Laboratory Lore and Research Practices in the Experimental Analysis of Human Behavior: Use and Abuse of Subjects’ Verbal Reports

Abstract

Discusses behavior analysts' growing interest in self-report data and describes 4 uses of self-report data that are prominent in the literature. Self-report data may provide the only practical means of observing certain forms of behavior and may be useful in collecting data on global characteristics of behavior that are essentially defined in terms of verbal responses to a set of questions. Self-reports are also useful when reports themselves constitute the object of study. Verbal reports can also be used to analyze Ss' behavior as a short-cut around the difficulties of true experimental analysis. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2002 APA, all rights reserved)