PSY 317 - Exam 3 study guide

Functional Analysis (FA)

Confirming the function of behavior through experimental manipulation

Pros and cons of FA

Pros: Precise; direct observation; manipulation of variables; high internal validity

Cons: Can evoke dangerous behavior, time consuming

Ways to mitigate FA risks

Dangerous Behavior: Latency, Precursor, Trial-based FA

Time consuming: Brief, pairwise, synthesized FA

Why FAs are used

To find the function of behavior

Indirect FA

Assessment with no direct observation; based on verbal report

ex) FAST, QABF

Descriptive FA

Direct observation without manipulating environmental conditions

Socially mediated reinforcement

Reinforcement delivered by another person

Negative reinforcement

Removal, reduction, or avoidance of a stimulus following behavior; AVERSIVE

Automatic reinforcement

Reinforcement produced by the behavior itself; no other person needed

Four common functions of behavior

1. Attention

2. Tangibles

3. Escape

4. Automatic

Iwata 4 original conditions

Condition - Antecedent / Consequence

1. Attention (EO) - deprivation / contingent on target behavior --> brief attention

2. Escape (EO) - continuous exposure / contingent on behavior --> brief escape

3. Automatic (EO) - barren environment / social extinction

4. Play/control (AO) - depends on test conditions / social extinction

Iwata et al (1982) Study components

IV(manipulated): The 4 conditions

DV (measured): How often SIB ocurred

Results: SIB is maintained by different reinforcement contingencies

How are EOs manipulated in test conditions

Attention: Withhold attention

Escape: Present demands

Tangible: Restrict item

Automatic: No stimulation

How are AOs manipulated in control conditions?

Attention: Continuous attention

Escape: No demands

Tangible: Free access to items

Play: All reinforcers available

Differentiated response pattern

Clear differences in responding across conditions

ex) In the attention condition: SIB happens in 60% of intervals; In escape, tangible, and play: SIB stays at 0-5%.

Automatic response pattern

High responding in alone or across all conditions

ex) Stimming

Undifferentiated response pattern

Flat data; no clear pattern

Multiply controlled behavior

One behavior maintained by more than one function

ex) The behavior is maintained by both attention and escape

Why reinforce only one topography per condition?

Prevents muddy results and ensures clear functional relations

How to reinforce multiple behaviors?

Graph each topography separately

Typical FA session length

5-15 mins

FA duration for low‑rate behavior

Extend session length to capture enough occurrences

Why FA must be safe

FAs can evoke problem behavior; safety must be ensured

Idiosyncratic variable

Unique antecedents or reinforcers specific to the individual

ex) A behavior being triggered only when the bus arrives, a sibling cries, or a certain routine changes

How to ensure safety

Medical oversight

Rules out medical variables before FA; ensures safety

ex) Doc rules out ear infection before ear‑slapping

Termination criteria

Rules for stopping a session to maintain safety

ex) stop after 3 SIB

Alternative formats

FA formats that differ from the standard Iwata analogue FA

1. Trial-based

2. Brief FA

3. Latency

Brief FA

Very short sessions; used when time/resources are limited

Pros

+ Outpatient triage

+ When there is limited time/resources

Cons

- Often no clear results

Latency FA; DRL

Measures time to first response; used for dangerous or low‑rate behavior

Pros

+ Reduces dangerous and high-intensity behaviors

+ Good for low-rate behavior

+ Good correspondence with full FA

Cons

- Short trials embedded in natural routines (classroom/home)

Trial‑based FA

Used in the classroom or at home

Pros

+Short easy to run trials

+Low disruption

+High correspondence

Cons

- Less control

- Short trials → may lead to needing multiple trials before seeing a clear pattern

Why do multielement designs cause undifferentiated results?

Client cannot discriminate conditions or conditions are not distinct enough

Extended alone session *

Long alone observation to test for automatic reinforcement

Pairwise design

Tests one test condition against one control at a time

Difference between pairwise and multielement

Pairwise has fewer conditions at once; clearer discrimination

How reversal designs clarify results

Show clear functional control through repeated condition changes

Three variables manipulated in FA

1. MO

2. SD

3. Consequences (Only evaluate 1 topography at a time!!!) --> Reinforcement schedules, quality, type, duration, etc; consequence delivered for only 1 response

Precursor FA

Uses a safer precursor behavior instead of the dangerous target behavior; not all clients have consistent precursors

ex) Instead of head banging--> Hand clenching

Synthesized FA

Combines multiple contingencies

ex) Attention + escape + tangibles

risks) false positive, over-treatment

Consecutive alone sessions

If behavior persists with no social consequences, likely automatic reinforcement

Why consecutive alone sessions reduce need for social tests

Strong automatic pattern may eliminate need for social conditions

Indirect assessment

Verbal report tools to identify hypothesized behavioral functions

ex) FAST, MAS, QABF

How indirect differs from descriptive or FA

Indirect = verbal report

Descriptive = direct observation

FA = experimental

What do indirect assessments provide?

- Possible functions; hypothesis (not confirmation)

- Contexts where the behavior is likely

- Antecedents

- Consequences

- Caregiver perception

Pros and cons of indirect assessment

Pros

+ Fast & easy

+ No risk

+ Good starting point

Cons

- Based on memory; low reliability and validity

- Can be biased

- Too inaccurate to be used alone; insufficient

Functional Analysis Screening Tool (FAST) / indirect

A brief questionnaire used to identify possible behavioral functions

1. 16 items

2. assesses (+/-) automatic & social reinforcement

3. Yes / No / N/A ; scoring summary

Motivation Assessment Scale (MAS) / indirect

A rating scale that asks caregivers how often certain situations are associated with the behavior; low reiliability and validity

1. 16 items

2. Assesses automatic, positive, & negative reinforcement;

3. 7pt Likert scale // 0 (never) - 6 (almost always)

Questions About Behavioral Function (QABF)

Indirect assessment that rates how often specific events are associated with a behavior

1. 25 items

2. Assesses automatic, positive, & negative reinforcement

3. 0-3 (Never --> Often)

* measures 4 conditons + physical pain/discomfort

When to use indirect assessments

As a starting point; when observation unavailable; to gather caregiver insight

Why use multiple informants

Reduces bias; increases accuracy; reveals consistent patterns

How to interpret conflicting indirect data

Conflicting data means you need better data, not better guessing

Descriptive assessment

Direct observation in natural environment without manipulation

ex) Interviews, ABC recording methods, Continuous recording

Difference between descriptive assessment and descriptive FA

1. Descriptive FA --> organizes observations

2. Descriptive assessment --> only records naturally occurring events

Pros and cons of descriptive assessments

Pros

+Direct observation

+Helps identify patterns

+Guides FA selection

Cons

- Not experimental; Correlational

- Cant confirm function

- Observer Bias

"Correlation, not causation"

Descriptive data shows patterns but cannot prove function

Data typically collected in descriptive assessment

1. Antecedents / Behaviors / Consequences

4. Time‑of‑day

5. Contexts

6. Setting events

Scatterplot recording

Shows when behavior occurs across times of day; behaviors tied to routines/ time of day

ex) Sleeping/toileting patterns

Pros and Cons of sleep recording

Pros

+ Helps identofyu time-of-day patterns

+ guides when to observe an FA

Cons

- Shows when, not why;

- No ABC info

ABC Narrative Recording

Open‑ended written descriptions of A‑B‑C events

Pros: Detailed, captures unexpected variables

Cons: Time-consuming, Hard to summarize, High observer bias

ABC checklist

Pre‑made list of common antecedents and consequences

Pros: Fast, Easy to summarize, More consistent across observers

Cons: Limited options, May miss idiosyncratic variables

Continuous recording

Record every instance of behavior and relevant events

Pros:

+ Detailed

+ Good for high rate behaviors

Cons:

- Labor-intensive

- Requires trained observers

Conditional probabilities

Likelihood an antecedent or consequence occurs given the behavior

How conditional probabilities help

Identify events likely to precede or follow behavior

Why conditional probabilities can mislead

Common events (attention) may appear falsely related; correlation ≠ causation

Unconditional probabilities

How often an event occurs overall regardless of behavior

How unconditional probabilities help

Show whether an event is common or truly associated with behavior

Higher conditional probability means:

The event is more likely to occur when the behavior happens; suggests a possible functional relation

Why not use descriptive assessment alone

Correlational; cannot confirm function; may lead to incorrect or unsafe interventions

Risks of using descriptive data to design FA

May test wrong function; miss real function; create unsafe conditions

How descriptive data informs FA

Helps select FA conditions; identify idiosyncratic variables; refine procedures

Why include only supported FA conditions

Prevents unnecessary or unsafe test conditions

Follow‑up for inconclusive FA

Modify conditions:

1. Pairwise

2. Extended alone

3. Precursor FA

4. Latency FA

5. Synthesized FA

How indirect and descriptive assessments inform FA

1. Identify likely functions

2. Select conditions

3. Identify relevant antecedents and consequences

Risks of relying only on indirect or descriptive data

Leads to incorrect hypotheses and unsafe or ineffective interventions