Assessment of Problematic Behavior - Applying Extinction Flashcards
What is the functional assessment process
- Identify and define target behavior that needs to be increased or decreased
a. Indirect assessments (e.g., interviews) - Initiate Baseline data
- Complete functional assessment
a. Hypothesize about antecedents and consequences - Develop and implement treatment
- Evaluate
a. Effectiveness of treatment itself
b. Effectiveness of its implementation
Was your treatment effective? Yes
- begin promoting maintenance and generalization
- reinforce intermittently
- apply strategies to foster generalization
Was your treatment effective? No
- First check treatment fidelity
- was treatment implemented correctly
- If NO: retrain staff, adjust components and/or procedures
- if yes, return to step 3 of assessment
- was treatment implemented correctly
Assessing antecedents (A)
- when, where, with whom and in what circumstances or situation does the behavior occur
- look for S^D, S^delta, MOs
- contextual stimuli, preceding behaviors and circumstances, time of day etc.
Assessing behaviors
- Problem behaviors
- Alternative behaviors
- Relevant variables (intensity, latency, topography)
Assessing consequences
- For both problem and alternative behavior
- assess social and environmental (automatic) consequences
- Consider the
- schedule of reinforcement
- magnitude of reinforcement
- immediacy of reinforcement
Consider what for reinforcement ?
- schedule of reinforcement
- magnitude of reinforcement
- immediacy of reinforcement
Reinforcer for Problematic Behaviors
-Social Positive Reinforcement
- Attention, praise, reactions, activities, things
- mediated by others
-Social negative reinforcement
- escape from tasks, activities, interactions
- Mediated by others
-Automatic Positive reinforcement
- sensory stimulation, environmental stimuli, and events
- not mediated by others
-Automatic Negative Reinforcement
- relief from pain, anxiety, or other aversive stimulation, escape from aversive environmental stimuli
- Not mediated by others
Indirect assessment
a. Behavioral interview
b. Questionnaires
c. Low reliability, may be biased, inaccurate and/or incomplete
d. Useful as a starting point
Direct Observation Assessment
a. Descriptive A-B-C recording
b. Checklist recording of A-B-C
c. Interval recording of A-B-C
What do you need to consider when deciding upon assessment method
- reactivity
- practical and ethical feasibility
- recruiting informants
Consider how you will record
- ABC diaries
- Checklist recording
- Interval recording
A functional analysis
a. This type a of assessment/hypothesis testing (not treatment)
b. Manipulate variables to demonstrate a functional relationship (causal)
c. Replication is key (i.e., ABAB logic when possible)
You are not assessing the individual, you are
- you are not assessing an individual, you are assessing an individual’s behavior
- assess behavior, not people
Important considerations for applying extinction
- Have you identified the reinforcer?
a. Note: there may be more than one - Is it even possible to remove the reinforcer?
a. Reinforcer may be intrinsic to behavior - Is it safe to use extinction?
a. Emotional responses
b. Extinction bursts
c. Behavioral variability - Can you apply extinction consistently?
a. Can you prevent reinforcement every time the behavior occurs?
b. If not, you may accidentally put the behavior on an intermittent schedule - Do you have procedures to promote long-term maintenance?
a. Are there alternative/acceptable ways of getting the reinforce?
b. Have you promoted generalization of the extinguished behavior?
