Chapter 13 â Functional Assessment
Chapter 13 – Functional Assessment
• First step is to understand why the person engages in the behaviour • Functional assessment: an assessment of three-term contingency to determine the antecedent events that evoke the behaviour + the reinforcing consequences that maintain the behaviour
• Example:
Conduct a functional assessment of why Jacob engages in problem behaviour 1. Interview mother
2. Observe b-behaviour in the daycare setting + record information on the antecedents, behaviour, and consequence o Antecedent = other kids play with Jacob’s toys o Behaviour = bangs his head, whines + throws toys o Consequence = kids return Jacob’s toys to him o Outcomes = Jacob is more likely to engage in head-banging, whining, and toythrowing when other children play with his toys o Hypothesis = reinforcer for problem behaviour = other children gave back toys
3. Conduct a brief experience to test if the hypothesis was correct o Ask children not to immediately give back his toys on some days + not to play with them on other days o Experiment confirmed that other children playing with Jacob’s toys was an antecedent o Also confirmed that the reinforcer was that other children gave back his toys
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4. Treatment involved teaching him to ask the children to return toys o Goal is replace undesirable behaviour with desirable behaviour o Differential reinforcement was used to increase desirable behaviour + decrease undesirable behaviour o Antecedent = other children play with Jacob’s toys o Behaviour = Jacob asks for toys back o Consequence = children return toys to him o Outcome = he is more likely to ask for his toys back
Defining Functional Assessment • The principle of behaviour analysis is that behaviour is lawful – occurrence is controlled by environmental variables • Respondent behaviour is controlled by antecedent stimuli • Operant behaviour is controlled by antecedent stimuli + consequences that make up the 3-term contingencies of reinforcement & punishment • Functional assessment: the process of gathering information about the antecedents + consequences that are functionally related to the occurrence of problem behaviour o Provides information that help us determine why problem behaviour is occurred
o Provides detail information about antecedent stimuli – time + place of the behaviour, people present when the behaviour occurs, environmental event immediately preceding the behaviour & the frequency of the target behaviour o Provides information that are important for developing alternative behaviours that may be functionally equivalent to the problem behaviour
Categories of Information from a Functional Assessment
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• Problem behaviour – the behaviours that make up the problem • Antecedents – environmental events preceding the problem behaviour, including aspects of the environment + behaviour of their people • Consequences – environmental events that follow the problem behaviour • Alternative behaviour – information on desirable behaviour in the person’s repertoire that may be reinforced to compete with the problem behaviour • Motivational variables – information on environmental events that function as establishing operations to influence the effectiveness of reinforcers + punishers for the problem & alternative behaviour • Potential reinforcers – information on environmental events that may function as reinforcers + be used in treatment programs • Previous interventions – information on the interventions that have been used in the past + the effects of the problem behaviour
Function of Problem Behaviours 1. Social positive reinforcement
Delivered by another person after the target behaviour
Involves attention, assess to activities, or tangibles
Ex – Jacob received his toys back from the other children (tangibles) as a reinforcer
2. Social negative reinforcement
When another person terminates an aversive interaction after the occurrence of a target behaviour
Ex – asking your friend not to smoke in the car is negatively reinforced by escape or avoidance of the smell of smoke
3. Automatic positive reinforcement
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Behaviour produces a reinforcing consequence automatically
Ex – going to the kitchen to a get a drink is automatically positively reinforced by getting the drink
4. Automatic negative reinforcement
Target behaviour automatically reduces or eliminates an aversive stimulus as a consequence of the behaviour
Ex – closing the windows to block cold air, or binge eating to reduce unpleasant emotional responses
Functional Assessment Methods 1. Indirect Methods
Behavioural interviews or questionnaires
Also called informant assessment methods, because an informant (client) is providing information
Easy to conduct, and does not take time
Informants must rely on their memory, thus information may be incorrect due to forgetting or bias
Used most commonly because of their convenience
Behavioural interview: structured to generate information o Clear + objective o Information about the problem behaviour, antecedents, + consequences describe environmental events, without interference or interpretation o Generates information that will allow you to form a hypothesis
www.notesolution.com
o Teaches the client about functional assessment, where behaviours + events must be identified, inferences must be minimized, and it’s important to focus on antecedents & consequences
Using multiple functional assessment methods produces the most accurate information
2. Direct Observation Methods
Observe + record the antecedents & consequences each time the problem behaviour occurs
Conductor may be the individual exhibiting the problem behaviour, or it may be another person associated with the client
Conducted in the natural environment, an exception would be when observations occurs while a person is in treatment setting
Also called ABC observation o Record antecedents + consequences as they occur, rather than report them from memory o Takes more time + effort o Do not demonstrate a functional relationship, but rather a correlation of the antecedents + consequences with the problem behaviour o Correlations allow us to develop a hypothesis about the antecedents that evoke the behaviour + the reinforcer that maintains it o Hypothesis is strengthened when information from indirect assessment is consistent with information from ABC observations
Scatter plots are used to assess the time of day when the problem occurs most often
Someone in the client’s natural environment records once each ½ hour whether the behaviour occurring or not – interval recording method
If the scatter plot does not reveal a pattern, then ABC observation needs to be scheduled for longer periods or more time periods
www.notesolution.com
Observer must be trained to describe the antecedent + consequent events objectively
ABC observations can be conducted in the following ways:
• Brief description: describe behavior, antecedent & consequent event each time the
behavior occurs o
Use three column data sheet
o
Method is open-ended
o
May be conducted before indirect method or hypothesis formation
• Checklist method: includes columns for possible antecedents, behaviors, & consequences o
Developed after problem behavior + potential antecedents/consequences are identified
o
Observer records problem behavior each time it occurs
• Interval (or real-time) recording method: divide an observation period into brief time
intervals
o
Record whether behavior occurred in that interval
o
Record the exact time of each occurrence of behavior
Indirect + direct functional assessments = descriptive assessments o
Antecedents & consequences are described
o
Allows us to develop a hypothesis
o
Do not prove that the variables are functionally related to the behavior
www.notesolution.com
o
To demonstrate a functional relationship, the antecedents & consequences must be manipulated to show their influence on the problem behavior
3. Experimental Methods (Functional Analysis)
Manipulates antecedent or consequence variables to show the influence on the problem behavior
Also called experimental analysis or functional analysis
Demonstrates a functional relationship
Ex – evaluate attention as a possible reinforcing consequence for SIB o
Arrange for a condition in which the child did not receive any attention from adults + when SIB occurred, adult attention in the form of social disapproval
o
Four conditions were evaluated within altering-treatment designed
o
Some children’s SIB was maintained by attention, others by escape or automatic reinforcement
• Functional analysis are designed to evaluate a range of possible functions • The behavior analysis may not have a hypothesis bout the reinforcing consequences, and
is exploring a range of possibilities in functional analysis • The goal of functional analysis is not to evaluate all possible functions, but to confirm or
disconfirm the hypothesis o
Ex – if behavior was reinforced by attention, evaluate two experimental conditions: (a) no attention contingent on target behavior, (b) high levels of attention with no attention after the target behavior
Functional Analysis Research • Functional analysis of aggressive behaviour in two boys with mental retardations o Antecedents were academic demands + escape was the reinforcer for the problem behaviour o To test the hypothesis, two experimental conditions were designed :
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1. Academic demands presented to the children 2. No demands placed on the children Problem behaviour decreased substantially when there no demands were made • Primary advantage = demonstrates a functional-relationship between the controlling variables (antecedent + reinforcing consequence) & the problem behaviour • Descriptive methods provide less certainty, but they do allow us to formulate a hypothesis • Major disadvantage = time, effort, + professional expertise • A functional analysis is actually a brief experiment
Conducting a Functional Assessment • Conducted by the client, a professional consultant, or people in the client’s environment who are trained • Take steps to reduce reactivity of the observations so that the information on the ABCs reflect the typical level of the behaviour, antecedent & consequences • Reactivity can be reduced through unobstructed observation by participation observation, or by allowing a period of time for the people in the natural setting to become accustomed to the observer • Information from the ABC observation is consistent with the information from the interview the initial hypothesis is strengthened, thus functional assessment is complete • Example – when Clyde was asked to dust the dresses in a room, he dropped to the floor, sat with his head down, + refused to work o H1 – attention from the job coach reinforced his behaviour o H2 – escape from dusting task reinforced his behaviour •
Conduct a functional analysis to identity reinforcers: manipulate escape + attention
•
Arrange for two conditions: (a) attention, but no escape, (b) escape, but no
www.notesolution.com
attention •
If the rate of the problem behaviour is high in both conditions, behaviour is reinforced by both attention + escape
www.notesolution.com
• First step is to understand why the person engages in the behaviour • Functional assessment: an assessment of three-term contingency to determine the antecedent events that evoke the behaviour + the reinforcing consequences that maintain the behaviour
• Example:
Conduct a functional assessment of why Jacob engages in problem behaviour 1. Interview mother
2. Observe b-behaviour in the daycare setting + record information on the antecedents, behaviour, and consequence o Antecedent = other kids play with Jacob’s toys o Behaviour = bangs his head, whines + throws toys o Consequence = kids return Jacob’s toys to him o Outcomes = Jacob is more likely to engage in head-banging, whining, and toythrowing when other children play with his toys o Hypothesis = reinforcer for problem behaviour = other children gave back toys
3. Conduct a brief experience to test if the hypothesis was correct o Ask children not to immediately give back his toys on some days + not to play with them on other days o Experiment confirmed that other children playing with Jacob’s toys was an antecedent o Also confirmed that the reinforcer was that other children gave back his toys
www.notesolution.com
4. Treatment involved teaching him to ask the children to return toys o Goal is replace undesirable behaviour with desirable behaviour o Differential reinforcement was used to increase desirable behaviour + decrease undesirable behaviour o Antecedent = other children play with Jacob’s toys o Behaviour = Jacob asks for toys back o Consequence = children return toys to him o Outcome = he is more likely to ask for his toys back
Defining Functional Assessment • The principle of behaviour analysis is that behaviour is lawful – occurrence is controlled by environmental variables • Respondent behaviour is controlled by antecedent stimuli • Operant behaviour is controlled by antecedent stimuli + consequences that make up the 3-term contingencies of reinforcement & punishment • Functional assessment: the process of gathering information about the antecedents + consequences that are functionally related to the occurrence of problem behaviour o Provides information that help us determine why problem behaviour is occurred
o Provides detail information about antecedent stimuli – time + place of the behaviour, people present when the behaviour occurs, environmental event immediately preceding the behaviour & the frequency of the target behaviour o Provides information that are important for developing alternative behaviours that may be functionally equivalent to the problem behaviour
Categories of Information from a Functional Assessment
www.notesolution.com
• Problem behaviour – the behaviours that make up the problem • Antecedents – environmental events preceding the problem behaviour, including aspects of the environment + behaviour of their people • Consequences – environmental events that follow the problem behaviour • Alternative behaviour – information on desirable behaviour in the person’s repertoire that may be reinforced to compete with the problem behaviour • Motivational variables – information on environmental events that function as establishing operations to influence the effectiveness of reinforcers + punishers for the problem & alternative behaviour • Potential reinforcers – information on environmental events that may function as reinforcers + be used in treatment programs • Previous interventions – information on the interventions that have been used in the past + the effects of the problem behaviour
Function of Problem Behaviours 1. Social positive reinforcement
Delivered by another person after the target behaviour
Involves attention, assess to activities, or tangibles
Ex – Jacob received his toys back from the other children (tangibles) as a reinforcer
2. Social negative reinforcement
When another person terminates an aversive interaction after the occurrence of a target behaviour
Ex – asking your friend not to smoke in the car is negatively reinforced by escape or avoidance of the smell of smoke
3. Automatic positive reinforcement
www.notesolution.com
Behaviour produces a reinforcing consequence automatically
Ex – going to the kitchen to a get a drink is automatically positively reinforced by getting the drink
4. Automatic negative reinforcement
Target behaviour automatically reduces or eliminates an aversive stimulus as a consequence of the behaviour
Ex – closing the windows to block cold air, or binge eating to reduce unpleasant emotional responses
Functional Assessment Methods 1. Indirect Methods
Behavioural interviews or questionnaires
Also called informant assessment methods, because an informant (client) is providing information
Easy to conduct, and does not take time
Informants must rely on their memory, thus information may be incorrect due to forgetting or bias
Used most commonly because of their convenience
Behavioural interview: structured to generate information o Clear + objective o Information about the problem behaviour, antecedents, + consequences describe environmental events, without interference or interpretation o Generates information that will allow you to form a hypothesis
www.notesolution.com
o Teaches the client about functional assessment, where behaviours + events must be identified, inferences must be minimized, and it’s important to focus on antecedents & consequences
Using multiple functional assessment methods produces the most accurate information
2. Direct Observation Methods
Observe + record the antecedents & consequences each time the problem behaviour occurs
Conductor may be the individual exhibiting the problem behaviour, or it may be another person associated with the client
Conducted in the natural environment, an exception would be when observations occurs while a person is in treatment setting
Also called ABC observation o Record antecedents + consequences as they occur, rather than report them from memory o Takes more time + effort o Do not demonstrate a functional relationship, but rather a correlation of the antecedents + consequences with the problem behaviour o Correlations allow us to develop a hypothesis about the antecedents that evoke the behaviour + the reinforcer that maintains it o Hypothesis is strengthened when information from indirect assessment is consistent with information from ABC observations
Scatter plots are used to assess the time of day when the problem occurs most often
Someone in the client’s natural environment records once each ½ hour whether the behaviour occurring or not – interval recording method
If the scatter plot does not reveal a pattern, then ABC observation needs to be scheduled for longer periods or more time periods
www.notesolution.com
Observer must be trained to describe the antecedent + consequent events objectively
ABC observations can be conducted in the following ways:
• Brief description: describe behavior, antecedent & consequent event each time the
behavior occurs o
Use three column data sheet
o
Method is open-ended
o
May be conducted before indirect method or hypothesis formation
• Checklist method: includes columns for possible antecedents, behaviors, & consequences o
Developed after problem behavior + potential antecedents/consequences are identified
o
Observer records problem behavior each time it occurs
• Interval (or real-time) recording method: divide an observation period into brief time
intervals
o
Record whether behavior occurred in that interval
o
Record the exact time of each occurrence of behavior
Indirect + direct functional assessments = descriptive assessments o
Antecedents & consequences are described
o
Allows us to develop a hypothesis
o
Do not prove that the variables are functionally related to the behavior
www.notesolution.com
o
To demonstrate a functional relationship, the antecedents & consequences must be manipulated to show their influence on the problem behavior
3. Experimental Methods (Functional Analysis)
Manipulates antecedent or consequence variables to show the influence on the problem behavior
Also called experimental analysis or functional analysis
Demonstrates a functional relationship
Ex – evaluate attention as a possible reinforcing consequence for SIB o
Arrange for a condition in which the child did not receive any attention from adults + when SIB occurred, adult attention in the form of social disapproval
o
Four conditions were evaluated within altering-treatment designed
o
Some children’s SIB was maintained by attention, others by escape or automatic reinforcement
• Functional analysis are designed to evaluate a range of possible functions • The behavior analysis may not have a hypothesis bout the reinforcing consequences, and
is exploring a range of possibilities in functional analysis • The goal of functional analysis is not to evaluate all possible functions, but to confirm or
disconfirm the hypothesis o
Ex – if behavior was reinforced by attention, evaluate two experimental conditions: (a) no attention contingent on target behavior, (b) high levels of attention with no attention after the target behavior
Functional Analysis Research • Functional analysis of aggressive behaviour in two boys with mental retardations o Antecedents were academic demands + escape was the reinforcer for the problem behaviour o To test the hypothesis, two experimental conditions were designed :
www.notesolution.com
1. Academic demands presented to the children 2. No demands placed on the children Problem behaviour decreased substantially when there no demands were made • Primary advantage = demonstrates a functional-relationship between the controlling variables (antecedent + reinforcing consequence) & the problem behaviour • Descriptive methods provide less certainty, but they do allow us to formulate a hypothesis • Major disadvantage = time, effort, + professional expertise • A functional analysis is actually a brief experiment
Conducting a Functional Assessment • Conducted by the client, a professional consultant, or people in the client’s environment who are trained • Take steps to reduce reactivity of the observations so that the information on the ABCs reflect the typical level of the behaviour, antecedent & consequences • Reactivity can be reduced through unobstructed observation by participation observation, or by allowing a period of time for the people in the natural setting to become accustomed to the observer • Information from the ABC observation is consistent with the information from the interview the initial hypothesis is strengthened, thus functional assessment is complete • Example – when Clyde was asked to dust the dresses in a room, he dropped to the floor, sat with his head down, + refused to work o H1 – attention from the job coach reinforced his behaviour o H2 – escape from dusting task reinforced his behaviour •
Conduct a functional analysis to identity reinforcers: manipulate escape + attention
•
Arrange for two conditions: (a) attention, but no escape, (b) escape, but no
www.notesolution.com
attention •
If the rate of the problem behaviour is high in both conditions, behaviour is reinforced by both attention + escape
www.notesolution.com
