Lesson 6: The ABC's of Behavior Management Attention Learning Outcomes Upon completion of this lesson's material, students will be able to:
Teaching In this lesson we cover the final aspect of the ABC Contingency Theory by examining the A, or the Antecedents. In general, the Antecedents are all the circumstances that create the opportunity for the behavior. The identify when, where, with who, with what, how, etc...behavior is to be performed. Here are a list of examples of the kinds of A's that can be utilized in Behavior Management, but the list is endless!
As you can see...these statements "set the stage" and determine the circumstances under which the behavior will occur. They are simple, but they are vital. Sometimes they are more complex and include detailed instructions. Instructions Instructions are the most exact of all the Antecedent descriptions! They provide the details of the traditional A's listed above and also describe the behaviors. If you have ever taken something like the SAT, or any other standardized exam, the instructions tell you about the time you have to complete it, where you have to take the test, details on how to answer questions, and often, details on how to fill in those little circles. IF they are clear instructions, they are easy to follow! Instructions that are easy to follow are more likely to be followed...thus the person is more likely to earn their reinforcer!! So good instructions are important! Writing up Plans You are ready to start writing up some plans! Keep these things in mind...
Generally we like to write up plans in neat little tables like this (so I will be asking you to be a bit creative in your word processing skills): Assessment Lesson 6 Assignment For this assignment I want you to create a series of three ABC Contingency plans. One must for another person in your life and two must be for you. You are to format these "plans" into a table as I present in the lecture slides with clear indications as to which part is the A, the B, and the C. They should look something like this: At this point in the class we are going to be focusing on "real" behavior plans. What this means is that the behavior plans need to be focused on problem behavior that does not occur or needs to really change. And, the consequences need to be formulated as rewards or reinforcers in order to bring about that behavior. For example: A "behavior plan" such as follows would NOT work... A. Each day This IS an ABC relationship, but it is NOT a behavior plan. Consider if this particular example was a teenager who was just not getting up even though they set the alarm for 6 am...in that case, we need a behavior PLAN with some extra enticement to make the teenager comply. A. Each day Now, we know that in addition to getting the dollar Joey ALSO gets to school/work on time...but getting to school/work on time is NOT ENOUGH incentive to support the behavior, thus the need for a behavior plan! Each of your plans should be of this type! This part will be evaluated on the clarity of the plan, the Dead Man/Stranger Tests, and Mechanics (writing, spelling, grammar, etc.) Here is the grading rubric for this assignment:
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