred during the session, frequency data will be the measurement approach that will best capture the behavior because it is measurable and observable. Session duration will be of approximately 7 minutes. Data will be collected in 12 sessions.

Session Details:

Hulu was used to retrieve all episodes of The Big Bang Theory. For this activity, the data was collected on the following episodes (which highlight Sheldon’s OCD trait of maintaining an organized or clean area/room): Season 1, Episode 2, Season 3, Episode 6 and Season 6, Episode 19. During the listed episodes, the data collector (Yaime) will keep track of the number of times Sheldon discusses cleaning or is witnessed doing so.

Part B

Table 1: Sheldon’s Data on Cleaning Behavior

Session Date Episode Video Segment

Time Occurrences Phase

1 06/03/22 Season 1, Episode 2 03:20-11:13 18 Baseline 1

2 06/03/22 Season 1, Episode 2 11:13-19:45 15 Baseline 1

3 06/03/22 Season 1, Episode 2 19:45-29:00 11 Intervention 1

4 06/03/22 Season 1, Episode 2 29:00-36:12 17 Intervention 1

5 06/03/22 Season 3, Episode 6 3:19-12:00 16 Baseline 2

6 06/03/22 Season 3, Episode 6 12:00-19:06 18 Baseline 2

7 06/03/22 Season 3, Episode 6 19:06-26:41 17 Intervention 2

8 06/03/22 Season 3, Episode 6 26:41-33:50 14 Intervention 2

9 06/04/22 Season 6, Episode 19 00:00-7:40 19 Baseline 3

10 06/04/22 Season 6, Episode 19 7:40-15:00 14 Baseline 3

11 06/04/22 Season 6, Episode 19 15:00-24:12 11 Intervention 3

12 06/04/22 Season 6, Episode 19 24:12-32:49 18 Intervention 3

Figure 1: Sheldon’s data on his OCD trait of maintaining an organized area/room is displayed graphically across an ABAB design. Data is presented as number of behavior occurrences in which he was observed engaging the behavior.

Part C

Character: Sheldon

Behavior: Cleaning

Primary: Yaime Camacho

Reli: Emily Delaney

IOA formula:

The Total Count formula was utilized to assess the dependability of the behavior since frequency is a total count of how often the behavior occurred.

IOA Calculation:

Fewer Occurrences

________________ x 100 = Total Count IOA %

Increased Occurrences

IOA Table:

Table 2

Sheldon’s Data on Cleaning Behavior

Session # IOA Date Yaime’s Data Emily’s Data IOA Percentage

1 06/05 18 17 17/18= 94%

5 06/05 16 16 16/16= 100%

11 06/05 11 13 11/13= 84%

The data collected from both observers had a high IOA percent, indicating that it was fairly accurate making it a reliable data. Because the specified behavior was clearly defined, there was a high level of agreement.

It was easier to obtain data to determine the IOA percent by employing the frequency measuring technology. Another technology that could have been used was the duration measurement.