Behavioral Assessment: Initial Considerations Chapter 20 Behavioral Assessment: Initial Considerations

Behavior Modification Program Phases Screening/Intake: Presenting concerns Agency Policies Crisis screening Diagnosis (insurance)

Behavior Modification Program Phases (cont.) Baseline Phase: Assess behavior quantitatively (frequency, duration, etiology severity, quality, environmental controls). Treatment Phase: Design a program using the tools we’ve learned thus far. Assess success, redesign if necessary and fade stimuli/reduce consequences to bring behavior under control of natural reinforcers. Follow-up Phase: See if behavior maintains, adjust natural reinforcers or begin treatment again.

Indirect Assessment Procedures Interviews with the Client and Significant Others (See Table 20-1) Rapport Non-judgmental Confidentiality Set target behaviors

Indirect Assessment Procedures (cont.) Questionnaires Life History Survey Rating scales and checklists (CBCL, Conners, BASC, etc.)

Indirect Assessment Procedures (cont.) Role Playing ( to assess behavior in office). Information from Consulting Professionals. Client Self-Monitoring ( not as good as trained observers).

Direct Assessment Procedures More accurate but more time consuming and thus costly. Covert behaviors not observable.

Experimental Assessment Procedures Experimental functional analysis See Chap 22

DATA: Why Bother? To Determine whether behavioral treatment is appropriate. Maybe the behavior isn’t in your area of expertise. Maybe the behavior is not really a problem. Data can lead to treatment by discovering controlling environmental variables.

DATA: Why Bother? (cont) To see if Treatment is working. To prompt and/or reinforce the treatment providers. Counting behavior may impact its frequency apart from treatment effects. Reactivity is the effect of being watched (keeping track of weight loss/gain, exercise, etc. can be motivating).

Direct Behavioral assessment: What to Record and How Chapter 21 Direct Behavioral assessment: What to Record and How

Characteristics of Behavior to be Recorded Topography Amount Rate/frequency. Frequency graphs. Pg. 271 Cumulative Graphs pg. 273 (If comparing more than one behavior and/or rate changes are small)

Characteristics of Behavior to be Recorded (cont.) Duration Intensity (may need instrumentation such as voice meter). Stimulus Control What in the environment PROMPTS the behavior? Latency between stimulus and response. Quality just an arbitrary rating along one of the previously listed quantitative dimensions.

How to Record Behavior Continuous recording: every instance Interval recording Partial interval recording: maximum one instance within a specified time interval. Whole interval recording: record only if the behavior persists throughout the entire interval. Time-Sampling Recording: intervals are separated by longer periods of time to save time in sampling.

Assessing Accuracy of Observations Response definition may be vague. Observational situation: may be difficult to detect behavior. Observer: may be poorly trained. Data Sheets/recording procedures: may be poorly designed.

Assessing Accuracy of Observations (cont.) Interobserver Reliability (IOR) 80-100% acceptable Frequency recordings: smaller number larger number X 100% Interval recordings: # of intervals agreed # intervals either observer recorded a behavior X 100%

Functional Assessment of the Causes of Problem Behavior Chapter 22 Functional Assessment of the Causes of Problem Behavior

What is Functional Analysis? Examination of the relationship between behavior and its antecedents and consequences Antecedents eliciting stimuli Consequences Positive or negative reinforcement

Types of Assessment Questionnaire Observation Completed by those familiar with client Reliability issues Observation Observe what is going on Form hypotheses about antecedents and consequences

Types of Assessment Functional Analysis Systematic manipulation of environmental events to experimentally test their role in behavior maintenance Limitations Infrequent behaviors Not applicable in dangerous behaviors Expensive and time consuming

Causes of Problem Behavior Attention From Others – Social Positive Reinforcement Attention follows behavior Individual approaches attention giver prior to behavior Smiling prior to behavior Treatment Give attention at other times Reduce attention to behavior

Causes of Problem Behavior Self Stimulation – Internal Sensory Positive Reinforcement Continues doing the behavior because it offers a desired level of stimulation Behavior continues at steady rate Treatment: Increase sensory stimulation Reduce stimulation level of behavior

Causes of Problem Behavior Environmental Consequences – External Sensory Positive Reinforcement Behavior maintained by reinforcing sights and sounds from the nonsocial external environment Behavior continues undiminished even though it appears to have no social consequences over numerous occasions Treatment: Sensory reinforcement of a desirable alternate behavior

Causes of Problem Behavior Escape From Demands – Social Negative Reinforcement Escape from aversive stimuli Problem behavior as a way to escape various undesirable demands Behavior only happens when certain types of requests are made of the person Treatment Persist with requests (demands) until compliance Teach other responses Program where level of difficulty of requested behavior starts low and is gradually increased

Causes of Problem Behavior Elicited – Respondent Some behavior is elicited rather than controlled by consequences Behavior consistently occurs in a certain situation or in the presence of certain stimuli Behavior seems involuntary Treatment Establishing one or more responses that compete with problem behavior (counterconditioning)

Causes of Problem Behavior Medical Problem emerges suddenly and does not seem to be related to any changes in the individual’s environment Behavioral diagnostics Therapist diagnoses the problem after examining antecedents, consequences, and medical and nutritional variables as potential causes of problem behaviors Develop treatment plan based on diagnosis Physician should be consulted prior to treatment

Guidelines for Conducting Functional Assessment Define the problem behavior Identify antecedents Identify consequences Consider health/medical/personal variables Form hypothesis based on information collected Collect data to determine if hypothesis is correct If possible, do a functional analysis by directly testing the hypothesis Design treatment program If treatment is successful, accept the causal analysis as confirmed. If treatment is not successful, redo the functional analysis

Examples of FBA measures FAST FBA Inventory ABC chart See pg. 295 of text

Doing Research in Behavior Modification Chapter 23 Doing Research in Behavior Modification

Reversal-Replication (ABAB) Research Designs Baseline (A) is followed by treatment (B), return to baseline (A) condition, and then treatment again (B) Allows for replication of treatment effect Replication makes it clearer that treatment caused change in behavior

Reversal-Replication (ABAB) Research Designs

Reversal-Replication (ABAB) Research Designs

Reversal-Replication (ABAB) Research Designs Considerations Do baseline until pattern is stable and predictable May be undesirable to do a reversal (dangerous behaviors) May be unable to do a reversal if natural reinforcers have already taken effect (behavioral trapping) How many reversals and replications are necessary? Less replications if large effects are observed and a lot of previous research exists in the area Limitations Withdrawal of treatment may not lead to return to baseline Withdrawal may be undesirable or unethical

Multiple-Baseline Designs Conduct more than one AB design concurrently with treatments beginning at different times Useful when reversals cannot be introduced

Multiple-Baseline Designs Across behaviors Baselining several similar behaviors within an individual Across subjects Applying the same treatment to the same behavior problems of two or more individuals Across situations Baselining one type of behavior for a single individual in more than one setting

Multiple-Baseline Designs

Changing-Criterion Designs Change over time the criterion for success and look for relationship between criteria changes and behavior change Can increase or decrease: Frequency requirements Rate requirements Duration requirements Etc.

Changing-Criterion Designs

Multiple-Baseline Designs (cont.) Compare effects of two or more treatment conditions considerably more rapidly than in ABAB design Applied at alternating times within the same time period Also known as multielement design Does not require reversal Several treatments can be evaluated at the same time Disadvantage: treatment effects interaction

Data Analysis and Interpretation Data typically analyzed without control groups and statistical techniques used in other areas of psychology Behavior modifiers interested in understanding and improving the behavior of individuals, not groups

Data Analysis and Interpretation No control groups or statistics, just visual inspection of data graphs to draw conclusions. Number of replications. Quantitative difference between baseline and treatment behavior. Latency of treatment effects. Number of overlaps baseline and treatment. Precision of treatment procedures. Reliability of response measures. Consistency of findings with existing data and theory. Practical impact of results. Consumer satisfaction.

Data Analysis and Interpretation Social Validity Behavior modifiers need to socially validate their work on at least three levels (Wolf, 1978): Must examine the extent to which target behaviors identified for treatment programs are really the most important for client and society Must be concerned with the acceptability to the client of the particular procedures used Must ensure that the consumers are satisfied with the results

Advantages of Within Subjects (Single-case, N of 1) Designs Repeated measurements vs. Data at single point in time Small number of subjects vs. Large number of subjects No resistance to control group participation from subjects No need for statistical assumptions of normal distribution of DV and random selection of subjects from population