Functional Assessment Flashcards
Definition of functional assessment? Aka
a set of procedures that allow relationships between a behaviour and its antecedents and consequences to be determined (a.k.a. Functional behaviour assessment, or FBA)
the U.S. Individuals with Disabilities Education Act…
requires the use of a functional behaviour assessment as the basis for a beh support plan
What information does an FBA provide? (7)
- objective description of antecedents
- objective description of problem behs
- obj descr of consequences
- motivational variables (EOs, AOs)
- potential reinforcers
- potential competing behaviours
- effectiveness of previous interventions
Functions of problem behaviours
Social positive reinforcement
Social negative reinforcement
Automatic positive reinforcement
Automatic negative reinforcement
Types of positive reinforcement
Social: provided by another person
Automatic: beh automatically results in reinforcement
Tangible: reinforcer is physical item
Activity: reinforcement involves access to an activity
What is an indirect method of functional assessment? AKA?
data on antecedents, behaviours, and consequences are collected from the target person or others who know them well (e.g., family, friends, teachers), based on their memory of what happened
AKA informant assessment
Three types of indirect functional assessment
Interviews
Questionnaires
Rating scales
Pros and cons of indirect functional assessment
Fast and easy to do
Less reliable; memory is fallible
Only provide correlation btw antecedents/consequences & beh
What is the direct method of functional assessment? AKA?
data on antecedents, behaviours, and consequences is gathered as the behaviour occurs in its natural environment
AKA descriptive assessment
Four types of direct observation methods of functional assessment
- Unstructured
- Structured
- Scatterplot analysis
- ABC observations
What is unstructured direct observation
observations are made without altering events in the environment in any way (normal daily life)
What is structured direct observation
specific antecedents in the environment are systematically manipulated, and results are recorded; however, consequences are not altered
What is scatterplot analysis direct observation
recording period is divided into intervals; every half hour, if the behaviour has occurred, one cell of the grid is shaded in
What is ABC observation
record antecedents, behaviours, and consequences under normal conditions as they occur
Descriptive method vs checklist method ABC observation
Descriptive method uses ABC observation sheet (columns for date/time, antecedent(s), behaviour, consequence(s), possible function)
Checklist method uses checklist for ^^^
Pros and cons of direct observation methods
More accurate
More work and time
Only provide correlation btw antecedents/consequences and beh
What is an experimental method of functional assessment
an experimenter systematically manipulates antecedents and consequences to determine their effect on the target behaviour in a structured situation
(test and control groups)
Exploratory vs hypothesis testing of the experimental method
Exploratory: to determine patterns of relationships that are not yet clear
Hypothesis testing: to confirm predictions from informant or descriptive assessment
Control vs test groups in experimental method
test conditions: present different EO and possible reinforcer for problem behaviour in each condition
control condition: present an AO and withhold possible reinforcers for problem behaviour
Pros and cons of experimental method
Establishes cause and effect
Requires more time and expertise
Six steps of conducting a functional assessment
- use indirect methods first (e.g. interview)
- formulate a hypothesis ab possible antecedents, consequences of the beh
- perform direct observations
- determine if data from direct obs supports hypothesis
- if assessments are consistent, develop beh support plan
- if assessments are inconsistent, conduct functional analysis to confirm hypothesis
What do you do after completing a functional assessment
Develop a behaviour support plan (or beh intervention plan)
Behaviour support plans consist of…
Summary of data (antecedents, beh, consequences)
Hypothesis of function
Functional intervention (beh treatment program)
Methods of functional assessment
Indirect methods
Direct methods
Experimental methods
Experimental methods aka
Functional analysis
