T-pattern methodology for human behavior observation and analysis: Some research applications

A basic belief in the field of modern behavioral sciences is that behavior consists of patterns in time. The T-pattern methodology is based on the assumption that complex streams of human behavior have a hidden temporal sequential structure that cannot be fully detected through unaided observation (or with the help of standard statistical and behavior analysis methods). Recurring sequences of behavioral events, usually hard to detect, can be thereby unveiled and carefully described. This kind of analysis has been used in a wide variety of observational studies, including microanalysis of Drosophila courtship behavior, cooperative behavior between humans and dogs when constructing an object, complex patterns of neuronal networks activation. Human behavior patterns include a multitude of every day events, routines, and processes of work and play (for example, greeting rituals, a lunch, a religious ceremony or a sport match are all patterns). In this work, we present research results from the application of T-pattern methodology on two different areas: deception detection and soccer performance. We will discuss the suitability of this methodology in observing and analyzing both micro (as facial movements in deceptive interactions) and macro (as ball passages in a soccer match) components of human behavior. We will then present an ongoing research application area for T-pattern methodology that is education and teaching. We will specifically focus on the observation and analysis of teachers’ nonverbal behavior during their lessons, aiming to explore if and how this relate to communicative efficacy in terms of different outcomes of students’ learning and engagement. We will finally discuss some future research directions, which transversally involve the possibility to combine t-pattern methodology with automatic feature extraction tools, motion-capture systems and biofeedback equipment.