Geschreven door Marijn de Geus | September 20, 2016
Role playing has been the main component of many communication training sessions for decades. Video role plays enhance this effect, combined with different dynamics, where a monitor and camera play an important part. However, does talking to a screen have anything to do with communication skills in reality? Let's see what research says!
We will talk about three important publications in the history of the study of video role plays. Lawrence Stricker researched the Interpersonal Competence Instrument (ICI) as early as 19821. This combines a constructed situation with an open response option: no multiple choice, but a real reaction. The participant’s reaction was recorded with only a microphone, but even then Stricker concluded that the ICI would be suitable for measuring social competences.
Students appear to be predictable
When the webcam was introduced, the field of video role plays made a huge leap. Lievens and Sackett (2006) researched the effect of a webcam on the similar Situational Judgment Test (SJT), which also shows a video role play2. The situation is explained first, then a video shows a person that says or does something to which the participant should react. This video SJT with a filmed reaction appeared to be a good prediction of students’ achievements in interpersonally oriented courses, where the tested communication skills played an important part. The correlation between a video role play and the reality was stronger than with a workplace simulation or a cognitive test in the same research.
Managers miss improvements
Not only students' soft skills appeared to be measurable with video role plays. Oostrom et al (2010) found out that the communicative success of employees in their job could be predicted with a similar webcam test3. It was used to measure the participants’ level before and after a communication training session. The improvement that was visible, could be found in the workplace as well: the participants turned out to be more successful in their job.
Entwining scientific insights
As video role plays are changing because of new technologies, it’s important to keep researching different kinds of applications. The publications we have talked about are a strong foundation to build on. In addition, video role plays are entwined with scientific research in the field of (communication) skills development by Kolb, Ericsson, Medina, Maslow and Kirkpatrick. TrainTool uses a base line test and a final test to determine the effect of Smart Video Role Play on communication skill levels. We work together with different universities, who research the effect of online training programs. In this way, it will become clearer how video role plays are helping people to communicate better.
Want to know more about video role plays? Click below!
1 Stricker, L.J. (1982). Interpersonal competence instrument: Development and preliminary findings. Applied Psychological Measurement, 6, 69-81.
² Lievens, F. & Sackett, P.F. (2006). Video-Based versus written situational judgement tests: A comparison in terms of predictive validity. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91, 1181-1188
³ Oostrom, J.K,et al (2010). Webcam testing: Validation of an innovative open-ended multimedia test. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 19(5), 532–550.