Editing Psychological testing (section)

===Direct observation===

Psychological assessment can involve the observation of people as they engage in activities. This type of assessment is usually conducted with families in a laboratory or at home. Sometimes the observation can involve children in a classroom or the schoolyard.<ref>Reid, J. B., Eddy, J. M., Fetrow, R. A., & Stoolmiller, M. (1999). Description and immediate impacts of a preventive intervention for conduct problems. ''American Journal of Community Psychology'', 27, 483–517.</ref> The purpose may be clinical, such as to establish a pre-intervention baseline of a child's hyperactive or aggressive classroom behaviors or to observe the nature of parent-child interaction in order to understand a relational disorder.<ref>Waters, E., & Deane, K.E. (1985). Defining and assessing individual differences in attachment relationships: Q-methodology and the organization of behavior in infancy and early childhood (pp. 41-65)''Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 50'', 41-65.</ref> [[Observational methods in psychology#Time sampling|Time sampling]] methods are also part of direct observational research. The reliability of observers in direct observational research can be evaluated using [[Cohen's kappa]].
 
The Parent-Child Interaction Assessment-II (PCIA)<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Holigrocki | first1 = R. J | last2 = Kaminski | first2 = P. L. | last3 = Frieswyk | first3 = S. H. | year = 1999 | title = Introduction to the Parent-Child Interaction Assessment | journal = Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic | volume = 63 | issue = 3| pages = 413–428 | pmid = 10452199 }}</ref> is an example of a direct observation procedure that is used with school-age children and parents. The parents and children are video recorded playing at a make-believe zoo. The Parent-Child Early Relational Assessment<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Clark | first1 = R | year = 1999 | title = The Parent-Child Early Relational Assessment: A Factorial Validity Study | journal = Educational and Psychological Measurement | volume = 59 | issue = 5| pages = 821–846 | doi=10.1177/00131649921970161| s2cid = 146211674 }}</ref> is used to study parents and young children and involves a feeding and a [[puzzle]] task. The MacArthur Story Stem Battery (MSSB)<ref>Bretherton, I., Oppenheim, D., Buchsbaum, H., Emde, R. N., & the MacArthur Narrative Group. (1990). ''MacArthur Story-Stem battery. ''Unpublished manual.</ref> is used to elicit narratives from children. The Dyadic Parent-Child Interaction Coding System-II<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Robinson|first1=Elizabeth A.|last2=Eyberg|first2=Sheila M.|title=The dyadic parent–child interaction coding system: Standardization and validation.|journal=Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology|volume=49|issue=2|pages=245–250|doi=10.1037/0022-006x.49.2.245|year=1981|pmid=7217491}}</ref> tracks the extent to which children follow the commands of parents and ''vice versa'' and is well suited to the study of children with [[Oppositional defiant disorder|Oppositional Defiant Disorders]] and their parents.