Functional behavior assessment

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Functional behavior assessment (FBA) is an ongoing process of collecting information with a goal of identifying the environmental variables that control a problem or target behavior. The purpose of the assessment is to prove and aid the effectiveness of the interventions or treatments used to help eliminate the problem behavior. Through functional behavior assessments, we have learned that there are complex patterns to people's seemingly unproductive behaviors. It is important to not only pay attention to consequences that follow the behavior but also the antecedent that evokes the behavior. More work needs to be done in the future with functional assessment including balancing precision and efficiency, being more specific with variables involved and a more smooth transition from assessment to intervention. [1]

Contents

Definition

Functional behavior assessment (FBA) is a method developed by applied behavior analysis (ABA) to identify the variables that maintain a problem behavior. Behavior is lawful. Whether it is desirable or undesirable, behavior is controlled by environmental variables. Behavior is a function of the antecedent and consequences that make up the three-term contingency. Functional assessment is the process of gathering information about the antecedent stimuli and consequences functional to the problem behavior. It attempts to provide an explanation to why the problem behavior may be occurring. The information about the antecedent stimuli may include the time and place, the presence of others and the frequency. The information collected helps identify which of the antecedent and consequences are maintaining the behavior. The information collected from functional assessment can also help develop appropriate treatments for the target behavior. Stimulus that may have been found to be reinforcing for the original behavior could be transferred to reinforce a more appropriate behavior. [2] [3]

Functions of problem behavior

The purpose of conducting a functional assessment is to identify the function of the target behavior. There are four main classes of functions of problem behavior. [4]

Social positive reinforcement

Social positive reinforcement is when another person delivers a positive reinforcement after the problem behavior occurs. This is include the giving of attention, fun activities or goods and services provided by the person. An example of social positive reinforcement would be Max's mother (social) dropping what she is doing and provide attention (positive reinforcement) to her son when he engages in head banging on the wall (problem behavior). [3]

Social negative reinforcement

Social negative reinforcement is when another person delivers a negative reinforcement after the problem behavior occurs. The person may terminate an aversive stimuli (interaction, task or activity) and the behavior is more likely to be maintained. An example of social negative reinforcement would be Max complains (problem behavior) to his parents (social) when he is asked to do chores, as a result, his parents allows him to escape the task (negative reinforcement). [3]

Automatic positive reinforcement

Automatic positive reinforcement is when a positive reinforcement occurs automatically and is not mediated by another person. The behavior is strengthened by an automatic reinforcing consequence. An example of automatic positive reinforcement would be an autistic child waving his hands in front of his face (problem behavior) because the sensory stimulation (automatic positive reinforcement) produced is reinforcing for the child. [3]

Automatic negative reinforcement

Automatic negative reinforcement is when a negative reinforcement occurs automatically reducing or eliminating an aversive stimulus as a reinforcing consequence of the behavior. A popular example of automatic negative reinforcement would be binge eating. Binge eating (problem behavior) had been found to temporarily reduce any unpleasant emotions the person may be experiencing before the binge (automatic negative reinforcement). [3]

Assessment methods

There are various different methods used to conduct functional assessment, all of which falls into three distinct categories. [5]

Indirect methods

Indirect functional assessment methods use behavior interviews or surveys to gather information about the person exhibiting the behavior from themselves others who know this person well. The main advantage of indirect methods is they are easy and cheap to conduct and do not take much time. The main disadvantage of indirect methods is that the people involved are relying on their memories, thus some information may be lost or inaccurate. [6]

Because of their convenience, indirect methods are used most commonly. It is essential assessment to be clear and objective as this will produce the most accurate answers without interpretation. The goal of the indirect assessment method is to generate information on the antecedent, behavior and consequence that can help generate a hypothesis about the variables that maintains the behavior.

Indirect methods can help develop a correlation hypothesis but not a functional relationship.

Direct observation methods

Direct observation methods involve is present to observe and record the problem behavior as it occurs. The goal of direct observation is to record the immediate antecedent and consequences that functions with the problem behavior within a natural environment. The main advantage of direct observation is that the antecedents and consequences are recorded as it happens instead of recollection of memory. Therefore, the information recorded is generally more accurate. The main disadvantage of direct observation is it requires a considerable amount of time and effort to implement. Another thing about direct observation is, like indirect methods, it can only demonstrate a correlation but not a functional relationship. [5]

The observer of the direct observation method should be present in the natural environment when the problem behavior is most likely to occur. The observer should also be trained to record the problem behavior and its functional antecedent and consequences immediately, correctly and objectively.

Direct observation can also be an ABC observation. Together with indirect methods, direct and indirect assessments are categorized as descriptive assessment because the antecedent and consequences are described from with memory of events. The information collected aids the development of a hypothesis, but to demonstrate a functional relationship, one must use the experimental method. [3]

Experimental methods

Experimental methods involve manipulating either the antecedent or consequent variables to determine their influence on the problem behavior. This is the only method that can demonstrate a functional relationship between the antecedent stimulus or the reinforcing consequence and the problem behavior. The main advantage of the experimental method is the demonstration of a functional relationship. The main disadvantage of the experimental method is the extensive use of time and effort to create an experiment. [7] [8]

Experimental methods can also be called experimental analysis or functional analysis.

Conducting a functional assessment

A functional assessment should always be conducted before treating a problem behavior. To develop appropriate treatment, one must have the correct information about the antecedents and consequences controlling the behavior because treatment involves manipulating these environmental events to evoke a change in the problem behavior. Here is the proper procedure to correctly implement a functional assessment. [1]

  1. The first step should start with a behavioral interview with the client or someone who knows him/her well.
  2. The interview from the first step should help develop a hypothesis about which antecedent would produce the behavior and which reinforcing consequence would maintain it.
  3. Once a hypothesis has been formed, the next step is to conduct a direct observation assessment in the natural environment. If the data collected from the interview is consistent with the observation, the validity of the hypothesis is strengthened.
  4. With the information from both sources being consistent, confirm your initial hypothesis to develop appropriate treatment plans for the identified antecedent and consequence.
  5. If the data collected from the behavioral interview and the information observed from the direct observation is inconsistent, conduct further assessments such as another interview or continued observation to clear up any of the inconsistencies.
  6. If after review and extra interviews and further observations, the information collected are still inconsistent, it is time to conduct a functional analysis. A functional analysis is also need if the information is consistent but can not lead to a conclusive, firm hypothesis about the predictably of the antecedent and consequence. [3]

Functional interventions

After a functional behavior assessment has been conducted, the information collected is used to develop treatments and interventions. Interventions are designed to manipulate the antecedent or/and the consequence of the problem behavior to decrease its occurrence rate and increase the rate of occurrence of functional replacement behaviors. [4]

Functional interventions include extinction, differential reinforcement and antecedent manipulations. These intervention are functional because they deal with the environmental events that are functional to the problem behavior. They are also non-aversive as punishment is not involved. [3]

More aversive interventions can be used as latter resort if previous non-aversive intervention have been tried and shown ineffective. Punishment such as time-out and response cost are considered negative punishment, which although is still controversial, is more widely accepted than positive punishment such as overcorrection, contingent exercise, guided compliance and physical restraint. As mentioned punishment should only be used as a last resort when other methods have already been considered.

Research

A lot of research being done with functional assessment deals with self injurious behaviors of mentally challenged children or adults and autistic children. [9]

Carr, Newsom and Binkoff conducted an experimental method of functional assessment on two boys with intellectual disabilities exhibiting aggressive behaviors. They hypothesized that their aggressive behaviors were maintained by escape from academic tasks. To test their hypothesis, they set two different experimental conditions; 1. Academic demands were put on the boys, 2. Academic demands were not put on the children. If their hypothesis is true, then the problem behavior should occur much more often in the first condition than the second. Results show that their hypothesis was indeed true as the aggressive behavior occurred at a much higher frequency in the first condition. The researchers concluded that the boy's problem behavior was indeed maintained by the antecedent of academic demands and the consequence of escape from the demands.

Another functional assessment research done by Brian Iwata in 1982 worked with children with developmental disabilities showing self injurious behaviors. The research could not conclude what was maintaining their behavior but believed it was either adult attention, escape from demands or sensory stimulation from the injuries. For each of the hypotheses, they created a condition that would fit into the category. For adult attention hypothesis, they created an environment where an adult is in the room with the child but pays no attention to him/her until after the behavior occurs. For the escape from demands hypothesis, they had an adult make a normal demand towards the child, but terminate it if the self injurious behavior occurs. For the sensory stimulation hypothesis, the child is left alone without the presence of anyone or any stimulating activities. Iwata compared the levels of self injurious behaviors across the three conditions and demonstrated that the function of the problem behavior for each child was different. Some wanted attention, others escaped while some were maintained by automatic reinforcement. As shown here, it is very important to conduct a functional assessment to determine what exactly is maintaining the behavior before any function interventions are taken. [10]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">B. F. Skinner</span> American psychologist and social philosopher (1904–1990)

Burrhus Frederic Skinner was an American psychologist, behaviorist, inventor, and social philosopher. Considered the father of Behaviorism, he was the Edgar Pierce Professor of Psychology at Harvard University from 1958 until his retirement in 1974.

Operant conditioning, also called instrumental conditioning, is a learning process where voluntary behaviors are modified by association with the addition of reward or aversive stimuli. The frequency or duration of the behavior may increase through reinforcement or decrease through punishment or extinction.

Reinforcement theory is the idea that human behavior is a result of "contingent consequences" to human actions. Described as "you get what you reinforce,” This means that behavior, when given the right types of reinforcers, can be changed for the better and negative behavior can be reinforced away.

Social learning is a theory of learning process social behavior which proposes that new behaviors can be acquired by observing and imitating others. It states that learning is a cognitive process that takes place in a social context and can occur purely through observation or direct instruction, even in the absence of motor reproduction or direct reinforcement. In addition to the observation of behavior, learning also occurs through the observation of rewards and punishments, a process known as vicarious reinforcement. When a particular behavior is rewarded regularly, it will most likely persist; conversely, if a particular behavior is constantly punished, it will most likely desist. The theory expands on traditional behavioral theories, in which behavior is governed solely by reinforcements, by placing emphasis on the important roles of various internal processes in the learning individual.

The experimental analysis of behavior is a science that studies the behavior of individuals across a variety of species. A key early scientist was B. F. Skinner who discovered operant behavior, reinforcers, secondary reinforcers, contingencies of reinforcement, stimulus control, shaping, intermittent schedules, discrimination, and generalization. A central method was the examination of functional relations between environment and behavior, as opposed to hypothetico-deductive learning theory that had grown up in the comparative psychology of the 1920–1950 period. Skinner's approach was characterized by observation of measurable behavior which could be predicted and controlled. It owed its early success to the effectiveness of Skinner's procedures of operant conditioning, both in the laboratory and in behavior therapy.

Behaviorism is a systematic approach to understand the behavior of humans and other animals. It assumes that behavior is either a reflex evoked by the pairing of certain antecedent stimuli in the environment, or a consequence of that individual's history, including especially reinforcement and punishment contingencies, together with the individual's current motivational state and controlling stimuli. Although behaviorists generally accept the important role of heredity in determining behavior, they focus primarily on environmental events. The cognitive revolution of the late 20th century largely replaced behaviorism as an explanatory theory with cognitive psychology, which unlike behaviorism examines internal mental states.

In psychology, aversives are unpleasant stimuli that induce changes in behavior via negative reinforcement or positive punishment. By applying an aversive immediately before or after a behavior the likelihood of the target behavior occurring in the future is reduced. Aversives can vary from being slightly unpleasant or irritating to physically, psychologically and/or emotionally damaging. It is not the level of unpleasantness or intention that defines something as an aversive, but rather the level of effectiveness the unpleasant event has on changing (decreasing) behavior.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dog training</span> Practice of teaching behaviors to dogs

Dog training is a kind of animal training, the application of behavior analysis which uses the environmental events of antecedents and consequences to modify the dog behavior, either for it to assist in specific activities or undertake particular tasks, or for it to participate effectively in contemporary domestic life. While training dogs for specific roles dates back to Roman times at least, the training of dogs to be compatible household pets developed with suburbanization in the 1950s.

Applied behavior analysis (ABA), also called behavioral engineering, is a psychological intervention that applies approaches based upon the principles of respondent and operant conditioning to change behavior of social significance. It is the applied form of behavior analysis; the other two forms are radical behaviorism and the experimental analysis of behavior.

Behaviour therapy or behavioural psychotherapy is a broad term referring to clinical psychotherapy that uses techniques derived from behaviourism and/or cognitive psychology. It looks at specific, learned behaviours and how the environment, or other people's mental states, influences those behaviours, and consists of techniques based on behaviorism's theory of learning: respondent or operant conditioning. Behaviourists who practice these techniques are either behaviour analysts or cognitive-behavioural therapists. They tend to look for treatment outcomes that are objectively measurable. Behaviour therapy does not involve one specific method, but it has a wide range of techniques that can be used to treat a person's psychological problems.

Behavior modification is a treatment approach that uses respondent and operant conditioning to change behavior. Based on methodological behaviorism, overt behavior is modified with (antecedent) stimulus control and consequences, including positive and negative reinforcement contingencies to increase desirable behavior, or administering positive and negative punishment and/or extinction to reduce problematic behavior. It also uses systematic desensitization and flooding to combat phobias.

Extinction is a behavioral phenomenon observed in both operantly conditioned and classically conditioned behavior, which manifests itself by fading of non-reinforced conditioned response over time. When operant behavior that has been previously reinforced no longer produces reinforcing consequences the behavior gradually stops occurring. In classical conditioning, when a conditioned stimulus is presented alone, so that it no longer predicts the coming of the unconditioned stimulus, conditioned responding gradually stops. For example, after Pavlov's dog was conditioned to salivate at the sound of a metronome, it eventually stopped salivating to the metronome after the metronome had been sounded repeatedly but no food came. Many anxiety disorders such as post traumatic stress disorder are believed to reflect, at least in part, a failure to extinguish conditioned fear.

Countercontrol is a term used by Dr. B.F. Skinner in 1953 as a functional class in the analysis of social behavior. Opposition or resistance to intervention defines countercontrol, however little systematic research has been conducted to document its occurrence. Skinner also distinguished it from the literature of freedom, which he said did not provide effective countercontrol strategies. The concept was identified as a mechanism to oppose control such as escape from the controller or waging an attack in order to weaken or destroy the controlling power. For this purpose, Skinner stressed the role of the individual as an instrument of countercontrol, emphasizing the notion of vigilance along with the concepts of freedom and dignity.

Covert conditioning is an approach to mental health treatment that utilizes the principles of applied behavior analysis, or cognitive-behavior therapies (CBTs) to help individuals improve their behavior or inner experience. This method relies on the individual's ability to use imagery for purposes such as mental rehearsal. In some populations, it has been found that an imaginary reward can be as effective as a real one. The effectiveness of covert conditioning is believed to depend on the careful application of behavioral treatment principles, including a comprehensive behavioral analysis.

In operant conditioning, punishment is any change in a human or animal's surroundings which, occurring after a given behavior or response, reduces the likelihood of that behavior occurring again in the future. As with reinforcement, it is the behavior, not the human/animal, that is punished. Whether a change is or is not punishing is determined by its effect on the rate that the behavior occurs. This is called motivating operations (MO), because they alter the effectiveness of a stimulus. MO can be categorized in abolishing operations, decrease the effectiveness of the stimuli and establishing, increase the effectiveness of the stimuli. For example, a painful stimulus which would act as a punisher for most people may actually reinforce some behaviors of masochistic individuals.

Positive behavior support (PBS) uses tools from applied behaviour analysis and values of normalisation and social role valorisation theory to improve quality of life, usually in schools. PBS uses functional analysis to understand what maintains an individual's challenging behavior and how to support the individual to get these needs met in more appropriate way, instead of using 'challenging behaviours'. People's inappropriate behaviors are difficult to change because they are functional; they serve a purpose for them. These behaviors may be supported by reinforcement in the environment. People may inadvertently reinforce undesired behaviors by providing objects and/or attention because of the behavior.

Organizational behavior management (OBM) is a subdiscipline of applied behavior analysis (ABA), which is the application of behavior analytic principles and contingency management techniques to change behavior in organizational settings. Through these principles and assessment of behavior, OBM seeks to analyze and employ antecedent, influencing actions of an individual before the action occurs, and consequence, what happens as a result of someone's actions, interventions which influence behaviors linked to the mission and key objectives of the organization and its workers. Such interventions have proven effective through research in improving common organizational areas including employee productivity, delivery of feedback, safety, and overall morale of said organization.

Behavior management, similar to behavior modification, is a less-intensive form of behavior therapy. Unlike behavior modification, which focuses on changing behavior, behavior management focuses on maintaining positive habits and behaviors and reducing negative ones. Behavior management skills are especially useful for teachers and educators, healthcare workers, and those working in supported living communities. This form of management aims to help professionals oversee and guide behavior management in individuals and groups toward fulfilling, productive, and socially acceptable behaviors. Behavior management can be accomplished through modeling, rewards, or punishment.

Functional analysis in behavioral psychology is the application of the laws of operant and respondent conditioning to establish the relationships between stimuli and responses. To establish the function of operant behavior, one typically examines the "four-term contingency": first by identifying the motivating operations, then identifying the antecedent or trigger of the behavior, identifying the behavior itself as it has been operationalized, and identifying the consequence of the behavior which continues to maintain it.

An antecedent is a stimulus that cues an organism to perform a learned behavior. When an organism perceives an antecedent stimulus, it behaves in a way that maximizes reinforcing consequences and minimizes punishing consequences. This might be part of complex, interpersonal communication.

References

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  2. ↑ Harris, Sandra L (April 2003). "Functional Assessment". Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. 33 (2): 233. doi:10.1023/a:1022968200344. PMID   12757366. S2CID   189901082.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Miltenberger, Raymond G (2012). Behavior Modification Principles & Procedures. United States: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning. pp. 240–241. ISBN   978-1-111-30611-3.
  4. 1 2 Siebert, Carol (December 2006). "Functional Assessment: Process and Product". Home Health Care Management & Practice. 19 (1): 51–57. doi:10.1177/1084822306292516. S2CID   72142191 . Retrieved 5 August 2012.
  5. 1 2 Furniss, Frederick (2009). "Assessment Methods". Applied Behavior Analysis for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Vol. 10. pp. 33–36. doi:10.1007/978-1-4419-0088-3_3. ISBN   978-1-4419-0087-6.
  6. ↑ Barribeau, Paul. "Advantages and Disadvantages of the Survey Method". Survey Research. Writing@CSU. Colorado State University Department of English. Retrieved 8 August 2012.
  7. ↑ Hanley, Gregory P; Brian A Iwata; Brandon E McCord (Summer 2003). "Functional analysis of problem behavior: a review". Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis. 36 (2): 146–185. doi:10.1901/jaba.2003.36-147. PMC   1284431 . PMID   12858983.
  8. ↑ Horner, RH; EG Carr; J Halle; G McGee; S Odom (2005). "The use of single-subject research to identify evidence-based practice in special education" (PDF). Exceptional Children. 71 (2): 165. doi:10.1177/001440290507100203. S2CID   51739313 . Retrieved 8 August 2012.
  9. ↑ Matson, Johnny L.; Megan Sipes; Max Horovitz; Julie A. Worley; Mary E. Shoemaker; Alison M. Kozlowski (January 2011). "Behaviors and corresponding functions addressed via functional assessment". Research in Developmental Disabilities. 32 (2): 625–629. doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2010.12.011. PMID   21215596.
  10. ↑ Iwata, Brian A.; Michael F. Dorseya; Keith J. Slifera; Kenneth E. Baumana; Gina S. Richmana (1982). "Toward a functional analysis of self-injury". Analysis and Intervention in Developmental Disabilities. 2 (1): 3–20. doi:10.1016/0270-4684(82)90003-9. PMC   1297798 . PMID   8063622.
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