Applied Behavior Analysis Exam 5

Functional Assessment 🧠

figuring out why a problem behavior happens

Purpose 🎯

find what triggers (A), the behavior (B), and what keeps it going (C)

Antecedent ⚡

what happens before the behavior

Behavior 💬

what the person does

Consequence 🎁

what happens after (reward, attention, escape, etc.)

Goal of Assessment 🧩

understand cause → replace bad behavior with good one

Motivating Operations (MO) 🔄

things that make a reward stronger or weaker (EOs & AOs)

Problem Behavior 🚫

causes harm, disrupts, or stops learning

Examples of Problem Behavior 😤

aggression, tantrums, self-injury, yelling, refusal, running away

3-Term Contingency 🪄

A → B → C (antecedent → behavior → consequence)

Steps to Decrease Behavior ⬇

1⃣ Define behavior

2⃣ Collect data

3⃣ Find cause

4⃣ Treat

5⃣ Evaluate results

If Not Working 🤔

redo assessment or retrain staff

Social Positive Reinforcement 🫶🏽

behavior gets attention or items

Social Negative Reinforcement 🙅🏽‍♀️

behavior helps escape tasks or people

Automatic Positive Reinforcement ✨

feels good by itself (e.g., sensory)

Automatic Negative Reinforcement 😌

removes pain or stress

Functional Assessment Methods 🧾

1⃣ Indirect (interviews, surveys)

2⃣ Direct (observe behavior in real time) 3⃣ Functional Analysis (test triggers)

Indirect Assessment 🗣️

ask others when, where, why behavior happens

Direct Observation 👀

record what happens before and after behavior

Functional Analysis 🔬

change environment to see what causes behavior

Functional Analysis Conditions ⚙️

Attention 🗨️, Escape 🏃🏽‍♀️, Tangible 🎮, Alone 🙇🏽‍♀️, Play/Control 🎲

Good Results 👍🏽

clear pattern = easier to treat behavior

Advantages of Functional Analysis 💡

shows exact cause → better treatments

Limitations of Functional Analysis ⏳

takes time, needs skill, may increase behavior temporarily

Main Idea 💭

behavior happens for a reason; find it, then change it

Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA) 🧠

process of gathering info to find why behavior happens and create treatments that match its function

Indirect Assessment 👂🏽

info collected when behavior isn’t directly seen (through reports, interviews, or rating scales)

Descriptive Assessment 👀

direct observation of the behavior in real time

Functional Analysis 🔬

testing environmental factors to see what triggers the behavior

Social Positive Reinforcement 🫶🏽

behavior gets attention, praise, or items (from others)

Social Negative Reinforcement 🙅🏽‍♀️

behavior helps escape tasks or people (from others)

Automatic Positive Reinforcement ✨

behavior feels good on its own (sensory)

Automatic Negative Reinforcement 😌

behavior removes pain or stress (not from others)

Indirect Assessment Details 📋

based on self-report or caregiver info, not direct observation

Advantages of Indirect Assessment ⚡

quick, easy, shows possible reinforcers to test later

Limitations of Indirect Assessment ⚠️

can be biased or inaccurate, doesn’t prove what causes the behavior

Indirect FBA Tools 🧾

structured interviews, rating scales, questionnaires

Structured Behavioral Interviews 🗣️

gather clear info about the behavior, triggers, and outcomes

Functional Assessment Interview Example 💬

describe what the behavior looks like, how often, and what happens before and after

Ecological Factors 🌍

sleep, medication, or health issues that affect behavior

Efficiency of Behavior ⚙️

how much effort it takes and how often it “pays off” for the person

Functional Alternatives 💡

appropriate behaviors that could replace the problem behavior

Communication Style 🗨️

how the person expresses needs or frustration

Triggers 🚨

what actions or situations make the problem behavior more likely

Prevention ✅

what helps stop or reduce the problem behavior

Reinforcers 🎁

things the person enjoys or works for

Behavior History 📚

what’s already been tried to fix the behavior

Summary Statement 🧾

describes triggers, behavior, consequences, and possible function

Behavior Rating Scales 📈

ask others to rate how often behavior happens in certain conditions

Function Hypothesis 💭

highest-rated conditions suggest the likely cause of the behavior

Advantages of Indirect FBA 🌟

good starting point, helps form hypotheses, doesn’t need observation

Limitations of Indirect FBA ⏳

not always reliable, may be biased, best for developing ideas; not final conclusions

Functional Relations 🔗

show cause-and-effect between behavior and environment

Indirect FBA 🗣️

uses interviews or surveys to find possible causes before observing directly

Direct FBA 👁️

involves real-time observation of behavior and environment

Experimental FBA ⚗️

tests specific variables by changing them to see effects on behavior

Hypothesis Statement 💭

a prediction about what triggers and maintains a behavior

Control Condition 🧩

used in experiments to compare when triggers are removed

Test Condition 🧪

when possible triggers are added to see if behavior increases

Automatic Reinforcement 🔁

behavior continues because it feels good on its own

Socially Mediated Reinforcement 💬

behavior continues because someone else provides reward or reaction

Escape Function 🏃🏽‍♀️

behavior happens to avoid or get away from something unpleasant

Attention Function 👋🏽

behavior happens to get noticed by others

Tangible Function 🎁

behavior happens to get something desired like food or objects