20 – Technology Integration and Behavioral Assessment

Publisher Summary This chapter reveals that the technological advances in handheld computer technology have provided new opportunities for the collection of self-monitoring data. Although the handheld computing technology that makes ecological momentary assessment (EMA) studies possible is relatively new, self-monitoring as a behavioral assessment technique is not. Compared to other self-monitoring approaches, EMA is a desirable option for several reasons. Data may be easily collected on an interval, event-contingent, or random schedule. If a signal-contingent interval sampling strategy is used, data-collection periods can be scheduled at equal or random intervals using commercially available software. Collected data may be time-stamped and stored in a database accessible by routinely used statistical packages. Another advantage of EMA, and all computerized adaptive testing, is that branching algorithms may be programmed into the software to create sophisticated questionnaires that dynamically reconfigure based on an individual's prior response.