Families Under the Microscope: Repeated Sampling of Perceptions, Experiences, Biology, and Behavior
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12143 |
| Author | Bridget M. Reynolds,Rena L. Repetti,Meredith S. Sears |
| Date | 01 February 2015 |
| Published date | 01 February 2015 |
R L. R, B M. R, M S. S
University of California Los Angeles
Families Under the Microscope: Repeated Sampling
of Perceptions, Experiences, Biology, and Behavior
Families are not frozen dioramas; they are
alive, active, and changing. Models of real-life
marital and family processes require many
moving pieces. An intensive repeated measures
approach reaches beyond static representations
of the family toward more dynamic models that
depict “life as it is lived.” The appearance of
studies that use diaries and biological sampling
in everyday life has burgeoned in the family
research literature. These methods are part
of a larger class of naturalistic methods that
assess families in action and that includes
direct video and audio recordings of families
in their everyday environments. This article
summarizes research that uses diaries, obser-
vations, and biological data collected over time
in natural settings to study families. It provides
an overview of the major research questions,
designs, methods of data collection, and statisti-
cal models used in those literatures. Theoretical
contributions and next steps in naturalistic
research on families are discussed.
Questionnaires and laboratory observations
have become so engrained in our research
literature that it is easy to forget that neither
family members’ evaluations nor their behavior
in situations structured by an investigator are
necessarily the phenomena of interest. However,
the study of life as it is actually lived is becom-
ing more prominent in research on families. The
Department of Psychology, 1285 Franz Hall, Universityof
California, Los Angeles, CA 90095–1563
(repetti@psych.ucla.edu).
Key Words: eld research, longitudinal, multilevel models,
observation, relationship processes, within-family design.
approaches described in this article prioritize
ecological validity and emphasize the direct
assessment of dynamic processes in real time.
By tracking perceptions, behaviors, and biology
over time, these methods put families under the
microscope, recording experiences and events
as they play out in the natural environment. The
focus on short-term processes is giving rise to
new concepts and paradigms and strengthening
theory.
Language in this rapidly developing eld is
still in ux. Ambulatory,intensive longitudi-
nal, and experience sampling are just a few of
the terms that are commonly used to describe
these assessment strategies. We adopt the label
intensive repeated measures (IRM) for designs
that collect data—whether perceptions (diaries),
live observations (scan sampling), physiological
recordings (blood pressure [BP] monitoring),
or biological samples (saliva)—on multiple
discrete occasions over relatively brief periods
of time, such as every few minutes or hours or
every day. We cast our net wide for this review
and also included direct observational studies
of families going about their daily lives inside
and outside of the home where the data can be
continuous streams of information from video
or audio recordings. The overarching goal of
all the approaches discussed in this article is
the study of individuals and families in action
in everyday environments. We use the broad
term naturalistic methods to encompass both
IRM and continuous observational or recording
strategies.
The article is organized in four sections.
We begin with descriptions of three types of
data—diaries, observations, and biological
126 Journal of Marriage and Family 77 (February 2015): 126–146
DOI:10.1111/jomf.12143
Families Under the Microscope 127
assessments—that are collected in naturalis-
tic studies of families. For each category, we
describe the variety of research designs and
questions that are addressed, present a selection
of major ndings, and summarize the challenges
faced by researchers using those methods. In the
second section we provide a brief overview of
statistical models for the analysis of naturalistic
data. Next, we highlight a number of ways in
which these methodological approaches are
currently advancing family theory. Finally, we
discuss emerging trends and promising future
directions for naturalistic research on families.
I S R
M U S F
Modern technology has offered researchers
electronic collection of diary data; miniatur-
ized audio, video, and physiological recording
devices; and procedures to assay hormones
from saliva. Below we show how each of these
innovations has been applied to the study of
families in their natural settings. This section is
divided into three parts: (a) intensive repeated
measurement of perceptions collected in diaries,
(b) continuous and intensive repeated observa-
tions of families via video and audio recording
devices and by live observers, and (c) repeated
sampling of saliva to assay cortisol and repeated
measurement of BP. These approaches can
provide powerful insights into how short-term
uctuations in states, behaviors, and physiology
interact with individual and contextual factors
to shape daily family life. The potential of these
methods to advance theory is illustrated later
in this article by highlighting progress in two
areas: understanding how, over short periods
of time, daily stressors inuence families and
dyads and individuals within families affect
each other.
Repeated Measurement of Perceptions
Through Diaries
The most commonly used repeated measures
method asks participants to describe experiences
or events that occurred over relativelybrief peri-
ods, such as the past few hours or the past day.
The data describe the unfolding of behavior,
emotions, and social interactions in families’
everyday lives. Cognitive science has taught us
much about the systematic biases associated
with autobiographical memory and heuristic
strategies that can introduce error in question-
naire or interview research (Hufford, 2007;
Kihlstrom, Eich, Sandbrand, & Tobias, 2000;
Schwarz, 2007). Traditional self-report meth-
ods ask family members not only to recall all
relevant experiences within a given reference
period but also to summarize those experiences
in a way that they believe addresses the question
at hand. The measurement error associated with
these cognitive biases is attenuated in repeated
measure designs that ask participants to report
on immediate experiences or on events that
occurred within relatively short time frames,
rather than asking them to generalize across
multiple situations and over lengthy time spans.
Scheduling of data collection. The category of
methods that use repeated sampling to capture
perceptions of states and behaviors that occur in
everyday natural settings is sometimes referred
to as ecological momentary assessment (Stone
& Shiffman, 1994) or, more generally, as diary
methods, the term we adopt here. Under this
umbrella category are designs that differ primar-
ily with respect to the conditions under which
participants complete reports (for a detailed his-
tory and comparison of methods, see Reis &
Gable, 2000). There are advantages and disad-
vantages to each approach. Experience sampling
methods (ESM) use signal-contingent recording
to randomly sample immediate experiences in
natural, everyday contexts. These methods were
rst deployed using preprogrammed devices that
beeped participants at random times throughout
the day, prompting them to complete surveys
assessing current mood, thoughts, and activi-
ties. Technological developments have allowed
for increasingly sophisticated signaling sched-
ules, often programmed into the data collec-
tion device itself (e.g., a tablet computer, cell
phone). A primary disadvantage is that signals
can be intrusive, interrupting ongoing activity.
Daily diary studies use interval-contingent sam-
pling, wherein family members are asked to
report on their states and/or experiences at regu-
lar, predetermined intervals, such as before bed
each night or at scheduled times throughout the
day. Compared to other methods, predictable
reports that are spaced out over longer periods
of time reduce participant burden but are sub-
ject to some of the retrospection biases described
above, because participants might not accurately
remember everything that has happened since
the previous report. Event sampling involves
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