ABA Chapter 24 Functional Behavior Assessment

Question 1

What is FBA used for?

Answer 1

ID the type and source of reinforcement for challenging behaviors as the basis for intervention efforts designed to decrease the occurrence of those behaviors.

Question 2

Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA)

Answer 2

Enables hypotheses about the relations among specific types of environmental events and behaviors.

• specifically obtains information about the purposes (functions) a behavior serves a person.
• thought as reinforcer assessment of sorts

Question 3

Social Positive Reinforcement

Answer 3

(Attention)
AKA Positive Reinforcement
- problem behavior results in immediate attention from others, such as head turns; surprised facial expression; reprimands; attempts to sooth, counsel or distract; and so on.

Question 4

Positive Reinforcement : Name three types

Answer 4

Social Positive Reinforcement (Attention)
Tangible Reinforcement
Automatic Positive Reinforcement

Question 5

Tangible Reinforcement

Answer 5

Behaviors result in access to reinforcing materials or other stimuli.

Question 6

Automatic Positive Reinforcement

Answer 6

behavior that produce it’s own reinforcement.

Question 7

Negative Reinforcement: Name two types

Answer 7

Social Negative Reinforcement (Escape)

Automatic Negative Reinforcement

Question 8

Social Negative Reinforcement

Answer 8

(Escape)
Behavior that effectively terminates or postpones aversive stimulus (e.g unpleasant tasks, activities or interactions. )
e.g hanging up phone with telemarketer, doing a chore request from others to complete it.

Question 9

Automatic Negative Reinforcement

Answer 9

physically painful or uncomfortable condition, is a MO that makes its termination reinforcing.
e.g hitting head to soothe a headache.

Question 10

What kinds of information does a topography of a behavior reveal?

Answer 10

Very little useful information.

Question 11

What does the function of behaviors reveal?

Answer 11

IDs the conditions that account for a behavior and what condition needs to be altered to change that behavior.

Question 12

Role of functional behavior assessment in the intervention and prevention. Name three strategic approaches.

Answer 12

Altering antecedent variables
altering consequent variables
teaching alternative behavior

Question 13

Altering the antecedents for problem behavior can change and/or eliminate either ____ or _______

Answer 13

a. the MO for problem behavior or

b. SD that trigger problem behavior

Question 14

FBA can also identify a ____ _ ____ to be eliminated for the problem behavior.

Answer 14

• Source of reinforcement

Alternating Consequence Variables

Question 15

FBA can also identify that source of reinforcement to be provided for _______ _______ _______.

Answer 15

Appropriate replacement behaviors.

Question 16

Premature efforts to treat problem behavior before seeking an understanding of the purposes it serves for a person can be _____, ______, and _______

Answer 16

inefficient
ineffective
even harmful

Question 17

Default technologies

Answer 17

intrusive, coercive or punishment based intervention.

Question 18

FBA can decrease reliance of ____.

Answer 18

default technology

Question 19

3 types of FBA methods. What are they?

Answer 19

Upside down Funnnel

• Functional (experimental) analysis
• Descriptive Assessment
• indirect assessment

Question 20

Functional Analysis (Experimental) (AKA?)

Answer 20

AKA Analog
Antecedents and consequences representing those in the person’s natural environment are arranged so their separate effects on problem behavior can be observed.

Question 21

Why is an FA sometimes called an analog?

Answer 21

B/C antecedents and consequences similar to those occurring in natural routines are presented in a systematic manner, but the analysis is not conduct in the context of naturally occurring routines.

Question 22

Why are analog conditions used in an FA?

Answer 22

Because they allow the behavior analyst to better control the environmental variables that may be related to the problem

Question 23

Research as found that FA conducted in natural environments often yield the same (in some cases, clearer) results compared to those conducted in simulated settings. T/F

Answer 23

True

Question 24

FA are compromised for four test conditions, what are they?

Answer 24

Contingent attention, contingent escape, alone and control condition (play)

Question 25

In an FA; what does elevated problem behavior in contingent attention condition suggest?

Answer 25

Maintained by social positive reinforcement

Question 26

In an FA; what does elevated problem behavior in contingent escape condition suggest?

Answer 26

Maintained by negative reinforcement.

Question 27

In an FA; what does elevated problem behavior in the alone condition suggest?

Answer 27

Behavior is maintained by automatic reinforcement

Question 28

If FA behavior is automatically is reinforced what should one do?

Answer 28

Further analysis is needed to determine if the source of the automatic reinforcement is maintained by multiple sources (positive vs negative reinforcement)

Question 29

In a FA if problem behavior occur in all condition what is this considered?

Answer 29

Undifferentiated (inconclusive) or automatic

Question 30

Advantages of an FA

Answer 30

- Yield a clear demonstration of the variable (s) that relate to the occurrence of behavior.

Question 31

Limitation of an FA

Answer 31

- may temporarily strengthen or increase the undesirable behavior. - behavior acquire new functions - acceptability is low - difficult to use for serious, low frequency behavior - If conducted in a contrived setting, may not ID idiosyncratic variables related to problem behavior.

Question 32

Descriptive Functional Behavior Assessment

Answer 32

encompasses direct observation of behavior; unlike functional analysis , observations are made in naturally occurring conditions.

Question 33

What are three types of descriptive analysis?

Answer 33

ABC continuous recording, ABC narrative recording, and scatter plots.

Question 34

ABC Continuous Recording

Answer 34

observer records occurrences of the targeted behavior and selected environmental events in the natural routine during a period of time. - partial interval, momentary time sampling, or frequency recording is used.

Question 35

Advantages to ABC Continuous Recording

Answer 35

- uses precise measures (similar to an FA) - provides useful contextual information and correlations regarding environmental events and the problem behavior, which can provide useful information for later functional analyses. - provide useful info for designing a subsequent FA is necessary

Question 36

Disadvantaged to ABC Continuous Recording

Answer 36

- Often, antecedents and consequences do not reliably precede and follow problem behavior, making correlation difficult to detect. Hence why a conditional probabilities is used.

Question 37

Conditional Probabilities

Answer 37

Likely hood that a target problem behavior will occur in a given circumstance. Calculate: - Proportion of occurrences of problem behavior preceded by a specific antecedent - Proportion of the occurrence of problem behavior followed by a specific consequence.

Question 38

ABC Narrative Recording (AKA?)

Answer 38

AKA Sequence Analysis Data collected only when behavior of interest are observed. - recording is open-ended

Question 39

Advantages to ABC Narrative Recording

Answer 39

Less time- consuming than continuous recording

Question 40

Disadvantages to ABC Narrative Recording

Answer 40

- Utility of identifying behavioral function NOT established. - May yield false positives behavior data are collected only when the occur. - Same antecedent and consequence event may be present when problem behavior is absent. - Reliability may be low. - Observers may report "inferred states" - Difficult to discriminate which environmental events actually occasion the problem behavior.

Question 41

Scatter Plot (AKA?)

Answer 41

- Pattern Analysis | Procedure for recording the extent to which a target behavior occurs more often at particular time that other.

Question 42

How does one record on a scatter plot?

Answer 42

For each period, enter a symbol to indicate whether problem behavior occurred a lot, some or none.

Question 43

How is a scatter plot set up?

Answer 43

Divide day into blocks of time (e.g a series of 30 min segments)

Question 44

Advantages to Scatter Plot

Answer 44

- IDs time periods when the problem behavior occurs. | - Can be useful for pinpointing periods of the day when more focused ABA assessments can be conducted

Question 45

Disadvantages to Scatter Plot

Answer 45

Utility of scatter plot is unknown Obtaining accurate data maybe difficult Subjective in nature .

Question 46

Indirect Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA)

Answer 46

Methods use structured interviews, checklist, rating scales, or questionnaires to obtain information from persons who are familiar with the person exhibiting the problem behavior (e.g teacher, parents, and/or individual him- or herself) to ID possible conditions or event in the natural environment that correlates to problem behavior.

Question 47

When are behavioral interview used?

Answer 47

Routinely during assessment

Question 48

Goal of a behavioral interview?

Answer 48

To obtain clear and objective information about the problem behaviors, antecedents, and consequences.

Question 49

Advantages of Indirect FBA

Answer 49

- contributes to hypothesis development regarding the variable that may occasions or maintain problem behavior.

Question 50

Disadvantages of Indirect FBA

Answer 50

- Informant may not be accurate - Little research exists to support the reliability of information obtained. - Best used for hypothesis development.

Question 51

FBA 4 Step Process

Answer 51

1. Gather information via indirect and descriptive assessment. 2. Interpret information form indirect and descriptive assessment and formulate a hypotheses about the purpose of problem behavior. 3. Test hypotheses using functional analysis 4. Develop intervention options based on the function of problem behavior

Question 52

Functionally Equivalent (AKA?)

Answer 52

Functionally Equivalent Behaviors | - Intervention must match the function of the behavior.

Question 53

When developing intervention make sure it is ______.

Answer 53

functionally equivalent

Question 54

Does each condition contain an MO and a potential source of reinforcement?

Answer 54

Yes