Chapter 11: Behavioral Assessment

Question 1

ABCs of behavioral assessment

Answer 1

A: antecedent (what was happening before behavior took place)
B: behavior (what did the person do)
C: consequent (what happened after the behavior took place)

Question 2

Focus of behavioral assessment

Answer 2

Focus on observable behavior in an objective manner
Approach (not a set of tests)
Behavior isn’t interpreted

Question 3

Methods of behavioral assessment

Answer 3

Direct observation (observe behavior in real world)
Analogue assessment (role play; simulate real world events)

Question 4

Reactivity

Answer 4

Problem with direct observation: behavior changes when being observed
Decreases as observation time increases

Question 5

Indirect observation

Answer 5

Client monitors observations through self-monitoring (recording behavior) or self-report (remembering what happened after the fact)

Question 6

Behavioral interview

Answer 6

Clinical interview focusing on ABCs

Relies on self-report

Question 7

Sources of information for behavioral assessment

Answer 7

Client
Therapist
Parents
Teachers
Spouses 
Friends

Question 8

Pros and cons for behavioral assessment

Answer 8

Pros: direct information, contextual
Cons: labor intensive, reactivity, not everything is observable

Question 9

Settings for behavioral assessment

Answer 9

School
Home
Therapy setting
Real world is preferable to therapy setting

Question 10

How behavioral assessment works in a school setting

Answer 10

Behavior specialists observe/count frequency of target behaviors
Teachers report observations of child in classroom

Question 11

How behavioral assessment works in a home setting

Answer 11

Individual self-monitors and reports perceptions of home behavior
Parents report observations of child behavior at home

Question 12

How behavioral assessment works in a therapy setting

Answer 12

Therapist conducts behavioral interviews, observes session behavior, observes behavior in real life, and assesses through role-play

Question 13

Formal inventories

Answer 13

Used to enable comparison across people (standardization)
Informants rate behavior on a number of dimensions
Parents, teachers, spouse, child, etc.

Question 14

Strengths and weaknesses for formal inventories

Answer 14

Strengths: gather lots of information, multiple sources of information, reliability and validity measurable
Weaknesses: response sets, internalizing less observable

Question 15

Formal inventories: broad based vs. single domain

Answer 15

Broad based: cover a number of behaviors/disorders (example: Achenbach)
Single domain: assess behavior for 1 disorder (example: Childhood Autism Rating Scale, Barkley Scales- ADHD)

Question 16

Formal inventories for adaptive behavior

Answer 16

Used for individuals with developmental/intellectual disabilities
Focus on conceptual skills, practical skills, social skills
Used to determine areas of strength

Question 17

Psychophysiology

Answer 17

Used to record internal behavior/physiological responses

Question 18

EEG

Answer 18

Used in psychophysiology

Measures brain waves by measuring electrical activity across scalp

Question 19

EMG

Answer 19

Used in psychophysiology

Measures muscle activity

Question 20

GSR (Galvanic skin response)

Answer 20

Used in psychophysiology

Measures sweat

Question 21

Polygraph test

Answer 21

Used in psychophysiology

Used for lie detection

Question 22

PSG (polysomnography)

Answer 22

Used in psychophysiology

Measures sleep