Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Parenting Styles01:27

Parenting Styles

Diana Baumrind's four parenting styles — authoritarian, authoritative, neglectful, and permissive — each influence children's socio-emotional development differently.
Authoritarian Parenting
This style is strict and controlling, with little room for open dialogue. Authoritarian parents demand obedience and often enforce rules with minimal warmth. Children raised this way may lack social skills and initiative, usually comparing themselves to others unfavorably.
Authoritative Parenting
This...
Naturalistic Observations02:30

Naturalistic Observations

If you want to understand how behavior occurs, one of the best ways to gain information is to simply observe the behavior in its natural context. However, people might change their behavior in unexpected ways if they know they are being observed. How do researchers obtain accurate information when people tend to hide their natural behavior? As an example, imagine that your professor asks everyone in your class to raise their hand if they always wash their hands after using the restroom. Chances...
Piaget's Stage 1 of Cognitive Development01:14

Piaget's Stage 1 of Cognitive Development

The sensorimotor stage, the initial phase of Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development, spans the first two years of a child's life. During this period, infants actively engage with their surroundings, building cognitive awareness through direct interaction with the world. This interaction is primarily based on sensory perception and motor actions, allowing infants to gradually understand basic physical properties and predict how objects interact within their environment.
Exploration...
Piaget's Stage 2 of Cognitive Development01:14

Piaget's Stage 2 of Cognitive Development

The preoperational stage, the second of Jean Piaget's four stages of cognitive development, spans approximately ages 2 to 7 and is characterized by the emergence of symbolic thinking. During this stage, children use language, images, and symbols to represent objects and concepts, enabling them to engage in imaginative and pretend play. This symbolic thinking supports children's ability to perform make-believe actions, such as imagining a broom as a horse or their hand as a phone, blending...
Piaget's Stage 3 of Cognitive Development01:17

Piaget's Stage 3 of Cognitive Development

During Piaget's concrete operational stage, from ages 7 to 11, children exhibit a marked increase in logical thinking skills, specifically in relation to tangible, real-world events. This stage is characterized by the development of several essential cognitive concepts, including conservation, reversibility, and classification, all of which support the child's evolving capacity for structured thought.
Conservation and Constancy of Quantity
A significant cognitive milestone in the concrete...
Piaget's Stage 4 of Cognitive Development01:19

Piaget's Stage 4 of Cognitive Development

The formal operational stage, as described in Piaget's cognitive development theory, begins around age 11 and extends into adulthood. It marks the emergence of advanced cognitive abilities that differentiate adolescent and adult thinking from those of younger children. This stage is characterized by abstract reasoning, hypothetical-deductive reasoning, and a more complex understanding of self and others.
Abstract Reasoning and Hypothetical-Deductive Thinking
Unlike the concrete operational...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Correction to: Toward Compassion in the Assessment and Treatment of Severe Problem Behavior.

Behavior analysis in practice·2026
Same author

Toward Compassion in the Assessment and Treatment of Severe Problem Behavior.

Behavior analysis in practice·2026
Same author

Skill-based treatment of interfering stereotypy.

Journal of applied behavior analysis·2025
Same author

A Call to Investigate and Improve the Research Literacy of Professional Behavior Analysts.

Perspectives on behavior science·2024
Same author

A Two Step Validation of the Performance-Based IISCA: A Trauma-Informed Functional Analysis Model.

Behavior analysis in practice·2024
Same author

Consistent Visual Analysis of Multielement Data: A Preliminary Evaluation.

Behavior modification·2024

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 8, 2026

Exploring Infant Sensitivity to Visual Language using Eye Tracking and the Preferential Looking Paradigm
06:07

Exploring Infant Sensitivity to Visual Language using Eye Tracking and the Preferential Looking Paradigm

Published on: May 15, 2019

A method for describing preschoolers' activity preferences.

Gregory P Hanley1, Anthony P Cammilleri, Jeffrey H Tiger

  • 1Psychology Department, Western New England College, 1215 Wilbraham Road, Springfield, Massachusetts 01119, USA.

Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis
|January 15, 2008
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

A new measurement system accurately records children's free-play patterns using a 90-second momentary time sampling (MTS) interval. This reliable method is preferred by observers and effectively identifies activity preferences in preschool settings.

More Related Videos

A Familiarization Protocol Facilitates the Participation of Children with ASD in Electrophysiological Research
08:42

A Familiarization Protocol Facilitates the Participation of Children with ASD in Electrophysiological Research

Published on: July 31, 2017

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jul 8, 2026

Exploring Infant Sensitivity to Visual Language using Eye Tracking and the Preferential Looking Paradigm
06:07

Exploring Infant Sensitivity to Visual Language using Eye Tracking and the Preferential Looking Paradigm

Published on: May 15, 2019

A Familiarization Protocol Facilitates the Participation of Children with ASD in Electrophysiological Research
08:42

A Familiarization Protocol Facilitates the Participation of Children with ASD in Electrophysiological Research

Published on: July 31, 2017

Area of Science:

  • Child Development
  • Behavioral Observation
  • Educational Psychology

Background:

  • Accurate measurement of children's free-play is crucial for understanding developmental patterns.
  • Existing observational methods may lack efficiency or reliability in busy classroom settings.
  • Developing a robust system is needed to capture nuanced behavioral data.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To develop and validate a measurement system for simultaneously recording free-play patterns of multiple children.
  • To determine optimal momentary time sampling (MTS) intervals for accurate and reliable child behavior observation.
  • To assess observer preferences for different MTS intervals in a preschool setting.

Main Methods:

  • A series of studies were conducted to validate a measurement system using momentary time sampling (MTS).
  • Study 1 assessed measurement error across different observation intervals.
  • Study 2 evaluated interobserver agreement using 30-, 60-, 90-, and 120-second MTS intervals.
  • Study 3 identified observer preferences for MTS intervals.
  • Study 4 applied the validated MTS procedure to describe children's activity preferences.

Main Results:

  • Observation intervals up to 120 seconds introduced less than 10% measurement error.
  • 90- and 120-second MTS intervals yielded high interobserver agreement (above 90%), while 30-second intervals were unreliable (<80%).
  • Observers preferred the 90-second MTS interval for data collection.
  • The 90-second MTS system accurately described children's activity preferences and group response patterns.

Conclusions:

  • A 90-second momentary time sampling (MTS) interval provides an accurate, reliable, and preferred method for observing children's free-play.
  • This validated measurement system can effectively identify individual and group activity preferences in preschool settings.
  • The developed system offers a practical tool for researchers and educators studying child behavior.