9 Functional analysis

Question 1

Often Used for protection. May also prevent the individual from engaging in an alternative activity such as skill acquisition and may also result in physical damage such as shortened tendons due to immobility and adverse Side effects of medication.

Answer 1

Physical and chemical restraints before the use of functional assessments.

Question 2

Even This approach relied on problematic intervention such as punishment as a way to change her behavior.

Answer 2

Behavior modification

Question 3

This has resulted in a change in our focus away from those chemical and physical restraints and also away from the use of punishment and allowed us to use more reinforcement procedures.

Answer 3

Functional assessment

Question 4

Data on the selections of behavioral interventions revealed a gradual decrease in the use of punishment across the years and a dramatic increase in reinforcement based procedures.

Primary benefit of using functional analysis has been to increase the Percision and resulting effectiveness of reinforcement-based interventions

Answer 4

Kahng, Iwata and Lewin 2003
.Reviewed 396 articles from 63 journals, 1965 - 2000.
Around 1990, experimental FA dominates assessment.

Question 5

the dependant Variable of interest was human behavior and the independent variable was some environmental event of which human behavior was a function

He introduced the Term functional analysis to label the process through which one might go about identifying the independent variables that are functionally related to human behavior. Called

Answer 5

Skinner

Question 6

Very often when assessing problem behaviors, many of the same environmental events are manipulated. But remember the functional analysis means manipulating an independent variable to measure to measure the effects on behavior. And that can be done in many different ways.

Answer 6

The Standard Functional analysis

Question 7

Used as part of the process of assessing and treating what’s called behavior disorders

Answer 7

Functional analysis

Question 8

Catch -all category That simply indicates the repeated occurrence of problematic or maladaptive behaviors

Answer 8

Behavior disorders

Question 9

If we are going to use this as an assessment tool, there are important assumptions about behavior problems that we have to subscribe to :

First, as behavior analysts we presume that most of our behavior is learned behavior. It’s sensitive to contingencies of reinforcement, and punishment and that stimuli in the environment, like discriminative stimuli, come to influence our behavior through a history of pairing with reinforcement and punishment.

Second, all of our behavior whether it is adaptive or maladaptive is learned through the same sort of consequences. Given that some individuals engage in some behavior that is undesirable, it behooves us to ask WHY are they doing that. That’s what a …….. does. It sets out to answer that question.

Answer 9

Functional analysis

Question 10

What a behavior looks like tells us nothing about……

Answer 10

Why the behavior is happening

Question 11

Can tell us the conditions under which the behavior is likely to occur and the conditions under which the behavior is unlikely to occur.
As a result of conducting a functional analysis, leads to improvement in the development of treatment through the identification of antecedent conditions that produce behavior problems., the source of reinforcement to be eliminated, reinforcers that can be used for behavioral replacement and irrelevant or Counter therapeutic treatment.

Answer 11

Functional analysis – FA

Question 12

The systematic manipulation of environmental variables to determine the effects on behavior began in the late 1960s with research on self injurious behavior or SIB during this time several different researchers examined examined single functions of SAB to determine environmental variables that were associated with higher levels of self injury.

In 1965 Lovass and Colleagues found that SIB increased when it was followed by sympathetic statements, that is Social positive reinforcement in the form of attention increase SIB.

Follow up in 1969. Examine three conditions.
Non-contingent attention- decrease SIB
Contingent attention. -Increased. SIB
Ignore —-Eliminated. SIB

These data suggest that for this child, not only was SIB maintained by attention but it also could be decreased with the use of extinction that is by ignoring it and also reduced by delivering attention for free.

Answer 12

Early functional analysis studies: controlled by a single contingency (SR+)

Question 13

Carr , 1976, 1980 examined the rate of SIB and aggression under conditions where the man’s were issued and under conditions where demands were not issued.

No programed consequences for SIB in either condition. That is, SIB occurred it was ignored.

Carr found That SIB and aggression were higher in conditions were demands were issued . These studies indicate that problem behavior can be occasioned by demands suggesting that the behavior may be maintained by Social negative reinforcement in the form of escape from demands.

It was suggested because he did not actually provide a scape so can’t know for sure if behavior was maintained by escape because a scape was never delivered.

Answer 13

Early functional analysis studies: controlled by a single contingency (Sr-)

Question 14

Berkson and Mason. 1963, 1965

Examination of stereotypy
Environment with activities versus environment with no activities.
Stereotopy higher in an impoverished environment

Suggesting that it was not maintained by Social reinforcement, and thereby was likely maintained by automatic reinforcement

When dealing with automatic reinforcement or more loosely, Sensory consequences, we cannot manipulate those consequences because they are directly produced by the behavior itself. Because we can’t manipulate the consequences, we cannot definitively say that a behavior is maintained by automatic reinforcement we can simply say that a behavior is not maintained by Social reinforcement, at least not the ones we tested. Then by default it’s probably maintained by automatic reinforcement That’s why we say a certain pattern of behavior “ suggests” Automatic reinforcement rather than “indicates”automatic reinforcement

Answer 14

Early functional analysis studies: controlled by a single contingency (Auto SR)

Question 15

In summary these series of studies all demonstrated controlled by a single contingency.

Lovaas SIB increased when followed by sympathetic statements, positive reinforcement.

Carr SIB hire under demand versus no demand conditions.

Berkson mason Sterotypy Higher in impoverished environment compared to when they were in an environment with other activities to do.

Answer 15

Early functional analysis studies

Question 16

An essential feature of functional analysis. It’s how we determine whether a functional relationship exists.

Answer 16

Measurement Of behavior Under test and a control conditions.

Question 17

Positive reinforcement.
Social uc, attention, access to materials/tangibles
Automatic, sensory stimulation

Negative reinforcement
Social, escape from demands
Automatic, pain attenuation

Each of these was tested separately in the earlier single contingency studies.

No one has yet put them all together in a single assessment

Answer 17

Learned functions of bx

When we talk about function, we are talking about the reinforcer

Use functional assessment identify which is the likely source of reinforcement for the behavior.

And earlier studies, each of these potential functions were evaluated separately. One study look at Social positive one at Social negative and one at automatic. But no one had yet put them altogether in one assessment tool.

Question 18

Most functional analysis methods used and published are based on ………, But also ……….

Answer 18

Iwata. But not the only way to do it

Question 19

Influential in driving the notions of building a comprehensive assessment for behavior that included multiple categories. Emphasis on the antecedent especially establishing operation during each condition.
EG, attention delivered at different rates during the test and control conditions, FT – 30’s versus continuous attention

Answer 19

Durand and Carr

Functional analysis methodology. Common forms

Question 20

Emphasis of manipulation of antecedents and consequences for their behavior during each condition

Answer 20

Iwata Functional analysis methodology

Question 21

Controlling variables A.k.a.

Answer 21

Function

Question 22

Included individuals with different topographies because it was important to show that different topographies could have the same function.

And that the same topography could have different functions because especially back in the older days treatments Were selected based on the topography of the behavior alone.

SIB was allowed during this procedure so protection from injury and risk was necessary.

Answer 22

Iwata 1982/1994 procedures

Question 23

Events that establish something as a reinforcer and that evoke behavior that produced that reinforcer in the past.

Example. The presentation of demands establishes escape as a reinforcer. You need something to escape from before before you can emit escape maintained behavior. Without this, There is no reason to escape. If demands are Aversive it evokes behaviors that are maintained by escape. Sometimes these behaviors are appropriate like walking away And sometimes they are inappropriate.

Answer 23

EO

Question 24

Stimulator that have been correlated with reinforcement for a particular behavior in the past

Answer 24

SD

Question 25

EO-Depriving someone of attention establishes attention as a reinforcer and evokes behavior that has produced attention in the past.

So if the individual engages in problem behavior to get attention we’re setting up a condition in which we are likely to evoke that problem behavior. Each condition has a discriminative stimulus . in this case the discriminative stimuli are the presence of therapist one and setting one. That is, the attention condition is always run in the same room with the same therapist. other conditions will be run in different rooms by different therapists. If the target problem behavior occurs the therapist will deliver a brief verbal and physical attention.

Testing Social positive reinforcement. Is the problem behavior maintain by Social positive reinforcement in the form of access to attention

Answer 25

Iwata Functional analysis study

See functional analysis protocol chart.

See video

Question 26

Difficulties in discrimination;

Inability in discriminating what’s happening in one condition and what’s happening in another condition. For example some of the conditions have very similar features The toy play condition and the attention condition both have somebody in it. Somebody is periodically giving you attention in the toy condition they are giving attention in a non-contingent fashion. In the attention condition there is a one to one contingency. But from the perspective of the behaviorThat might be a difficult discrimination to make particularly if that individual lacks the cognitive abilities to make find discriminations like that one

Answer 26

Undifferentiated patterns-

Possible causes of undifferentiated patterns.

Question 27

Multiple control: behavior being maintained by all of those things

There might be certain aspects of the control condition that are in fact aversive. For example behavior maintain by social withdrawal

Answer 27

Undifferentiated patterns: possible causes

Question 28

Undifferentiated results are more likely With behaviors that occur infrequently. If it occurs frequently it will be hard to capture.

Answer 28

Undifferentiated result, possible causes

Question 29

What should you do if something seems off in your functional analysis

Answer 29

You should proceed as if you have the correct function. Go ahead and conduct a treatment evaluation And sometimes that will show you if your FA data were off in someway..

Question 30

Typically means an adverse condition experienced by a patient that was produced by a physician’s intervention.

In the case of FA, it means as a result of our assessment procedures, we have produced a problem that was not there prior to the assessment

Answer 30

Iatrogenic

Question 31

Because we always like to see replication, Rooker did a follow up study To further examine the findings of Shirley and company. Because tangible items are often used as reinforcers and the acquisition of behavior, such a history may produce new behavior as well as increase the occurrences of behavior already in the repertoire. Additionally it is likely that this affect would occur more quickly in the tangible condition then would be the case under other types of FA contingencies.

Answer 31

False positive FA Outcomes

Question 32

Purpose of easy conditions Was to attempt to illuminate the EO’s for behavior maintained by escape.

The purpose of the 100 conditions was an attempt to eliminate the EO for attention maintained behavior

The purpose of the difficult position was to try to evoke behavior is maintained by escape.

And the purpose of the 33 condition was to try to revoke behavior is maintained by attention because less attention is delivered and the 33 condition as compared to the 100 condition.

Answer 32

Carr and Duran

Question 33

Easy 33 versus easy 100 assessed Different levels of attention while holding task difficulty constant and eliminating the EO for escape

Easy 100 versus difficult 100, assessed that affects of task difficulty while holding attention constant and eliminating the EO for attention behavior

Control -easy 100
Test – easy 33, attention, difficult 100 escape?

Answer 33

Carr and Durand has 1985

Question 34

Purpose: to determine if behavior was actually multiply controlled or represented ( iatrogenic effects)?

Answer 34

Tangible condition

Question 35

Change in an IV produces orderly and predictable change in a DV

Answer 35

Functional Relation

Question 36

Indirect Assessment (verbal report)
Descriptive Assessment (naturalistic observation)
Functional Analysis (experimental manipulation)

Answer 36

Types of Functional assessments

Question 37

Direct observation

Measurement of behavior under test and control conditions

Answer 37

Basic features of functional analysis

Question 38

To test a specific hypothesis about the controlling variables for problem behavior

Answer 38

Functional analysis methodology