Applied behavior analysis (
ABA) is a science that involves using modern
behavioral learning theoryBehaviorism , also called the learning perspective , is a philosophy of psychology based on the proposition that all things that organisms do—including acting, thinking, and feeling—can and should be regarded as behaviors, and that psychological disorders are best treated by altering behavior...
to modify behaviors. Behavior analysts reject the use of hypothetical constructs and focus on the observable relationship of behavior to the environment. By functionally assessing the relationship between a targeted behavior and the environment, the methods of ABA can be used to change that behavior. Research in applied behavior analysis ranges from behavioral intervention methods to basic research which investigates the rules by which humans adapt and maintain behavior.
Areas of application
ABA-based interventions are best known for treating people with developmental disabilities, most notably autism spectrum disorders. However, applied behavior analysis contributes to a full range of areas including: AIDS prevention, conservation of natural resources, education, gerontology, health and exercise, industrial safety, language acquisition, littering, medical procedures, parenting, seatbelt use, severe mental disorders, sports, and zoo management and care of animals.
Definition
ABA is defined as the science in which the principles of the analysis of behavior are applied systematically to improve socially significant behavior, and in which experimentation is used to identify the variables responsible for change in behavior. It is one of the three fields of behavior analysis. The other two are
behaviorismBehaviorism , also called the learning perspective , is a philosophy of psychology based on the proposition that all things that organisms do—including acting, thinking, and feeling—can and should be regarded as behaviors, and that psychological disorders are best treated by altering behavior...
, or the philosophy of the science; and
experimental analysis of behaviorThe experimental analysis of behavior is the name given to the school of psychology founded by B.F. Skinner, and based on his philosophy of radical behaviorism. A central principle was the inductive, data-driven examination of functional relations, as opposed to the kinds of hypothetico-deductive...
, or basic experimental research.
Baer,
WolfMontrose Madison Wolf, PhD was an American psychologist. He developed the technique of "time-out" as a learning tool to shape behavior in children in the 1960s. He was a leader in creating the discipline of problem-solving, real-world psychological research known as applied behavior analysis...
, and Risley's 1968 article is still used as the standard description of ABA. It describes the seven dimensions of ABA: application; a focus on behavior; the use of analysis; and its technological, conceptually systematic, effective, and general approach.
Characteristics
Baer, Wolf, and Risley's seven dimensions are:
- Applied: ABA focuses on areas that are of social significance. In doing this, behavior scientists must take into consideration more than just the short-term behavior change, but also look at how behavior changes can affect the consumer, those who are close to the consumer, and how any change will affect the interactions between the two.
- Behavioral: ABA must be behavioral, i.e.: behavior itself must change, not just what the consumer says about the behavior. It is not the goal of the behavior scientists to get their consumers to stop complaining about behavior problems, but rather to change the problem behavior itself. In addition, behavior must be objectively measured. A behavior scientist cannot resort to the measurement of non-behavioral substitutes.
- Analytic: The behavior scientist can demonstrate believable control over the behavior that is being changed. In the lab, this has been easy as the researcher can start and stop the behavior at will. However, in the applied situation, this is not always as easy, nor ethical, to do. According to Baer, Wolf, and Risley, this difficulty should not stop a science from upholding the strength of its principles. As such, they referred to two designs that are best used in applied settings to demonstrate control and maintain ethical standards. These are the reversal and multiple baseline designs. The reversal design is one in which the behavior of choice is measured prior to any intervention. Once the pattern appears stable, an intervention is introduced, and behavior is measured. If there is a change in behavior, measurement continues until the new pattern of behavior appears stable. Then, the intervention is removed, or reduced, and the behavior is measured to see if it changes again. If the behavior scientist truly has demonstrated control of the behavior with the intervention, the behavior of interest should change with intervention changes.
- Technological: This means that if any other researcher were to read a description of the study, that researcher would be able to "replicate the application with the same results." This means that the description must be very detailed and clear. Ambiguous descriptions do not qualify. Cooper et al. describe a good check for the technological characteristic: "have a person trained in applied behavior analysis carefully read the description and then act out the procedure in detail. If the person makes any mistakes, adds any operations, omits any steps, or has to ask any questions to clarify the written description then the description is not sufficiently technological and requires improvement."
- Conceptually Systematic: A defining characteristic is in regards to the interventions utilized; and thus research must be conceptually systematic by only utilizing procedures and interpreting results of these procedures in terms of the principles from which they were derived.
- Effective: An application of these techniques improve behavior under investigation. Specifically, it is not a theoretical importance of the variable, but rather the practical importance (social importance) that is essential.
- Generality: It should last over time, in different environments, and spread to other behaviors not directly treated by the intervention. In addition, continued change in specified behavior after intervention for that behavior has been withdrawn is also an example of generality.
In 2005, Heward,
et al. added their belief that the following five characteristics should be added:
- Accountable: Direct and frequent measurement enables analysts to detect their success and failures to make changes in an effort to increase successes while decreasing failures. ABA is a scientific approach in which analysts may guess but then critically test ideas, rather than "guess and guess again." This constant revision of techniques, commitment to effectiveness and analysis of results leads to an accountable science.
- Public: Applied behavior analysis is completely visible and public. This means that there are no explanations that cannot be observed. There are no mystical, metaphysical explanations, hidden treatment, or magic. Thus, ABA produces results whose explanations are available to all of the public.
- Doable: ABA has a pragmatic element in that implementors of interventions can consist of a variety of individuals, from teachers to the participants themselves. This does not mean that ABA requires one simply to learn a few procedures, but with the proper planning, it can effectively be implemented by most everyone willing to invest the effort.
- Empowering: ABA provides tools to practitioners that allow them to effectively change behavior. By constantly providing visual feedback to the practitioner on the results of the intervention, this feature of ABA allows clinicians to assess their skill level and builds confidence in their technology.
- Optimistic: According to several leading authors, practitioners skilled in behavior analysis have genuine cause to be optimistic for the following reasons:
- Individual behavior is largely determined by learning and cumulative effects of the environment, which itself is manipulable
- Direct and continuous measurements enable practitioners to detect small improvements in performance that might have otherwise been missed
- As a practitioner uses behavioral techniques with positive outcomes, the more they will become optimistic about future success prospects
- The literature provides many examples of success teaching individuals considered previously unteachable.
Behavior
Behavior is the activity of living organisms. Human behavior is the entire gamut of what people do including thinking and feeling. Behavior can be determined by applying the Dead Man's test:
Behavior is that portion of an organism's interaction with its environment that is characterized by detectable displacement in space through time of some part of the organism and that results in a measurable change in at least one aspect of the environment. Often, the term behavior is used to reference a larger class of responses that share physical dimensions or function. In this instance, the term
response indicates a single instance of that behavior. If a group of responses have the same function, this group can be classified as a response class. Finally, when discussing a person's collection of behavior, repertoire is used. It can either pertain specifically to a set of response classes that are relevant to a particular situation, or it can refer to every behavior that a person can do.
Operant conditioning
Operant behavior is that which is selected by its consequences. The conditioning of operant behavior is the result of
reinforcementReinforcement is a term in operant conditioning and behavior analysis for the process of increasing the rate or probability of a behavior in the form of a "response" by the delivery or emergence of a stimulus Reinforcement is a term in operant conditioning and behavior analysis for the process of...
and
punishmentPunishment is the authoritative imposition of something negative or unpleasant on a person or animal in response to behavior deemed wrong by an individual or group....
. Operant conditioning applies to voluntary responses, which an organism performs deliberately, to produce a desirable outcome. The term operant emphasizes this point: the organism operates on its environment to produce some desirable result. For example, operant conditioning is at work when we learn that toiling industriously can bring about a raise or that studying hard results in good grades.
Respondent conditioning
All organisms respond in predictable ways to certain stimuli. These stimulus–response relations are called
reflexA reflex action, also known as a reflex, is an involuntary and nearly instantaneous movement in response to a stimulus. A true reflex is a behavior which is mediated via the reflex arc; this does not apply to casual uses of the term 'reflex'.-See also:...
es. The response component of the reflex is called respondent behavior. It is defined as behavior which is elicited by antecedent stimuli. Respondent conditioning (also called
classical conditioningClassical conditioning is a form of conditioning that was first demonstrated by Ivan Pavlov...
) is learning in which new stimuli acquire the ability to elicit respondents. This is done through stimulus–stimulus pairing, for example, the stimulus (smell of food) can elicit a person's salivation. By pairing that stimulus (smell) with another stimulus (e.g., a light), the second stimulus can obtain the function of the first stimulus, given that the predictive relationship between the two stimuli is maintained.
Environment
The environment is the entire constellation of circumstances in which an organism exists. This includes events both inside and outside of an organism, but only real physical events are included. The environment consists of stimuli. A stimulus is an "energy change that affects an organism through its receptor cells."
A stimulus can be described:
- Formally by its physical features.
- Temporally by when they occur in respect to the behavior.
- Functionally by their effect on behavior.
Operant reinforcement
Reinforcement is the most important principle of behavior and a key element of most behavior change programs. It is the process by which behavior is strengthened, if a behavior is followed closely in time by a stimulus and this results in an increase in the future frequency of that behavior. The addition of a stimulus following an event that serves as a reinforcer is termed positive reinforcement. If the removal of an event serves as a reinforcer, this is termed negative reinforcement. There are multiple schedules of reinforcement that affect the future probability of behavior.
Punishment
Punishment is a process by which a consequence immediately follows a behavior which decreases the future frequency of that behavior. Like reinforcement, a stimulus can be added (positive punishment) or removed (negative punishment). Broadly, there are three types of punishment: presentation of aversive stimuli, response cost and time out. Punishment in practice can often result in unwanted side effects, and has as such been used only after reinforcement-only procedures have failed to work. Unwanted side effects can include the increase in other unwanted behavior as well as a decrease in desired behaviors. Punishment is also associated in certain cases with increases in the likelihood of aggression by the person. Some other potential unwanted effects include escape and avoidance, emotional behavior, and can result in behavioral contrast.
Extinction
Extinction is the technical term to describe the procedure of withholding/discontinuing reinforcement of a previously reinforced behavior, resulting in the decrease of that behavior. The behavior is then set to be extinguished (Cooper,
et al.). Extinction procedures are often preferred over punishment procedures that are frequently deemed unethical and in many states prohibited. Nonetheless, extinction procedures must be implemented with utmost care by professionals, as they are generally associated with extinction bursts. An extinction burst is the temporary increase in the frequency, intensity, and/or duration of the behavior targeted for extinction. Other characteristics of an extinction burst include a) extinction-produced aggression—the occurrence of an emotional response to an extinction procedure often manifested as aggression; and b) extinction-induced response variability—the occurrence of novel behaviors that did not typically occur prior to the extinction procedure. These novel behaviors are a core component of shaping procedures.
Discriminated operant and three-term contingency
In addition to a relation being made between behavior and its consequences, operant conditioning also establishes relations between antecedent conditions and behaviors. This differs from the S–R formulations (If-A-then-B), and replaces it with an AB-because-of-C formulation. In other words, the relation between a behavior (B) and its context (A) is because of consequences (C), more specifically, this relationship between AB because of C indicates that the relationship is established by prior consequences that have occurred in similar contexts. This antecedent–behavior–consequence contingency is termed the three-term contingency. A behavior which occurs more frequently in the presence of an antecedent condition than in its absence is called a discriminated operant O
D. The antecedent stimulus is called a discriminative stimulus S
D. The fact that the discriminated operant occurs only in the presence of the discriminative stimulus is an illustration of
stimulus controlStimulus control is the phenomenon of a stimulus increasing the probability of a behavior because of a history of that behavior being differentially reinforced in the presence of the stimulus...
. More recently behavior analysts have been focusing on conditions that occur prior to the circumstances for the current behavior of concern that increased the likelihood of the behavior occurring or not occurring. These conditions have been referred to variously as "Setting Event", "Establishing Operations", and "Motivating Operations" by various researchers in their publications.
Verbal behavior
B.F. Skinner's classification system of behavior analysis has been applied to treatment of a host of communication disorders. Skinner's system includes:
- Tact (psychology)
Tact is a term that B.F. Skinner used to describe a verbal operant in which a certain response is evoked by a particular object or event, or property of an object or event. More generally, the tact is verbal contact with the physical world.Chapter five of Skinner's Verbal Behavior discusses the...
– stimulus control as it enters the verbal domain
- Mand (psychology)
Mand is a term that B.F. Skinner used to describe a verbal operant in which the response is reinforced by a characteristic consequence and is therefore under the functional control of relevant conditions of deprivation or aversive stimulation...
– behavior under control of motivating operations that is directly reinforced by the listener
- Intraverbals – verbal behavior under verbal control of others
- Autoclitics (psychology)
Autoclitics are verbal responses that modify the effect on the listener of the primary operants that comprise B.F. Skinner's classification of Verbal Behavior.-Autoclitics:...
– how tacts tact to other tacts to change effects on the speaker.
For assessment of verbal behavior from Skinner's system see
Assessment of Basic Language and Learning SkillsThe Assessment of Basic Language and Learning Skills is an educational tool used frequently with applied behavior analysis to measure the basic linguistic and functional skills of an individual with developmental delays or disabilities.-Development:The Assessment of Basic Language and Learning...
.
Measuring behavior
When measuring behavior, there are both dimensions of behavior and quantifiable measures of behavior. In applied behavior analysis, the quantifiable measures are a derivative of the dimensions. These dimensions are repeatability, temporal extent, and temporal locus.
Repeatability
Response classes occur repeatedly throughout time—i.e., how many times the behavior occurs.
- Count is the number of occurrences in behavior.
- Rate/frequency is the number of instances of behavior per unit of time.
- Celeration is the measure of how the rate changes over time.
Temporal extent
This dimension indicates that each instance of behavior occupies some amount of time—i.e., how long the behavior occurs.
- Duration is the amount of time in which the behavior occurs.
Temporal locus
Each instance of behavior occurs at a specific point in time—i.e., when the behavior occurs.
- Response latency is the measure of elapsed time between the onset of a stimulus and the initiation of the response.
- Interresponse time is the amount of time that occurs between two consecutive instances of a response class.
Derivative measures
Derivative measures are unrelated to specific dimensions:
- Percentage is the ratio formed by combining the same dimensional quantities.
- Trials-to-criterion are the number of response opportunities needed to achieve a predetermined level of performance.
Experimental control
In applied behavior analysis, all experiments should include the following:
- At least one participant
- At least one behavior (dependent variable)
- At least one setting
- A system for measuring the behavior and ongoing visual analysis of data
- At least one treatment or intervention condition
- Manipulations of the independent variable so that its effects on the dependent variable
- An intervention that will benefit the participant in some way
Functional behavior assessment (FBA)
Functional assessment of behavior provides hypotheses about the relationships between specific environmental events and behaviors. Decades of research has established that both desirable and undesirable behaviors are learned through interactions with the social and physical environment. FBA is used to identify the type and source of reinforcement for challenging behaviors as the basis for intervention efforts designed to decrease the occurrence of these behaviors.
Functions of behavior
The function of a behavior can be thought of as the purpose a behavior serves for a person.
All behaviors serve a purpose.
All behavior is communication.
Problem behaviors can serve the following functions for an individual:
Medical
e.g., toothache, stomach pain, fever
Access to attention
e.g., Child throws toy in order to get mom's attention. (If this maladaptive behavior results in mom looking at child and
giving him lots of attention—even if she's saying "NO"—he will be more likely to engage in the same behavior in the
future to get mom's attention)
Access to escape
e.g., Mom tells the child "Go clean up" and child runs to the kitchen because s/he does not want to complete the task.
Access to automatic reinforcement
e.g., Child flaps (or, Stereotypic, repetitive movement) in order to release feelings (excitement, frustration, etc.).
Access to tangibles (e.g., activities, toys, edibles, etc.)
e.g., Child hits mom because s/he wants the toy mom is holding.
Sensory input
e.g., Child crashes into furniture or pushes people to gain sensory input
Setting Event
e.g., Environmental or personal factors such as large classroom, didn’t sleep night before, loud noises.
These can be remembered by the acronym SMEATArS.
We can describe behaviors in various ways such as
tantrumA tantrum is an emotional outburst, usually associated with children or those in emotional distress, that is typically characterized by stubbornness, crying, screaming, yelling, shrieking, defiance, angry ranting, a resistance to attempts at pacification and, in some cases, violence...
s, noncompliance, inattention, aggression, etc., however all behavior can be classified as serving one or more of the functions above.
Function is identified in an FBA by identifying the type and source of reinforcement for the behavior of interest. Those reinforcers might be positive or negative social reinforcers provided by someone who interacts with the person, or automatic reinforcers produced directly by the behavior itself.
- Positive reinforcement – social positive reinforcement (attention), tangible reinforcement, and automatic positive reinforcement.
- Negative reinforcement – social negative reinforcement (escape), automatic negative reinforcement.
Function versus topography
Behaviors may look different but can serve the same function and likewise behavior that looks the same may serve multiple functions. What the behavior looks like often reveals little useful information about the conditions that account for it. However, identifying the conditions that account for a behavior, suggests what conditions need to be altered to change the behavior. Therefore, assessment of function of a behavior can yield useful information with respect to intervention strategies that are likely to be effective.
FBA methods
FBA methods can be classified into three types:
- Functional (experimental) analysis
- Descriptive assessment
- Indirect assessment
Functional (experimental) analysis
A functional analysis is one in which antecedents and consequences are manipulated to indicate their separate effects on the behavior of interest. This type of arrangement is often called synthetic because they are not conducted in a naturally occurring context. However, research is indicating that functional analysis done in a natural environment will yield similar or better results.
A standard functional analysis normally has four conditions (three test conditions and one control):
- Contingent attention
- Contingent escape
- Alone
- Control condition
While the above four conditions are the most widely used functional analysis experimental conditions, using the basic methodology of functional analysis (and experimental analysis in general) it is possible to arrange any combination of antecedents and consequences for behavior to determine what effect, if any, they have on a behavior.
- Advantages – it has the ability to yield a clear demonstration of the variable(s) that relate to the occurrence of a problem behavior. It serves as the standard of scientific evidence by which other assessment alternatives are evaluated. It represents the method most often used in research on the assessment and treatment of problem behavior.
- Limitations – assessment process may temporarily strengthen or increase the undesirable behavior to gravely unacceptable levels or result in the behavior acquiring new unpleasant functions. Some behaviors may neither be amenable to functional analyses (e.g., those that, albeit serious, occur infrequently). Functional analyses conducted in contrived settings may not detect the variable that accounts for the occurrence in the natural environment.
Descriptive FBA
As with functional analysis, descriptive functional behavior assessment utilizes direct observation of behavior; unlike functional analysis, however, observations are made under naturally occurring conditions. Therefore, descriptive assessments involve observation of the problem behavior in relation to events that are not arranged in a systematic manner.
There are three variations of descriptive assessment:
- ABC (antecedent–behavior–consequence) continuous recording – observer records occurrences of targeted behavior and selected environmental events in the natural routine.
- ABC narrative recording – data are collected only when behaviors of interest are observed, and the recording encompasses any events that immediately precede and follow the target behavior.
- Scatterplots – a procedure for recording the extent to which a target behavior occurs more often at particular times than others.
Indirect FBA
This method uses structured interviews, checklists, rating scales, or questionnaires to obtain information from persons who are familiar with the person exhibiting the behavior to identify possible conditions or events in the natural environment that correlate with the problem behavior. They are called "indirect" because they do not involve direct observation of the behavior, but rather solicit information based on others' recollections of the behavior.
- Advantages – some can provide a useful source of information in guiding subsequent, more objective assessments, and contribute to the development of hypotheses about variables that might occasion or maintain the behaviors of concern.
- Limitations – informants may not have accurate and unbiased recall of behavior and the conditions under which it occurred.
Conducting an FBA
Provided the strengths and limitations of the different FBA procedures, FBA can best be viewed as a four-step process:
- The gathering of information via indirect and descriptive assessment.
- Interpretation of information from indirect and descriptive assessment and formulation
A clinical formulation is a theoretically-based explanation or conceptualisation of the information obtained from a clinical assessment. It offers a hypothesis about the cause and nature of the presenting problems and is considered an alternative approach to the more categorical approach of...
of a hypothesis about the purpose of problem behavior.
- Testing of a hypothesis using a functional analysis
Functional analysis in behavioral psychology is the application of the laws of operant conditioning to establish the relationships between stimuli and responses...
.
- Developing intervention options based on the function of problem behavior.
Task analysis
Task analysisTask analysis is the analysis of how a task is accomplished, including a detailed description of both manual and mental activities, task and element durations, task frequency, task allocation, task complexity, environmental conditions, necessary clothing and equipment, and any other unique factors...
is a process in which a task is analyzed into its component parts so that those parts can be taught through the use of chaining: forward chaining, backward chaining and total task presentation. Task analysis has been used in organizational behavior management, a behavior analytic approach to changing organizations.
Behavioral scriptIn the behaviorism approach to psychology, behavioral scripts are a sequence of expected behaviors for a given situation. For example, when an individual enters a restaurant they choose a table, order, wait, eat, pay the bill, and leave. People continually follow scripts which are acquired through...
s often emerge from a task analysis. Bergan conducted a task analysis of the behavioral consultation relationship and Thomas Kratochwill developed a training program based on teaching Bergan's skills. A similar approach was used for the development of microskills training for counselors. Ivey would later call this "behaviorist" phase a very productive one and the skills-based approach came to dominate counselor training during 1970–90. Task analysis was also used in determining the skills needed to access a career. In education, Englemann (1968) used task analysis as part of the methods to design the Direct Instruction curriculum.
Chaining
The skill to be learned is broken down into small units for easy learning. For example, a person learning to brush teeth independently may start with learning to unscrew the toothpaste cap. Once they have learned this, the next step may be squeezing the tube, etc.
For problem behavior, chains can also be analyzed and the chain can be disrupted to prevent the problem behavior. Some behavior therapies, such as dialectical behavior therapy, make extensive use of behavior chain analysis.
Prompting
A
promptResponse Prompting Procedures are systematic strategies used to increase the probability of correct responding and opportunities for positive reinforcement for learners by providing and then systematically removing prompts. Response prompting is sometimes called “errorless” learning because...
is a cue or assistance to encourage the desired response from an individual. Prompts are often categorized into a prompt hierarchy from most intrusive to least intrusive. There is some controversy about what is considered most intrusive: physically intrusive versus hardest prompt to fade (i.e., verbal). In a faultless learning approach, prompts are given in a most-to-least sequence and faded systematically to ensure the individual experiences a high level of success. There may be instances in which a least-to-most prompt method is preferred. Prompts are faded systematically and as quickly as possible to avoid prompt dependency. The goal of teaching using prompts would be to fade prompts towards independence, so that no prompts are needed for the individual to perform the desired behavior.
Types of prompts:
- Verbal prompts: Utilizing a vocalization to indicate the desired response.
- Visual prompts: A visual cue or picture.
- Gestural prompts: Utilizing a physical gesture to indicate the desired response.
- Positional prompt: The target item is placed closer to the individual.
- Modeling: Modeling the desired response for the student. This type of prompt is best suited for individuals who learn through imitation and can attend to a model.
- Physical prompts: Physically manipulating the individual to produce the desired response. There are many degrees of physical prompts. The most intrusive being hand-over-hand, and the least intrusive being a slight tap to initiate movement.
This is not an exhaustive list of all possible prompts. When using prompts to systematically teach a skill, not all prompts need to be used in the hierarchy; prompts are chosen based on which ones are most effective for a particular individual.
Fading
The overall goal is for an individual to eventually not need prompts. As an individual gains mastery of a skill at a particular prompt level, the prompt is faded to a less intrusive prompt. This ensures that the individual does not become overly dependent on a particular prompt when learning a new behavior or skill.
Thinning a reinforcement schedule
Thinning is often confused with fading. Fading refers to a prompt being removed, where thinning refers to the spacing of a reinforcement schedule getting larger. Some support exists that a 30% decrease in reinforcement can be an efficient way to thin. Schedule thinning is often an important and neglected issue in
contingency managementContingency management is a type of treatment used in the mental health or substance abuse fields. Patients are rewarded for their behavior; generally, adherence to or failure to adhere to program rules and regulations or their treatment plan...
and
token economyA token economy is a system of behavior modification based on the systematic positive reinforcement of target behavior. The reinforcers are symbols or tokens that can be exchanged for other reinforcers. Token economy is based on the principles of operant conditioning and can be situated within...
systems, especially when developed by unqualified practitioners (see
professional practice of behavior analysisThe professional practice of behavior analysis is one domain of behavior analysis: others being behaviorism, experimental analysis of behavior and applied behavior analysis...
).
Generalization
Generalization is the expansion of a student's performance ability beyond the initial conditions set for acquisition of a skill. Generalization can occur across people, places, and materials used for teaching. For example, once a skill is learned in one setting, with a particular instructor, and with specific materials, the skill is taught in more general settings with more variation from the initial acquisition phase. For example, if a student has successfully mastered learning colors at the table, the teacher may take the student around the house or his school and then
generalize the skill in these more natural environments with other materials. Behavior analysts have spent considerable amount of time studying factors that lead to generalization.
Shaping
Shaping involves gradually modifying the existing behavior into the desired behavior. If the student engages with a dog by hitting it, then he or she could have their behavior shaped by reinforcing interactions in which he or she touches the dog more gently. Over many interactions, successful shaping would replace the hitting behavior with patting or other gentler behavior. Shaping is based on a behavior analyst's thorough knowledge of
operant conditioningOperant conditioning is a form of psychological learning during which an individual modifies the occurrence and form of its own behavior due to the association of the behavior with a stimulus...
principles and
extinctionExtinction is the conditioning phenomenon in which a previously learned response to a cue is reduced when the cue is presented in the absence of the previously paired aversive or appetitive stimulus.-Fear conditioning:...
. Recent efforts to teach shaping have used simulated computer tasks.
Video modeling
One teaching technique found to be effective with some students, particularly children, is the use of video modeling (the use of taped sequences as exemplars of behavior). It can be used by therapists to assist in the acquisition of both verbal and
motorA voluntary action is produced by conscious choice of an organism. The organism, would in turn also be aware of the action while it is executed. This is the opposite of an involuntary action...
responses, in some cases for long
chainsChaining is an instructional procedure used in behavioral psychology, experimental analysis of behavior and applied behavior analysis. It involves reinforcing individual responses occurring in a sequence to form a complex behavior. It is frequently used for training behavioral sequences that are...
of behavior.
Interventions based on an FBA
Critical to behavior analytic interventions is the concept of a systematic behavioral case formulation with a functional behavioral assessment or analysis at the core. This approach should apply a behavior analytic theory of change (see Behavioral change theories). This formulation should include a thorough functional assessment, a skills assessment, a sequential analysis (behavior chain analysis), an ecological assessment, a look at existing evidenced-based behavioral models for the problem behavior (such as Fordyce's model of chronic pain) and then a treatment plan based on how environmental factors influence behavior. Some argue that behavior analytic case formulation can be improved with an assessment of rules and rule-governed behavior. Some of the interventions that result from this type of conceptualization involve training specific communication skills to replace the problem behaviors as well as specific setting, antecedent, behavior, and consequence strategies.
Efficacy in autism
ABA-based techniques are often used to treat
autismAutism is a disorder of neural development characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. These signs all begin before a child is three years old. Autism affects information processing in the brain by altering how nerve cells and their...
, so much so that ABA itself is often mistakenly considered to be a therapy for autism. ABA for autism may be limited by diagnostic severity and IQ. The most influencial and widely cited review of the literature regarding efficacy of treatments for Autism is the National Research Council's book
Educating Children with Autism (2001) which clearly concluded that ABA was the best research supported and most effective treatment for the main characteristics of Autism. Some critics attempted to claim that the NRC's report was an inside job by behavior analysts but there were no board certified behavior analysts on the panel (which did include physicians, speech pathologists, educators, psychologists, and others). Recent reviews of the efficacy of ABA-based techniques in autism include:
- A 2007 clinical report of the American Academy of Pediatrics
The American Academy of Pediatrics is the major professional association of pediatricians in the United States. The AAP was founded in 1930 by 35 pediatricians to address pediatric healthcare standards. It currently has 60,000 members in primary care and sub-specialist areas...
concluded that the benefit of ABA-based interventions in autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) "has been well documented" and that "children who receive early intensive behavioral treatment have been shown to make substantial, sustained gains in IQ, language, academic performance, and adaptive behaviorAdaptive behavior is a type of behavior that is used to adjust to another type of behavior or situation. This is often characterized by a kind of behavior that allows an individual to change an unconstructive or disruptive behavior to something more constructive. These behaviors are most often...
as well as some measures of social behavior."
- Researchers from the MIND Institute
The UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute research and treatment center affiliated with the University of California, Davis, with facilities located on the UC Davis Medical Center campus in Sacramento, California...
published an evidence-based review of comprehensive treatment approaches in 2008. On the basis of "the strength of the findings from the four best-designed, controlled studies," they were of the opinion that one ABA-based approach (the Lovaas techniqueLOVAAS technique, which is known to the general public as Applied behavior analysis , as well as Intensive behavioral intervention , and Early intensive behavioral intervention , is a form of treatment guided by ABA and developed by Dr. Ivar Lovaas, a psychology professor at UCLA...
created by Ole Ivar LovaasOle Ivar Løvaas, Ph.D. was a clinical psychologist at UCLA. He is considered to be one of the fathers of applied behavior analysis therapy for autism through his development of the Lovaas technique and the first to provide evidence that the behavior of autistic children can be modified through...
) is "well-established" for improving intellectual performance of young children with ASD.
- A 2009 review of psycho-educational interventions for children with autism whose mean age was six years or less at intake found that five high-quality ("Level 1" or "Level 2") studies assessed ABA-based treatments. On the basis of these and other studies, the author concluded that ABA is "well-established" and is "demonstrated effective in enhancing global functioning in pre-school children with autism when treatment is intensive and carried out by trained therapists."
- A 2009 paper included a descriptive analysis, an effect size analysis, and a meta-analysis
In statistics, a meta-analysis combines the results of several studies that address a set of related research hypotheses. In its simplest form, this is normally by identification of a common measure of effect size, for which a weighted average might be the output of a meta-analyses. Here the...
of 13 reports published from 1987–2007 of early intensive behavioral intervention (EIBI, a form of ABA-based treatment with origins in the Lovaas technique) for autism. It determined that EIBI's effect sizes were "generally positive" for IQ, adaptive behavior, expressive language, and receptive language. The paper did note limitations of its findings including the lack of published comparisons between EIBI and other "empirically validated treatment programs."
- In a 2009 systematic review
A systematic review is a literature review focused on a research question that tries to identify, appraise, select and synthesize all high quality research evidence relevant to that question. Systematic reviews of high-quality randomized controlled trials are crucial to evidence-based medicine...
of 11 studies published from 1987–2007, the researchers wrote "there is strong evidence that EIBI is effective for some, but not all, children with autism spectrum disorders, and there is wide variability in response to treatment." Furthermore, any improvements are likely to be greatest in the first year of intervention.
- A 2009 meta-analysis of nine studies published from 1987–2007 concluded that EIBI has a "large" effect on full-scale intelligence and a "moderate" effect on adaptive behavior in autistic children.
- In 2011, investigators from Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University is a private research university located in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, the university is named for shipping and rail magnate "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided Vanderbilt its initial $1 million endowment despite having never been to the...
under contract with the Agency for Healthcare Research and QualityThe Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality is a part of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, which supports research designed to improve the outcomes and quality of health care, reduce its costs, address patient safety and medical errors, and broaden access to effective...
performed a comprehensive review of the scientific literature on ABA-based and other therapies for autism spectrum disorders; the ABA-based therapies included the UCLAThe University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
/Lovaas method and the Early Start Denver Model. They concluded that "both approaches were associated with ... improvements in cognitive performance, language skills, and adaptive behavior skills." However, they also concluded that "the strength of evidence ... is low," "many children continue to display prominent areas of impairment," "subgroups may account for a majority of the change," there is "little evidence of practical effectiveness or feasibility beyond research studies," and the published studies "used small samples, different treatment approaches and duration, and different outcome measurements."
A 2009 systematic review and meta-analysis by Spreckley and Boyd of four 2000–2007 studies (involving a total of 76 children) came to different conclusions than the aforementioned reviews. Spreckley and Boyd reported that applied behavior intervention (ABI), another name for EIBI, did not significantly improve outcomes compared with standard care of preschool children with ASD in the areas of cognitive outcome, expressive language, receptive language, and adaptive behavior. In a letter to the editor, however, authors of the four studies meta-analyzed claimed that Spreckley and Boyd had misinterpreted one study comparing two forms of ABI with each other as a comparison of ABI with standard care, which erroneously decreased the observed efficacy of ABI. Furthermore, the four studies' authors raised the possibility that Spreckley and Boyd had excluded some other studies unnecessarily, and that including such studies could have led to a more favorable evaluation of ABI. Spreckley, Boyd, and the four studies' authors did agree that large multi-site randomized trials are needed to improve the understanding of ABA's efficacy in autism.
See also
- Behavioral activation
Behavioral activation is a third generation behavior therapy for treating depression. It is one of many functional analytic psychotherapies which are based on a Skinnerian psychological model of behavior change, generally referred to as applied behavior analysis...
(BA)
- Educational psychology
Educational psychology is the study of how humans learn in educational settings, the effectiveness of educational interventions, the psychology of teaching, and the social psychology of schools as organizations. Educational psychology is concerned with how students learn and develop, often focusing...
- Professional practice of behavior analysis
The professional practice of behavior analysis is one domain of behavior analysis: others being behaviorism, experimental analysis of behavior and applied behavior analysis...
- Parent Management Training
Parent Management Training is a programme that trains parents to manage their children's behavioural problems at home and at school. PMT works to correct maladaptive parent-child interactions especially as they apply to discipline...
- Behavior analysis of child development
Child development in behavior analytic theory has origins in John B. Watson's behaviorism. Watson wrote extensively on child development and conducted research . Watson was instrumental in the modification of William James' stream of consciousness approach to construct a stream of behavior theory...
- Behavior therapy
Major journals
Applied behavior analysts publish in many journals. Some of the ones considered core journals to behavior analysis are:
- Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis
The Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis was established in 1968 as a peer-reviewed, psychology journal, that publishes research about applications of the experimental analysis of behavior to problems of social importance....
- Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior
The Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior was established in 1958 as apeer-reviewed, psychology journal, that publishes fundamental research about the experimental analysis of behavior....
- Journal of Organizaitonal Behavior Management
- Journal of Behavioral Education
- Journal of the Analysis of Verbal Behavior
- The Behavior Analyst Today BAO
- The Behavior Analyst
- The Journal of Speech-Language Pathology and Applied Behavior Analysis BAO
- Journal of Early and Intensive Behavioral Interventions BAO
- The International Journal of Behavioral Consultation and Therapy BAO
- The Journal of Behavioral Assessment and Intervention in Children BAO
- The Behavioral Development Bulletin BAO
- The Journal of Percision Teaching and Standard Celeration
- Behavior and Social Issues http://www.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/bsi/index
- Journal of Behavior Analysis of Sports, Health, Fitness, and Behavioral Medicine BAO
- Journal of Behavior Analysis of Offender and Victim: Treatment and Prevention BAO
- Behavioral Health and Medicine BAO
- Behavior Therapy
External links