Unit 4 Flashcards
Purpose of functional assessment
Identify functional relations and guide treatment development
4 types of functional assessments
Indirect assessments
Direct assessments
Structured descriptive assessment
Functional analysis
Indirect assessment (IA)
Assessment of behavior that is removed from time and place from actual occurrence of behavior
5 common forms of indirect assessment
Motivation assessment scale Questions about behavioral function Functional analysis interview form Problem behavior questionnaire FAST
5 indirect assessment limitations
Method of obtaining hypothesis not clear Limited on idiosyncratic variables Reliance on recollection Poor inter-rater agreement Poor convergent validity
3 recommendations for IA use
Use as part of direct observation
Include open-ended questions
Use multiple informants
Descriptive assessment (DA)
Observing individuals in natural environment by noting events before and after behavior
5 common forms of descriptive assessment
Narrative recording Open-ended ABC Coded ABC Scatterplot Structured descriptive assessment
4 descriptive assessment limitations
Correlational nature of data
Reactivity
Sample of behavior may be inadequate
Poor convergent validity
Functional analysis (FA)
Methodology for arranging environmental variables to compare levels of behavior in test and control conditions
2 benefits of FA
Determines true functional relations
May reveal treatment effects
4 limitations of FA
May not include relevant test conditions
May not identify situational features occasioning problem behavior
Potential for iatrogenic effects
Complex, time and labor intensive
Undifferentiated FA
No clear difference between test and control conditions
4 possible causes of undifferentiated FAs
Multiple control
Automatic SR+ (positive reinforcement)
Discrimination issues
Relevant variables not tested
2 FA best practice techniques before analysis
Rule out biological/medical events
Limit pre-session access to reinforcers
5 FA best practice techniques during analysis
Used fixed sequences
Use different Sds for each condition (discriminative stimulus)
Wait for problem behavior to end before next session
No or low-preference toys in attention and alone conditions
Use intrinsic items
3 FA best practice techniques for data interpretation
Graph topographies separately
Graph responding during relevant MO only
Structured criteria
3 antecedent modifications to clarify FA results
Location
Divided attention
Difficulty of demands
Conditioned correlated stimuli
2 consequence modifications to clarify FA results
Type of attention delivered
Which behaviors receive consequences
3 design modifications to clarify FA results
Pairwise
Session duration
Extended alone
4 categories of idiosyncratic variables
Antecedents
Consequences
MO effects
Person variables
2 antecedent idiosyncratic variables
Diverted attention
Attention, but only from certain individuals
Consequence idiosyncratic variables
Unrelated to typically tested behavioral functions
Motivational operation (MO) effects
Problem behavior high in condition when certain MOs are in effect
