Chapter 3
Role of Assessment in Applied Behavior Analysis
– Methods to identify and define __________________for behavior change
– Identify relevant factors that may inform or influence ______________________
Five Phases of Assessment
1. Screening
2. Defining problem or criteria for ________________________
3. Pinpointing target behaviors
4. _____________________________progress
5. Following-up
Pre-assessment Considerations
– Ethical considerations
Authority
______________________________
Resources
Social ________________________
Assessment Methods
– ___________________ measures
Interviews
Checklists
– __________________ measures
Tests
Direct observation
Interviewing the Individual
– Identify list of potential target behaviors
________________ and __________________
Avoid “why”
– Identify primary concerns
– Verified through further data collection
Direct __________________________
Use of questionnaires or self-monitoring
Interviewing Significant Others
– Develop behavioral descriptions
What, when, how
Avoid “why”
Move from _____________________ to _________________________
– Determine participation
Checklists
– Descriptions of _____________________behaviors and conditions under which each
should occur
– Alone or with interview
– Typically Likert-scale assessments
– Ask about ____________________ and _____________________________
Child Behavior Checklist
Adaptive Behavior Scale - School
Adaptive Behavior Scale - Residential and Community
Standardized Tests
– _________________________________________ administration
Compares performance to specified criteria
Norm-referenced
– Limitations
Do not specify target behaviors
Do not provide __________________ __________________ of behavior
Licensing requirements
Direct Observation
– Direct and repeated
– _____________________________ environment
– Identifies potential target behaviors
– ___________________________method
Anecdotal observation
Features of ABC recording
– Descriptive
– Temporally sequenced
– Description of behavior ______________________________
Full attention, 20 - 30 min
– Observations only, no ______________________________________
– Repeat over several days
Ecological Assessment
– Data on ___________________________ and ______________________________
Physical features
Interactions with others
Home
Reinforcement history
– Evaluate amount of descriptive data required to ____________________ current need
Reactivity
– Effects of __________________________ on ______________________ being
assessed
Obtrusive assessment great impact
Self-monitoring most obtrusive
– Reduce reactivity
_________________________________________ methods
Repeat observations
Take effects into account
Assessing Social Significance
– Consider whose behavior is being assessed and why
Unacceptable to change behavior _______________________________
__________________ ______________________ ______________________
– To what extent will proposed change improve the person’s life?
Habilitation
– Degree to which a person’s behavior repertoire __________________________ short
and long term _______________________ and ____________________________
short and long term ______________________________________
– Use to assess meaningfulness of behavior change
Determining Habilitation
– Relevance of behavior __________________________ intervention
– Necessary prerequisite skills
– Increased access
– Impact on behavior of ___________________________
– Behavior cusp
– Pivotal Behavior
Behavior Cusp
– Behaviors that open person’s world to new ____________________________
Crawling, reading
– Socially valid
– Generativeness
– Competes with inappropriate responses
– Degree that others are ______________________________________
Pivotal Behaviors
– Once learned produces changes in other _____________________________
behaviors
Self-initiation, joint attention
– Advantages for both interventionist and client
Determining Habilitation
– Age appropriateness
Normalization
Philosophy of achieving greatest possible _____________________________ of
people with disabilities into society
– Replacement behaviors
Cannot eliminate or reduce a behavior without teaching a
_______________________________________
Determining Habilitation
– Actual target goal or indirectly related
____________________________ vs. work _____________________________
– Talk v. Behavior of interest
Primary importance is ___________________________ behavior
– Focus on behavior, not ________________ product
Weight loss or exercise and diet?
Prioritizing Target Behaviors
1. ____________________________ to health or safety
2. Frequency
– Opportunities to ______________new behavior
– Occurrence of problem
3. Longevity
4. Potential for higher rates of _____________________________
5. Importance
– Skill development
– Independence
6. Reduction of negative attention
7. Reinforcement for significant others
– Social validity
– Exercise caution when considering
8. Likelihood of success
– _______________________________
– Practitioner’s experience
– Environmental variables
– Available resources
9. Cost-benefit
– Costs include client’s _______________________ and
_______________________
Target Behavior Ranking Matrix
– Numerical __________________________ of potential target behaviors
– Increase client, parent, and staff participation
Resolve conflict
Build consensus
Sample Ranking Matrix
Behaviors #1 #2 #3
Does this behavior pose a danger? 0 1 2 3 4 01234 01234
How long-standing is this problem 0 1 2 3 4 01234 01234
or deficit?
Will changing this behavior produce 0 1 2 3 4 01234 01234
higher rate of reinforcement?
How likely is success in changing 01234 01234 01234
this behavior?
Defining Target Behaviors
– Role and Importance of Definitions
Definitions required for __________________________________
Replication required to determine usefulness of data in other situations
Necessary for research
Importance of Definitions to Practitioner
– Accurate, on-going evaluation requires explicit definition of behavior
– ______________________________________________definition
Complete information
– Accurate and believable evaluation of effectiveness
Two Types of Definitions
– _____________________________-based
Designated according to effect on the environment
– ______________________________-based
Identifies the shape or form of the behavior
Reasons to Use Function-based Definitions
– Includes all members of __________________________ _________________
– The function of behavior is most important feature
– Simpler and more concise definitions
Easier to measure accurately and reliably
Other Uses
– When ____________________ _______________________ is not within control of
behavior analyst
Logistical, ethical, or safety reasons
e.g., Function of elopement is a lost child
– In these cases, function-based definition by proxy
More restrictive definition that keeps behavior within control of analyst
Reasons to Use Topography-based Definitions
– Behavior analyst does not have direct, reliable, or easy access to functional outcomes
– Cannot rely on function of behavior because each occurrence does not produce
relevant outcome
Other Uses
– When the relevant outcome is sometimes produced by undesirable variations of the
response class
e.g., A basketball player scores with a sloppy shot from the free throw line
– Definition should encompass ________ __________________ ___________ that
produce relevant outcomes
Writing Target Behavior Definitions
– A________________________________________
– C________________________________________
– C_________________________
– Inclusions
– Exclusions
Characteristics of Good Definitions
– Objective
Refer only to the ___________________________
– Clear
Readable and ______________________________
– Complete
Delineate ___________________________________ of definition
Purpose of Good Definitions
– Precise and concise description
– _______________________________________ observation
– Accurate recording
– Agreement and _____________________________________
Testing a Definition
– Can you count number of occurrences?
Should answer “___________”
– Will a stranger know what to look for based on definition alone?
Should answer “___________”
– Can you break the target behavior down to smaller, more specific components?
Should answer “_________”
Setting Criteria for Behavior Change
– Selected because of ____________________ to clients
o Increase, maintain, generalize desirable behaviors
o Decrease undesirable behaviors
– Valued and meaningful behaviors have _______________________
_______________
Set Criteria Before Modifying
– Setting criteria as important as defining
– Range of _______________________________________________
– Must identify optimum range prior to modifying
– Must know when to ___________________________ treatment
– Eliminate disagreements on effectiveness
Two Approaches for Setting Criteria
– Assess performance of highly __________________________________ people
– Experimentally manipulate different ________________________
______________________ to determine optimal results
