Chap 3 Target behaviors Flashcards
Behavior assessment
Identifies behaviors to change, resources, assets, reinforcers, punishers etc. that may inform or be included in intervention plans to change the target behavior
Target behavior
The specific behavior selected for change; must be functional
Indirect assessment
Data derived from recollections, reconstructions, or subjective ratings of events (e.g. interviews and checklists)
Direct assessment
Provide information about a person’s behavior as it occurs (provide objective data on actual performance)
Characteristic of behavioral interview
Use what and when questions that focus on the environment instead of why
Behavior checklist
Provides descriptions of specific behaviors and the conditions under which each behavior should occur
ABC recording is also known as
anecdotal observation; observer records a descriptive, temporally sequenced account of all behaviors of interest and the antecedent conditions and consequences for those behaviors as those events occur in the client’s natural environment.
Mentalistic explanations
Evoked by why questions; assumes clients know the answer to why they do something
Methods for obtaining assessment information
Interviews, checklists, tests, direct observation
Ecological assessment
Information is gathered about the person and the environments that the person lives and works in
Reactivity
Effects of an assessment procedure on the behavior being assessed
Habilitation
The degree to which the person’s repertoire maximizes short and long-term reinforcers for that individual and for others, and minimizes short and long term punishers
Relevance of behavior rule
A target behavior should only be selected when it can be determined that it will be naturally reinforcing for the person to perform the behavior in his/her environment. Teaching skills that will help in the current environment takes precedence over those that may help in the future
Behavioral cusp
A behavior that has consequences beyond the change itself. It exposes the individual’s repertoire to new environments, expanding an individual’s repertoire
Criteria of a behavior cusp
- Access to new reinforcers
- Social validity
- Generativeness
- Competition with inappropriate responses
- Number and relative importance of people affected
Pivotal behavior
A behavior that produces corresponding modifications or covariation in other adaptive untrained behaviors
Normalization
Use of more typical environments, expectations, and procedures for the goal of integrating people with disabilities into mainstream
Considerations for choosing target behavior
- Probability of the behavior producing reinforcement in the client’s natural environment
- Necessary prerequisite for a useful skill?
- Will the behavior increase the client’s access to environments where other important behaviors can be learned and used?
- Will changing this behavior increase the chance of others having more appropriate and supportive interactions with the client?
- Is it a behavioral cusp or pivotal behavior?
- Age appropriate?
- If reducing/ eliminating behavior, what adaptive behavior will replace it?
- Is the behavior the actual problem or goal, or is it indirectly related?
- Is it just talk or the real behavior of interest
- If the goal is not a specific behavior (e.g. losing weight), will this behavior help achieve it?
Prioritization criteria for target behaviors
- Danger to person or others?
- Opportunities to use the skill in the natural environment/ how often the problem behavior occurs
- Long-standing problem/ skill deficit?
- Will it produce higher rates of reinforcement?
- Relative importance of target behavior to future skill development and independent functioning
- Reduce negative or unwanted attention from others?
- Reinforcement for significant others?
- Likely success in changing this behavior
- Cost to change this behavior (e.g. time, money etc.)
Function-based definition of target behavior
Designates responses as members of the targeted response class solely by their common effect on the environment. The function of the behavior is most important
Topography-based definition of target behavior
Define instances of the targeted response class behavior by the shape or form of the behavior
Characteristics of a good definition of target behavior
- Objective (refer only to observable characteristics)
- Clear (readable and unambiguous)
- Complete (delineate boundaries of what to include and exclude)
Social validity
The extent that a person’s life is changed in a positive and meaningful way by changing a target behavior
Response
A specific instance of behavior
Descriptive functional behavior assessment
Direction observation of behavior under naturally occurring conditions. Involve observation of the behavior in relation to events that are not arranged systematically
