Functional Analysis: Improving Efficiency and Clarity

• Functional analysis identifies social consequences that reinforce an individual's problem behavior, which behavior analysts can then alter to decrease that behavior while boosting appropriate alternatives.
• Functional analyses might reveal automatic reinforcements produced by the problem behavior itself, in which case alternative reinforcement procedures can still be arranged to diminish the troublesome behavior.
• Operant mechanisms are crucial to the effectiveness of function-based reinforcement procedures.

Operant Mechanisms

• Functional analysis conditions: a behavior analyst must incorporate three operant mechanisms
• The first component is the discriminative stimulus, with each condition having unique antecedent stimuli that signal the reinforcer for problem behavior.
• For instance, in an attention condition, a therapist reads a magazine, whereas in an alone condition, the participant is by themselves; a demand condition involves the therapist presenting demands; and a toy play condition has the therapist playing with the participant.
• Research indicates the use of salient, discriminative stimuli can sharpen the efficiency and clarity of functional analysis, and also potentially quicken treatment effects by correlating baseline and treatment conditions.
• The second functional component is the motivating operation, which either increases or decreases motivation for a reinforcer and the likelihood of responses that have historically produced that reinforcer.
• Establishing operations increase motivation for a reinforcer, while abolishing operations decrease it.
  • Motivation and the likelihood of the problem behavior can be increased with each test condition of a functional analysis
  • For instance, attention deprivation increases the effectiveness of attention as reinforcement in the attention condition, and demands increase the effectiveness of escape from demands in the demand condition.
  • Also, no stimulation is available in the alone condition other than what is automatically produced by problem behavior.
• Research shows a specific sequence of functional-analysis conditions can further strengthen establishing operations.
• Understanding how establishing operations impacts the probability of problem behavior is key for assessing the behavior's function and creating effective treatment.
• The third functional component is its reinforcing consequence, by delivering a specific consequence following problem behavior in each test condition, typically on a dense schedule like fixed-ratio (FR) 1.
• The contingency becomes strong and salient by delivering the putative reinforcer on a dense schedule, only after problem behavior which leads to clearer results.
• Response rates are lower under FR 1 schedules vs intermittent ones, which can reduce risks of self-injurious or aggressive behavior.
• Implementing extinction as a treatment component, delivering the putative reinforcer on an FR 1 schedule may lead to quicker decreases in problem behavior.

Treatments for Responses Reinforced by Social Positive Reinforcement

• Research has found social positive reinforcement maintains many problem behaviors, like aggression, self-injurious behavior, pica, and property destruction.
• Inadvertently, delivery of preferred stimuli such as attention, food, toys, music, & TV can function as positive reinforcement in environment naturally.
• Function-based treatment generally manipulates one or more of the three functional components of a functional analysis, after problem behavior is maintained by social positive reinforcement
• A reasonable way to start developing a function-based treatment is to consider three points:
  • Arrange discriminative stimuli to signal availability/unavailability of reinforcement for the alternative and problem behavior.
  • Alter relevant motivating operations to increase/decrease respective probabilities of appropriate and problem behavior.
  • Alter the reinforcement contingency to increase/decrease appropriate and problem behavior.

Functional Communication Training (FCT)

• FCT manipulates the consequence for problem behavior
  • Deliver the reinforcer identified in the functional analysis contingent on an appropriate communication response.
  • No longer deliver that consequence contingent on problem behavior (operant extinction).
• It first teaches participants to obtain attention via communication responses, and that problem behavior no longer produces attention after functional analysis indicates contingent attention is what reinforces the issue.
• Reinforcement is received frequently via communication response
  • Minimizes periods of deprivation from attention, acting to evoke problem behavior.
• FCT uses withholding of the reinforcer following problem behavior and delivering it following an appropriate communication response as it treats problem behavior reinforced by social consequences
• FCT has been used infrequently when problem behavior is maintained by automatic reinforcement, since it is often difficult to withhold reinforcers that are an automatic consequence of the behavior.

Selecting and Teaching the FCT Response

• The FCT response is rarely described in depth
• Not many studies have provided replicable details on how it is trained Horner and studies have direct implications for selecting an appropriate response
  • They have shown simple/less effort response leads more effective FCR response
• FCT response was more effective when reinforced denser vs leaner schedules.
• Response being was more effective when it produced reinforcement almost immediately vs longer delay.
• The effectiveness of FCT relies strongly on whether the therapist can control the establishing operation for problem behavior. Therapists that model the response may be more or less effective depending on the situation/establishing conditions.

Guidelines for selecting and training the response.

• Based on studies the response emit and recognized easily should be simple for the participant
• It is preferable for the patient to emit a short request if the response that is in the repertoire already than one thing should be such as "Play with me, please" if the participant speaks in complete sentences and they imitate the response easily.
• Help the participant to complete, then deliver reinforcer using physical guidance to help those who don't perform the act independently. When training decrease probability by delivering reinforcement
• Over time, fade physical prompts until participant emits response independently (90% of training trials/2 sessions). Deliver reinforcer identified during functional analysis immediately after each response

Time-Based Delivery of the Reinforcer

• Delivering the functional reinforcer on a pre-set time scedule, with this approach referred to by some as noncontingent reinforcement (NCR) We typically initiate NCR schedules by delivering the stimulus that previously reinforced problem behavior on a dense schedule.
• Voller et al 1993. stated that with NCR there was a baseline that was identical with therapists delivering concern once there SIB occured (10 sec statement). Therapists started the praise without SIB happening and conversation
• It often lessens the establishing procedure behavior, by removing it which lowers the responses in responding as results.
• dense scedules produce fast reductions that are large where leans produce less consistent that are small in the reductions.
• contigous paring avoids from problem behavior, by using changeover when the interval (Herrnstein, 1961) reinforce can go away at this time.

Choosing between FCT and NCR

• The first consideration should be the level of potential danger and harm being faced. (NCR) is suitable for this,
• NCR (doesnt need monitering of the participant as much), FCT needs monitoring and caregiver response so the participant may recruit reinforcement with the response of FCT.
• FCT (is the obvious choice) when a is establishing communication response and the treatment goal is one of extreme importance. NCR - is an advantage in that there is no amount of reinforcement to eleminiate the behaviors of the "TELEPHONE"

Treatments for Responses Reinforced by Social Negative Reinforcement

• Iwata described negative reinforcement as a growing technology in the field of behavior analysis (1987).

FCT and NCR

Both offer escape from events as effective and reasonable, and considerations and issues is such in that each person needs as applicable the select of their response. When wanting a situation which offers breaks then you make an choice through (touch, picture, break. Hagopian is to treat by FCT) There is still common limitation in all of these.

• Individuals with negatively reinforced. Do not benefit from the introduction or the learning of new sets of skills (fisher).

Additional considerations.

• Delivery of reinforcer "COMPLIANCE"-Positive Lalli suggest two mechanisms.
• Prefer positive than anything else.
• During interaction the highly preferred acts lessen (DeLeon states) - compliance over over others given when selecting
• Escape-reinforced SIB had to be very probable from something.
• When manipulated- novel tasks will result in a higher increase (Weeks, Task Difficulty)
• Less-preferred tasks
• Before instruction, Planned & Preferred will change. (Day etc)
• Sleep

Abolish or reverse these operations to reduce problems.

• Interspersing less tasks
• Rate or Tasks gradual increase
• Task choice providing (Romaniuk et al 2002)

Additional considerations.

• Lalli et al. suggested two operant mechanisms
• The highly preferred-Lessen of SIB and more probably SIB (less probible is a statement)
• New rates for everything-Novel session
• The "Other way" can be interspersing and increase

Treatments with response automatically

• Favorable response as it gives automatically produce and favorable reinforcement will create probability which increases.
• Relieves which is discomfortable
• Disorder autisim- Potential
• visual - Repeatedly placing of objects

Practicality increasing

1. Delivering hard to find reinforcements alternative

• (Hanley, (Hagopian, Austin)

2. functional more robust with providing vs by itself.

• FCT had good reinforcers the time. - They used good results by them selves

Explore methods to improve the efficiency of functional analysis, including the dual effect of motivating operations and the differences between establishing and abolishing operations. Learn about the role of establishing operations in test conditions and the impact of attention deprivation and demands on problem behavior. Understand the purpose of the toy-play condition and key research findings.