29.4.3: Labeling vs. Describing Behaviors
- Page ID
- 142512
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The Words we Use
The practice of labeling behaviors versus describing what is observed is another practice that can create subjective observations. Understanding the difference between these two terms can be difficult. We often provide personality or even temperament traits when we fall into quickly labeling instead of describing observed behavior. An objective observation does not give one-word labels such as strong-willed, aggressive, temperamental, sweet, friendly, or bad. Instead, we describe the directly observed behaviors that led to the (often biased) label—describing the behaviors yields richer and more helpful information for later assessment or curriculum development.