The Effects of Video Self-Monitoring on Teaching Compassionate Care Skills to Behavior Analysts

Purpose of Study

  This study examines the effects of video self-monitoring on behavior analysts’ compassionate care behaviors. It also investigates the maintenance of compassionate care skills after the intervention and their generalization in actual parent consultations.

Research Questions

1. What is the effect of a self-management intervention using video self-monitoring on behavior analysts’ acquisition of checklist-based compassionate care skills?

2. Do the compassionate care skills acquired through a self-management intervention using video self-monitoring generalize to actual parent consultations conducted by behavior analysts?

3. Are the compassionate care skills acquired through a self-management intervention using video self-monitoring maintained after the intervention has ended?

Literature Review

The definitions and characteristics of compassion presented in previous studies are significant in that they provided a theoretical turning point for shifting Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) away from criticisms of being inhumane and procedure-centered, toward a relationship-based and consumer-centered approach (Taylor et al., 2018; Rohrer et.al, 2021; Penny et al.,2023). However, conceptualizing compassion merely as behavior grounded in empathy, aimed at improving the quality of life of individuals and their families supported by behavior analysts and at preventing or alleviating current or future suffering, has a limitation in that it defines compassion primarily from the therapist’s intent and does not explicitly specify the functional relationship between environment and behavior(Kaplan-Reimer et al, 2025).

Kaplan-Reimer, H., Cassella, M.D., Schanke, M.R. et al. From Aversive, Toward Appetitive: A Behavioral Conceptual Analysis of Compassion. Behav Analysis in Practice (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-025-01046-z  Taylor, B. A., LeBlanc, L. A., & Nosik, M. R. (2018). Compassionate care in behavior analytic treatment: Can outcomes be enhanced by attending to relationships with caregivers? Behavior Ana

Method

1. Research Design

   o A multiple baseline design across behaviors

   o Independent variable; self-management intervention using video self-monitoring

   o Dependent variable; performance accuracy of the 11 skills from the Compassionate Care Checklist developed by Rohrer and Weiss (2022). These skills were organized into three domains: (1) basic interview skills, (2) showing interest in the family, and (3) joining with the family.

   
   

2. Research Participants

3. Dependent Variables

The dependent variable was the performance accuracy of 11 compassionate care skills written on Compassionate Care Checklist. These skills were based on the Compassionate Care Checklist developed by Rohrer and Weiss (2022) and were classified into three domains: (1) basic interview skills, (2) showing interest in the family, and (3) joining with the family. Each skill was operationally defined, and based on session recordings, occurrences were coded as correct (+) or incorrect (–).

4. Independent Variables

The independent variable in this study was a self-management intervention using video self-monitoring.

5. Research Procedures

   
   

   Baseline: Participants conducted mock parent counseling sessions without the checklist.

   Intervention: The self-monitoring strategy was applied, comprising (1) prior checklist review, (2) video recording of the counseling session, (3) video-based self-monitoring, and (4) self-evaluation and graphing. When the target performance rate reached 90% or more for two consecutive sessions, participants proceeded to the next stage.

   
   

   Maintenance: Two weeks after the experiment ended, skills were assessed once under the same conditions as the baseline mock counseling setting.

   
   

   Generalization: In actual parent counseling, without providing the checklist, probes were conducted once during baseline, twice during the intervention phase, and at two weeks and six weeks after the experiment ended.

   
   

6.  Interobserver Agreement and Treatment Integrity

   
   

   All sessions were recorded, and 33% of all sessions were randomly selected for independent scoring by a second observer. Interobserver agreement (IOA) averaged 90% or higher.

   
   

7. Social Validity

   
   

   After the study concluded, a social validity survey was administered to parents who participated in the generalization phase. The survey was designed to evaluate, on a 7-point Likert scale, the intervention’s usefulness and appropriateness in parent counseling, its alignment with the actual needs of the child and family, and overall satisfaction with the research participation experience. Open-ended items were also included to allow parents to freely describe perceived positive changes and suggestions for improvement. To assess social validity more deeply, the researcher conducted approximately 90-minute individual interviews with each caregiver. During the interviews, the researcher did not directly prompt for particular skills or effects; rather, caregivers were encouraged to spontaneously describe their experiences and perceptions. This allowed the collection of in-depth data on caregivers’ felt responses and the intervention’s practical effectiveness that would be difficult to ascertain through surveys alone.