Abstract:
The assessment of inter-individual differences is of crucial importance in the context of clinical interventions related to health behaviors. However, it is striking how traditional assessment instruments are often disconnected from real-life situations. In general, these instruments use general, decontextualized questions to assess an inter-individual difference of interest.
Inspired by embodied and situated cognition, we have developed a new approach to assessing inter-individual differences. Since this approach is rooted in two dimensions of the situation—situational experience and the Situated Action Cycle—we have called it the Situated Assessment Method (SAM2). After describing this method, I will outline its potential use for measuring inter-individual differences in various domains and attempt to sketch out its application to the measurement of alexithymia.
Watch a recording of the colloquium presentation and discussion here!