Normativity and Desirability in Observational Assessments of Family Interaction

• Published date: 01 September 2019
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/famp.12368
• Date: 01 September 2019
• Author: James E. Deal

Normativity and Desirability in Observational

Assessments of Family Interaction

JAMES E. DEAL*

Issues of normativity (responding in a typical or average fashion) and desirability (the

tendency for raters to endorse positive characteristics rather than neutral or more negative

ones) are common in areas of the social sciences that frequently utilize profile correlations

to measure dyadic similarity. They have implications for family scholars as well. In the

present study, a pre-existing data set was used to make an initial, though limited, investi-

gation into potential confounds of normativity and desirability for macrolevel observa-

tional assessments of family interaction. An empirical example is presented using q-sort

ratings of family interaction, with variance in observational assessments decomposed into

component parts. High levels of both normativity and desirability were found, indicating

possible problems in terms of both reliability and validity of assessment. While the results

provide an interesting beginning, they are limited due to the use of a q-sort methodology as

well as an instrument with limited background and use. These limitations are discussed,

as well as alternative interpretations for normativity and desirability and implications for

future research.

Keywords: Normativi ty; Desirability; Observational Assessment; Family Process

Fam Proc 58:749–760, 2019

The measurement of whole family functioning has often used an “objective outsider’s”

perspective (Olson, 1977), due at least partly to the belief that family members can-

not accurately observe and report on ongoing interactions over time (Markman &

Notarius, 1987; Wampler & Halverson, 1993). Kerig (2001) argued that observational

methods are “uniquely suited” to studying family processes that involve relationships

rather than individual characteristics (or individual perceptions of relations hips). As

Grotevant and Carlson (1989) note, a strength of observational assessment is the ability

“...to describe the global relational structure or characteristics of the whole family...”.

Observational assessments, as compared to other types of data collection, “...require

fewer assumptions and inferences, are less susceptible to various confounding influ-

ences, and reflect greater face validity and generalizability...” (Jacob, Tennenbaum, &

Krahn, 1987).

Observational assessments of family and marital functioning typically fall into

three types: microlevel coding, macrolevel coding, and mesolevel coding (Grotevant &

Carlson, 1989; Kerig, 2001; Lindahl, 2001). Each of these addresses a different level

of analysis. The focus of this paper is on macrolevel coding systems, which typically

*Department of Human Development and Family Science, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND.

Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to James E. Deal, Department of Human

Development and Family Science, North Dakota State University, Department 2615, PO Box 6050, Fargo,

ND 58108-6050. E-mail: jim.deal@ndsu.edu.

This research was supported by a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health, #MH39899, to

Charles F. Halverson, Jr., and Karen Smith Wampler. The author is grateful to them for the use of these

data.

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Family Process, Vol. 58, No. 3, 2019 ©2018 Family Process Institute

doi: 10.1111/famp.12368