4. Behavioral Assessment Flashcards
hypothetically, self-injury may sometimes function to
a) *achieve homeostasis (sensory regulation)
b) release endogenous opiates (resulting in a natural high)
problem bxs serve what functions?
attention escape access to an activity or tangible item automatic reinforcement -but can serve multiple functions
- a high rate in the absence of structure is associated with an automatic reinforcement function
- a high rate during demand conditions is associated with an escape/avoidance function
when conducting a FA, the matching law can be helpful in analyzing
- variables that determine/influence the relative rates of members of a response class
- the variables controlling low frequency bx
- differential rates of various members of the response class
High frequency, low intensity bxs may
produce reinforcement less often (rate), in lesser amounts, and of lower quality (than its low frequency, high intensity counterparts)
identifying a function
is the same as identifying a behavior’s maintaining reinforcer
what is a function?
the stimulus change that is the reason why the individual engages in the bx
eg, getting attention, escaping tasks, and seeing the teacher get angry
-functions usually involve stimulus changes that are observable
-they sometimes involve private events that only the individual experiences (eg, a release of endorphins and sensory stimulation)
response class theory and research suggest
that interventions should address the entire response class
- treating all members of the response class decreases the likelihood of an increase in the bx that does not get treated
- if high- and low-frequency bxs are of the same response class, they are controlled by the same variables and should be similarly evaluated and treated
the value of the reinforcer (with respect to matching law) could refer to
quality
amount
rate
low frequency, high intensity bxs can be addressed
by treating high frequency, low intensity bxs of the same response class
if 2 bxs have the same consequence
the one that takes less effort is going to occur at a higher rate
the matching law maintains that an organism would use the
easiest method to obtain reinforcement
what are setting events?
antecedent stimulus events or contexts
- they include social, physical, and biological events that may exert general control over bx
- social: the presence of a disliked individual, crowding, classroom social structure, social activities, teasing, and teacher-student interactions
- biological: ear infections, UTI, constipation, allergies, and menstral discomfort
- physical: room temperature, transportation routines, lighting, humidity, odors, and noise
being familiar with relevant instructional variables
- is helpful so that one could manipulate these variables to determine their influence on bx
- could lead to a parsimonious (simple) yet effective intervention
- is helpful so that these could be consisdered when conducting a descriptive analysis
interventions based on a FA are
- more likely to be effective
- likely to focus on strengthening bxs that are functionally equivalent to the problem bx
- less likely to involve punishment
behavioral interview info is sometimes inaccurate because
information is overlooked
interveiwees do not fully understand the question
inaccurate info is reinforced or accurate info is punished
indirect assessment methods involve
acquiring info without directly observing the
-rating scales (motivation assessment scale MAS, motivation analysis rating scale, functional analysis screening tool FAST, questions about behavioral function (QABF), problem behavior questionnaire PBQ) and interviews
advantage of rating scales
simple to administer and quantifiable
-however, their reliability is in doubt and they do not yield a functional relation between assessmetn conditions and bx
behavioral interviews are used to
glean info about the topography of the bx (which enables development of an operational definition and subsequent data collection), times, activities, settings, and social factors that may influence bx
- used to determine potential SR+ and communication skills
- well suited to ID setting events (eg, meds, family issues)
what is a conditional probability?
a calculation of the probability that a particular bx will follow an antecedent or that a particular consequence will follow a bx
-a direct observation
as assumption of ABC data quantification is that
a correlational relationship suggests a functional relationship
a functional relationship requires
systematic manipulation of the environment and application of experimental methodology
-observation in vivo may yield correlations but not functional relations
what is lag sequential analysis
involves recording either occurrence or duration data on a variety of bxs and events which may influence bx
-direct observation
what is a conditional probability
between events and bx are caluclated thus revealing correlations that may indicate functions
antecedents…
a) do not necessarily control the target bx
b) are important to analyzing the function of a target bx
c) precede the target bx
the validity of conclusions from direct observation data may be threatened
by bxs with consequences that have no reinforcing effect
ABC narrative recording
a) is well suited as an aide in developing operational definitions
b) has questionable reliability
c) may not yield correlations with conditions prior to and following the bx
bxs maintained on a thin schedule are
infrequently reinforced therefore there would be a weak reltionship between the bx and its consequence(s)
3 methods of descriptive functional assessment are
ABC data and scatter plots and lag sequential analysis
direct observations refers to
observing and recording bx in the natural environemnt
-2 common methods: ABC data collection and scatterplot
what is a scatter plot?
- a grid upon which time of day, session, period, etc. is indicated along one ordinate and the day or date is indicated along the other ordinate
- occurrences of the bx are in the cells can be indicated by frequency, the duration of the bx during the interval, and occurrence or non-occurrence depending on how often it occurred during the interval
- indicate slash or fill in in the cells for occurrences of bxs
a scatter plot may identify an association between a bx and which of the following…
social setting that tends to occur at a certain time of day
scatter plots - ROWS
indicate that the bx occurred during a few hours of the day over many dats
scatter plot - COLUMNS
indicate that the bx occurred around a certain time of the month
scatter plots potentially yield a correlation between bxs and…
a) individuals who are present in the environment at predictable times
b) times of the day
c) activities that regularly occur at the same time
scatter plots: no pattern indicates
unpredictability; hence the bx occurred randomly across times of the day and days of the month
-cells filled in a few columns indicate that the bx occurred around a certain time of the month
scatter plot - RANDOM
unpredictably with respect to time of the day or days of the month
structural analysis is the second phase of brief functional analysis
it uses info gathered from a descriptive assessment (the first phase) to construct 5-10 min experimental sessions conducted in a multielement design fashion
-results enable an evaluation of different antecedent variables (eg, various levels of attention, task difficulty, and task preferences) on bx
with an FA, the target bx is
intentionally provoked
-if doing so would present an unaccepted risk, other methods would be advised
the sequences of phases of a brief functional analysis are / the 3 phases of a brief functional analysis are
descriptive assessment, structural analysis, functional analysis
the phases are:
1) descriptive assessment (interview, scatterplot, ABC data)
2) structural analysis (which is an experimental evaluation focusing on antecedent conditions) (sessions are 5-10 minutes in duration and employ a multielement design)
3) functional analysis (which is an experimental evaluation focusing on controlling consequences (ie, function))
FA of low frequency bx
is usually ill-advised
an advantage of brief functional analysis is
a hypothesis might be derived from an analysis of antecedents (so a full FA is unnecessary)
a brief functional analysis usually involves
an initial descriptive analysis, conditions 5-10, rapidly changing conditions
to yield valid results, the analogue evaluation must
provide the functional reinforcer
reinforcer - pain; a therapist cannot manipulate pain contingent upon bx
an advantage of brief functional analysis is
- a hypothesis might be derived from an analysis of antecedents
- it is well suited when there is little time
- the avoidance of establishing a significant reinforcement history for the undesirable bx
when analogue and descriptive stimulus situations are similar,
they are likely to yield accurate and similar results
an advantage of doing both descriptive and structural analyses before doing an FA is that it
enables a streamlinging of the tasks, time, and consequences to be tested in the FA
what is the potential confound in tangible conditions?
contingent attention
a “tangible condition” is used to determine if access to an object contingent upon a bx is a function
what is social disapproval condition?
the therapist provides toys but no structure; attends to subject only contingent upon self-injury; makes statements of concern (dont hurt yourself)
what is play condition?
this is the control condition; it is an enriched environment with lots of attention available, no demands, and no attention for self-injury
- eg, access to toys, isolate or social activities allowed, self-injury ignored
- close proximity to subject, isolate and social activities
what is an academic demand condition?
period prompts are given to work; self-injury results in termination of demand to do the task
what is the alone condition?
subject is alone and observed surreptitiously; unless needing superiving from adult to physically prevent injury
analogue assessments exert
experimental control over typical variables that account for bx; however, sometimes bx is controlled by variables that are omitted from the analogue setting
when is a multielement design used the most?
in FAs, for analyzing FA data
def: it is a design that doesnt require lengthy exposure to a single experimental condition
- AKA alternating treatments design and multiple schedule design
when do you use a reversal design?
better suited for when conditions are not easily discriminated; that is lengthy exposure to the experimental conditions fosters discrimination more so than does alternating conditions each session
- a condition is in place until stable responding occurs, followed by baseline, then another condition, etc.
- AKA ABAB design
what are the 4 conditions used by Iwata et al (1982/1994)
social disapproval, alone, play, academic demand
the descriptions positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, control and automatic reinforcement
which experimental designs are typically used to analyze FA data?
multielement design and ABAB design
