CHAPTER 24: FUNCTIONAL BEHAVIOR
ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS WITH SOLUTIONS 2024
functional behavior assessment (FBA) - ANSWER -enables hypotheses about the relations among specific
types of environmental events and behaviors
-designed to obtain information about the purposes a behavior serves for a person
Functions of behavior - ANSWER Positive reinforcement:
-social positive reinforcement (Attention)
-tangible reinforcement
-automatic positive reinforcement
Negative reinforcement:
-social negative reinforcement (escape)
-automatic negative reinforcement
Role of functional behavior assessment in intervention and prevention - ANSWER -altering antecedent
variables: can change or eliminate the MO for the problem behavior or the discriminative stimuli that
trigger problem behavior
-altering consequence variables
-teaching alternative behaviors: can also identify the source of reinforcement to be provided for
appropriate replacement behaviors
FBA and default technologies - ANSWER -intervnetions based on an FBA are more likely to be effective
than those selected arbitrarily
-understanding why a behavior occurs often suggests how it can be changed for the better
-premature efforts to treat problem behavior before seeking an understanding of the purposes it serves
for a person can be inefficient, ineffective, and even harmful
FBA and prevention - ANSWER -FBA can also contribute to the prevention of difficulties
-additional behaviors not subject to eh punishment contingencies may emerge because the motivating
operations for problem behavior remain
, -the accumulation of FBA data may further assist in prevention efforts by identifying the conditions that
pose risks for the future development of problem behaviors
Overview of FBA methods - ANSWER -functional analysis, descriptive assessment, and indirect
assessment
-these methods can be ordered on a continuum with respect to considerations such as ease of use and
the type and precision of information they yield
Functional (experimental) analysis - ANSWER -antecedents and consequences representing those in the
person's natural environment are arranged so that their separate effects on problem behavior can be
observed and measured
-analog assessment because antecedents and consequences similar to those occurring in the natural
routines are presented in a systematic manner, but the analysis is not conducted in the context of
naturally occurring routines
-allow the behavior analyst to better control the environmental variables that may be related to the
problem behavior that can be accomplished in naturally occurring situations
-analogs refer to the arrangement of variables rather than the setting in which assessment occurs
-funcitonal analyses are comprised of four conditions: three test conditions (contingent attention,
contingent escape, and alone), and a control condition in which problem behavior is expected to be low
because reinforcement ifs reply available and no demands are placed on the individual
-each test condition contains a MO and a potential source of reinforcement for problem behavior
Interpreting functional analyses:
-the function that problem behavior serves for a person can be determined by visual inspecting a graph
of the results of the analysis to identify the conditions under which high rates of the behavior occurred
-functional analysis has been replicated and extended in hundreds of studies thereby demonstrating its
generality as an approach to the assessment and treatment of a wide range of behavior difficulties
Advantages of functional analysis:
-its ability to yield a clear demonstration of the variables that relate to the occurrence of a problem
behavior
-experimental analyses serve as the standard of scientific evidence by which other assessment
alternatives are evaluated, and represent the method most often used in research on the assessmen
Descriptive functional behavior assessment - ANSWER -direct observation of behavior, but observations
are made under naturally occurring conditions
ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS WITH SOLUTIONS 2024
functional behavior assessment (FBA) - ANSWER -enables hypotheses about the relations among specific
types of environmental events and behaviors
-designed to obtain information about the purposes a behavior serves for a person
Functions of behavior - ANSWER Positive reinforcement:
-social positive reinforcement (Attention)
-tangible reinforcement
-automatic positive reinforcement
Negative reinforcement:
-social negative reinforcement (escape)
-automatic negative reinforcement
Role of functional behavior assessment in intervention and prevention - ANSWER -altering antecedent
variables: can change or eliminate the MO for the problem behavior or the discriminative stimuli that
trigger problem behavior
-altering consequence variables
-teaching alternative behaviors: can also identify the source of reinforcement to be provided for
appropriate replacement behaviors
FBA and default technologies - ANSWER -intervnetions based on an FBA are more likely to be effective
than those selected arbitrarily
-understanding why a behavior occurs often suggests how it can be changed for the better
-premature efforts to treat problem behavior before seeking an understanding of the purposes it serves
for a person can be inefficient, ineffective, and even harmful
FBA and prevention - ANSWER -FBA can also contribute to the prevention of difficulties
-additional behaviors not subject to eh punishment contingencies may emerge because the motivating
operations for problem behavior remain
, -the accumulation of FBA data may further assist in prevention efforts by identifying the conditions that
pose risks for the future development of problem behaviors
Overview of FBA methods - ANSWER -functional analysis, descriptive assessment, and indirect
assessment
-these methods can be ordered on a continuum with respect to considerations such as ease of use and
the type and precision of information they yield
Functional (experimental) analysis - ANSWER -antecedents and consequences representing those in the
person's natural environment are arranged so that their separate effects on problem behavior can be
observed and measured
-analog assessment because antecedents and consequences similar to those occurring in the natural
routines are presented in a systematic manner, but the analysis is not conducted in the context of
naturally occurring routines
-allow the behavior analyst to better control the environmental variables that may be related to the
problem behavior that can be accomplished in naturally occurring situations
-analogs refer to the arrangement of variables rather than the setting in which assessment occurs
-funcitonal analyses are comprised of four conditions: three test conditions (contingent attention,
contingent escape, and alone), and a control condition in which problem behavior is expected to be low
because reinforcement ifs reply available and no demands are placed on the individual
-each test condition contains a MO and a potential source of reinforcement for problem behavior
Interpreting functional analyses:
-the function that problem behavior serves for a person can be determined by visual inspecting a graph
of the results of the analysis to identify the conditions under which high rates of the behavior occurred
-functional analysis has been replicated and extended in hundreds of studies thereby demonstrating its
generality as an approach to the assessment and treatment of a wide range of behavior difficulties
Advantages of functional analysis:
-its ability to yield a clear demonstration of the variables that relate to the occurrence of a problem
behavior
-experimental analyses serve as the standard of scientific evidence by which other assessment
alternatives are evaluated, and represent the method most often used in research on the assessmen
Descriptive functional behavior assessment - ANSWER -direct observation of behavior, but observations
are made under naturally occurring conditions
