APPENDIX B
SUMMARY OF DPICS II CATEGORIES
Note: Because the DPICS II categories are reflexive, the following list of categories applies to both parent and child behavior.
1. Playtalk -- any verbalization given as part of "pretend talk", where the speaker is
talking as a toy or character other than him or herself.
2. Acknowledgment -- a brief verbal response that indicates attention to verbal or
nonverbal behavior of either person in the dyad, but does not describe or evaluate
that behavior.
3. Behavioral Description -- a declarative sentence where the subject is the other
member of the dyad and the verb describes the other person's verbal or nonverbal
observable behavior.
4. Information Description -- a declarative sentence that gives an account of people,
the play, or events that does not clearly describe the other member of the dyad's
current or immediately completed behavior.
5. Reflective Statement -- a declarative statement which immediately repeats the
other person's verbalization.
6. Descriptive/Reflective Question -- a descriptive or reflective comment or
acknowledgment expressed in a question form.
7. Information Question -- questions that require specific information from the other
person other than a simple acknowledgment.
8. Indirect Command -- an order, demand, or direction for a behavioral response that
is implied, nonspecific, or stated in a question form.
9. Direct Command -- a clearly stated order, demand, or direction in a declarative
form which is sufficiently specific as to indicate the behavior that is expected from
the other person.
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