Recording if the target behavior occurred for the entire duration of a predetermined interval is which sampling method?

• A. Whole interval recording
• B. Partial interval recording
• C. Momentary time sampling
• D. Duration

Answer: (A)

In this kind of observation, you define fixed time blocks and decide how to record behavior within each block. Recording that the target behavior occurred for the entire duration of the interval means you only mark the interval if the behavior was present the whole time, not just part of it. That is exactly how whole interval recording works: the behavior must be continuous across the entire interval for it to be counted. If the behavior starts and stops before the interval ends, you don’t count it, which is why this method tends to undercount occurrences.

By comparison, partial interval recording would mark if the behavior occurred at any moment within the interval (often overestimating), momentary time sampling checks the behavior only at the end of the interval, and duration focuses on total time the behavior lasts rather than requiring it to fill the whole interval.