4. Behavioral Assessment

Question 1

hypothetically, self-injury may sometimes function to

Answer 1

a) *achieve homeostasis (sensory regulation)

b) release endogenous opiates (resulting in a natural high)

Question 2

problem bxs serve what functions?

Answer 2

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

Question 3

when conducting a FA, the matching law can be helpful in analyzing

Answer 3

• 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

Question 4

High frequency, low intensity bxs may

Answer 4

produce reinforcement less often (rate), in lesser amounts, and of lower quality (than its low frequency, high intensity counterparts)

Question 5

identifying a function

Answer 5

is the same as identifying a behavior’s maintaining reinforcer

Question 6

what is a function?

Answer 6

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)

Question 7

response class theory and research suggest

Answer 7

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

Question 8

the value of the reinforcer (with respect to matching law) could refer to

Answer 8

quality
amount
rate

Question 9

low frequency, high intensity bxs can be addressed

Answer 9

by treating high frequency, low intensity bxs of the same response class

Question 10

if 2 bxs have the same consequence

Answer 10

the one that takes less effort is going to occur at a higher rate

Question 11

the matching law maintains that an organism would use the

Answer 11

easiest method to obtain reinforcement

Question 12

what are setting events?

Answer 12

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

Question 13

being familiar with relevant instructional variables

Answer 13

• 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

Question 14

interventions based on a FA are

Answer 14

• more likely to be effective
• likely to focus on strengthening bxs that are functionally equivalent to the problem bx
• less likely to involve punishment

Question 15

behavioral interview info is sometimes inaccurate because

Answer 15

information is overlooked
interveiwees do not fully understand the question
inaccurate info is reinforced or accurate info is punished

Question 16

indirect assessment methods involve

Answer 16

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

Question 17

advantage of rating scales

Answer 17

simple to administer and quantifiable

-however, their reliability is in doubt and they do not yield a functional relation between assessmetn conditions and bx

Question 18

behavioral interviews are used to

Answer 18

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)

Question 19

what is a conditional probability?

Answer 19

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

Question 20

as assumption of ABC data quantification is that

Answer 20

a correlational relationship suggests a functional relationship

Question 21

a functional relationship requires

Answer 21

systematic manipulation of the environment and application of experimental methodology
-observation in vivo may yield correlations but not functional relations

Question 22

what is lag sequential analysis

Answer 22

involves recording either occurrence or duration data on a variety of bxs and events which may influence bx
-direct observation

Question 23

what is a conditional probability

Answer 23

between events and bx are caluclated thus revealing correlations that may indicate functions

Question 24

antecedents…

Answer 24

a) do not necessarily control the target bx
b) are important to analyzing the function of a target bx
c) precede the target bx

Question 25

the validity of conclusions from direct observation data may be threatened

Answer 25

by bxs with consequences that have no reinforcing effect

Question 26

ABC narrative recording

Answer 26

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

Question 27

bxs maintained on a thin schedule are

Answer 27

infrequently reinforced therefore there would be a weak reltionship between the bx and its consequence(s)

Question 28

3 methods of descriptive functional assessment are

Answer 28

ABC data and scatter plots and lag sequential analysis

Question 29

direct observations refers to

Answer 29

observing and recording bx in the natural environemnt

-2 common methods: ABC data collection and scatterplot

Question 30

what is a scatter plot?

Answer 30

• 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

Question 31

a scatter plot may identify an association between a bx and which of the following…

Answer 31

social setting that tends to occur at a certain time of day

Question 32

scatter plots - ROWS

Answer 32

indicate that the bx occurred during a few hours of the day over many dats

Question 33

scatter plot - COLUMNS

Answer 33

indicate that the bx occurred around a certain time of the month

Question 34

scatter plots potentially yield a correlation between bxs and…

Answer 34

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

Question 35

scatter plots: no pattern indicates

Answer 35

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

Question 36

scatter plot - RANDOM

Answer 36

unpredictably with respect to time of the day or days of the month

Question 37

structural analysis is the second phase of brief functional analysis

Answer 37

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

Question 38

with an FA, the target bx is

Answer 38

intentionally provoked

-if doing so would present an unaccepted risk, other methods would be advised

Question 39

the sequences of phases of a brief functional analysis are / the 3 phases of a brief functional analysis are

Answer 39

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))

Question 40

FA of low frequency bx

Answer 40

is usually ill-advised

Question 41

an advantage of brief functional analysis is

Answer 41

a hypothesis might be derived from an analysis of antecedents (so a full FA is unnecessary)

Question 42

a brief functional analysis usually involves

Answer 42

an initial descriptive analysis, conditions 5-10, rapidly changing conditions

Question 43

to yield valid results, the analogue evaluation must

Answer 43

provide the functional reinforcer

reinforcer - pain; a therapist cannot manipulate pain contingent upon bx

Question 44

an advantage of brief functional analysis is

Answer 44

• 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

Question 45

when analogue and descriptive stimulus situations are similar,

Answer 45

they are likely to yield accurate and similar results

Question 46

an advantage of doing both descriptive and structural analyses before doing an FA is that it

Answer 46

enables a streamlinging of the tasks, time, and consequences to be tested in the FA

Question 47

what is the potential confound in tangible conditions?

Answer 47

contingent attention

a “tangible condition” is used to determine if access to an object contingent upon a bx is a function

Question 48

what is social disapproval condition?

Answer 48

the therapist provides toys but no structure; attends to subject only contingent upon self-injury; makes statements of concern (dont hurt yourself)

Question 49

what is play condition?

Answer 49

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

Question 50

what is an academic demand condition?

Answer 50

period prompts are given to work; self-injury results in termination of demand to do the task

Question 51

what is the alone condition?

Answer 51

subject is alone and observed surreptitiously; unless needing superiving from adult to physically prevent injury

Question 52

analogue assessments exert

Answer 52

experimental control over typical variables that account for bx; however, sometimes bx is controlled by variables that are omitted from the analogue setting

Question 53

when is a multielement design used the most?

Answer 53

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

Question 54

when do you use a reversal design?

Answer 54

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

Question 55

what are the 4 conditions used by Iwata et al (1982/1994)

Answer 55

social disapproval, alone, play, academic demand

the descriptions positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, control and automatic reinforcement

Question 56

which experimental designs are typically used to analyze FA data?

Answer 56

multielement design and ABAB design