Introduction

The Theme software performs intensive structural analysis of real-time records of the behavior of one or more individuals performing various kinds of behaviors in sequence and/or concurrently. Theme was initially developed as a tool for the study of human (face-to-face) interactions, but its application has been extended to other types of behavioral phenomena involving other time scales {here link to: references and thesis).

The program is primarily intended for use by persons with knowledge of behavior (and statistics), i.e., mostly students and researchers in the behavioral sciences.
Theme is sometimes called a "structure-scope" or a "pattern-scope" and sometimes a "behavior-scope".

The Theme program is therefore a kind of structural "seeing aid" that facilitates the difficult task of discovering, describing and eventually explaining the structure of complex processes that unfold in time such as intra- and inter-individual streams of behavior.

The detection key is the repetition of similar, hierarchical real-time relations between the occurrences of various types of behavioral events.

It is true for this "pattern-scope" as for microscopes that what is perceived and retained by the user is a function of both him- or her-self and the instrument; including such aspects as data preparation. A seeing aid helps to discover and describe if the observer is aware of the kind of "glasses" he or she is wearing

Click here for the history of Theme.

Click here for theoretical background of Theme.