Lesson 16: Functional Analysis

Attention

We know that kids (and adults) misbehave...the question in this lesson is WHY do they misbehave.

We know from the "Law of Effect" that if a behavior IS happening it IS being REINFORCED in SOME WAY! Our task is to find out what the person is "getting out" of it!

In school we often hear that kids act out to get attention...while this is sometimes true...there are a lot of other reasons why kids act out. When we know the REAL reason why...THEN we can create effective behavior plans!

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this lesson's material, students will be able to:

  • Develop an example of a Funcational Assessment
  • Identify ways in which behaviors are a form of communication
  • Describe the major functions of behavior

Teaching

"Why did you do that?"

All of us have probably asked someone this question at one time or another. Most of the time we are not really satisfied with the answer!

In truth, many times individuals do not really know why the did something...and we, being egotistical as we are, assume that WE know why THEY did something and we are simply looking for confirmation. Don't be so fast! In this Lesson we are going to explore the scientific process of Functional Analysis and develop an understanding of how we really go about answering the question..."Why did you do that?"

Step 1

First we have to recognize that behavior is not random...it is functional. That means, it happens in order to achieve a goal. We don't always know what that goal is, but we know there is a goal (often a reinforcer of some kind)

Step 2

We engage in scientific, open-minded observation of the behavior...we can:

  • Make direct observations
  • Interview the person
  • Perform behavioral "experiments"

Step 3

We need to develop hypotheses, or best guesses, as to what the function (or functions, yes, there can be more than ONE function for a SINGLE behavior) for the behavior are.

We know this...the functions of behavior either:

  • help the client GET something
  • help the client GET AWAY from something or it STOPS something

The GET behaviors provide for reinforces such as the following:

  • Attention
  • Revenge
  • Power
  • Expression
  • Anger, fear, emotions

The GET AWAY behaviors provide the opportunity to:

  • Stop something from happening
  • Escape from an uncomfortable situation

Step 4

Given a set of hypotheses, we might need to experiment to find out which one is really the one that is operating.

If, for example, a behavior occurs because the client is trying to get "attention", then if we remove the attention the behavior should go away.

So...we try it...this takes some creativity in terms of designing these types of behavior plans. Here is an example.

Mr. Kavanaugh had just about had enough of the joking behavior of Ed in his classroom. While he was truly funny, Ed's behavior was distruptive and interferred with the learning that was going on in the class. Mr. Kavanaugh hypothesized that Ed's behavior was due to his wanting attention from his peers.

To test this hypothesis Mr. Kavanaugh met with Ed's closest friends and arranged that they would receive extra credit on their grades if they DID NOT laugh at Ed's jokes. They agreed.

The next day Ed came to class armed with a number of really good jokes. He started to tell them and none of his friends laughed! Ed was shocked...so he tried harder...but no matter what he did his friends would not laugh. Confused, he settled down and did his work, anxious to get out of class to find out why his friends are acting so strange.

In this example I point out how you might go about finding out what the function of the behaivor is...but this is not the behavior plan part. You see...Ed has a problem. His problem is he only knows one way to "get attention" in class and that one way is not really "functional"...it gets him in trouble. So here is the plan.

Step 5

Design an alternative Behavior Plan (ABC) that REPLACES the non-functional behavior (telling jokes) with a more functional behavior (leading class discussions). They KEY is that BOTH behaviors allow Ed to get what he wants...ATTENTION! But one is a better option than another...and the teacher can control WHEN that happens.

In order to encourage Ed to pick "leading class discussions" behavoir over "telling jokes" behavior we have to give him some EXTRA incentive. So each time Ed picks the "better" behavior, he earns extra credit points. Just to be safe...let's keep his friends on their behavior plan too!

Conclusion

So, in THIS method it is critical that we find out the real reason why someone is acting out so that we can TEACH them a better, more functional behavior to get thier needs met!!

Assessment

Lesson 16 Discussion

In this discussion I would like you to reflect about behavior situations you have been in and brainstorm alternative functions for the behavior. The key of "brainstorming" is to come up with as many functions as you can! The more you come up with the more creative you get and the more likely you are going to identify the REAL one!

Lesson 16 Quiz

  1. Describe how you might conduct a functional assessment. Use a concrete, real-world example to explain it.
  2. Describe, in your own words, how behavior is a form of communication.
  3. Describe the two main major functions of behavior described in this unit.