Advancing ambulatory biobehavioral technologies beyond proof of concept: Introduction to the special section

Abstract

Advancements in ambulatory biobehavioral technologies, for example, using portable psychophysiology, geolocation, facial, and speech analysis, have shown promise for a wide variety of applications. Their applications to biomedical sciences have led to dramatic improvements in some domains of assessment and practice. As yet, these technologies have not advanced beyond "proof of concept" for improving psychological assessment. More important, much of the current work in this space is being done outside of psychological science, and in many cases, outside of science altogether. This article introduces the special section on advancing biobehavioral technologies for psychological science. We provide a background on the potential role ambulatory biobehavioral technologies can play in improving feasibility, tolerability, reliability, and "individual-level" predictive accuracy for a broad range of psychological phenomena. We then provide a brief overview of the ambulatory biobehavioral literature, highlighting particular challenges and potential solutions for evaluating psychometrics of these measures. This special section is meant to stimulate interest and resources from the psychological assessment community to lend their unique talents and skills to advance this multidisciplinary endeavor.