BEHAVIOR ANALYSIS in 2010

Behavior analysis processes and strategies, complementing medical and psychiatric services for people with Developmental

Disabilities and Dual Diagnoses.

CURRENT STATUS OF BEHAVIOR ANALYSIS

• Born of Psychology• Evolved into a different paradigm

o Significantly different philosophy, theoretical framework, research and strategies

PSYCHOLOGY

Mind• The seat of perceptions, self consciousness, thinking, behaving,

remembering, hoping, desiring, judging, analyzing, evaluating, reasoning, conation* or volition/will.

• Existence as a conscious, perceiving, independent entity. Mind/body (or brain) are separate entities.

• Mind may apprehend some truths directly, without requiring the medium of the senses.

• Overrides reflex response and frees behavior from sense dominance.

• Focus on thoughts/feelings as causes of behavior*The aspect of mental processes directed toward action or change and

including impulse, desire, volition, and striving.

PSYCHOLOGY

Philosophy:• Freedom of choice

o Individuals are responsibleoBlamed for bad choicesoCredited for good

PSYCHOLOGY

Strategies:• Talk therapy

o Psychotherapyo Counseling

• Emphasiso Feelings: Being in touch with, controlling themo Thoughts: Changing them

• The ultimate intent is to change behavior “from the inside.”

EVOLUTION OF THE SCIENCE OF BEHAVIOR

• 1913 to 1930 Classical S-R Behaviorism• 1938 Classical and Operant Behaviorism• Radical Behaviorism 1953 to present

o Operant and Respondent behavioro Growing behavioral processeso Verbal behavior: Operant, socially mediated

behavioroPrivate events

o An in depth, data based, effective natural science

RADICAL BEHAVIORISMA Natural Science

Philosophical assumptions:• Empiricism

oAll knowledge is derived from sense experienceo The method of observation and experiment used in natural

sciences (physics, chemistry, biology)oBehavior, and behavior processes (the repeated effects

of environmental events) are identified and described by scientific observations

oNo hypothetical constructsoNo Mind, ID, EGO, SUPER EGO and so on

RADICAL BEHAVIORISMA Natural Science

Philosophical assumptions:• Determinism

o Phylogenic Selection: Genetic/Darwiniano Ontogenetic Selection: Event/Behavior

Interactions/Experienceso Contingencies strengthening and building

behaviorso No blameo Credit (practically not theoretically)

RADICAL BEHAVIORISM

Selected behavioral/acquisition functions:• Behaviors are signaled, motivated and selected by

environmental events• Elicited respondent behavior is modified by classical

conditioning• Evoked operant behavior is strengthened or weakened by

consequences• Verbal behavior as socially mediated operant behavior• Verbal behavior encompassing private events or “mental

processes”• Analyses of these primary behavioral processes identify

behavior change strategies

RADICAL BEHAVIORISM

Primary Behavioral Processes/Functions Leading to Strategies:

• All procedures, processes and effects are observable and measurable. They are comprised of environmental events and these events can have multiple functions.

RADICAL BEHAVIORISMPrimary Behavioral Processes/Functions

Leading to Strategies:• Motivating Operations .3

o Establishing Operations .4o Abolishing Operations .5

• Discriminative stimuli .6• Behaviors/Skills .1• Reinforcement .2• Schedules of reinforcement.7

RADICAL BEHAVIORISM

Behavior:• Observable, measureable interactions with the

environmento Actions, feelings, thoughts

• Johnston and Pennypacker(1993) defined behavior as “…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.”

RADICAL BEHAVIORISM

Behavior examples:OK• Kicked out a window• Rode a bike• Hit and broke a nose• Read out loud• Screamed 10 seconds• Said “Thank you.”• Repeated the Gettysburg

Address privately

BAD• Aggressive• Passive• Tantrum• Responsible• Non compliant• Rude• Hallucinated

RADICAL BEHAVIORISM

Reinforcement:• Stimulus change following behavior that

results in an increased frequency of the behavior.o In a similar situation the strength, frequency or

probability of that behavior increases in the future• Positive reinforcement: stimulus presented• Negative reinforcement: stimulus removed• Both are reinforcing (aka, “good”)

RADICAL BEHAVIORISMREINFORCEMENT EXAMPLE:

B > Client Ema bangs head--------------------------------------Mary Staff’s Behavior changes(Mary expression becomes

VERY concerned; her voice rises.)

----------------------------------------Head banging frequency risesREINFORCEMENT (SR)

B > Client Ema bangs head------------------------------------No change in George Staff’s

Behavior(George remains calm and

caring.)-------------------------------No change in head bangingNo REINFORCEMENT (SR)

RADICAL BEHAVIORISM

Primary Behavioral Processes/Leading to Strategies:

• Motivating Operations• Alters the value of a stimulus as reinforcement• Alters the frequency of all behaviors that have been

reinforced by that stimuluso Establishing Operations

o Increases reinforcement valueo Evokes behaviors that have been reinforced by that stimulus

o Abolishing Operationso Decreases reinforcement valueo Abates behaviors that have been reinforced by that

stimulus

RADICAL BEHAVIORISM Establishing Operation Examples:

Food/Sex Deprivation Food/Sex SR value• Evokes behaviors

previously reinforced by food/sex

Aggression by others’ SR value of signs of

others’ pain• Evokes behaviors

previously reinforced by signs of other’s pain

RADICAL BEHAVIORISMAbolishing Operation Examples:

Food/Sex Satiation< Food/Sex SR value• Abates behaviors

previously reinforced by food/sex

Aggression De-escalation Skills:

Empathy statements< SR value of

reinforcement for aggression (e.g., signs of pain, fear)

• Abates behaviors previously reinforced by signs of pain, fear

RADICAL BEHAVIORISM

Primary Behavioral Processes/Leading to Strategies:

• Discriminative Stimuli (S-d)o Correlated with (i.e., signals) the availability of

reinforcemento Evokes behavior reinforced in the past

RADICAL BEHAVIORISM

Primary Behavioral Processes/Leading to Strategies:

• Discriminative Stimuli (S-delta)o Correlated with (i.e., signals) the unavailability of

reinforcemento Abates behavior reinforced in the past

RADICAL BEHAVIORISMDiscriminative Stimulus example:

SD > Mary Staff present--------------------------------------B > Client Ema bangs head--------------------------------------REF > Mary Staff’s Behavior

changes(Mary expression becomes

VERY concerned; her voice rises.)

----------------------------------------Head banging evoked

S Delta > George Staff present------------------------------------B > Ema sewing------------------------------------No REF > George is still calm

and caring.)

-------------------------------Head banging is NOT evoked

RADICAL BEHAVIORISMDiscriminative Stimulus example:

SD> Mary Staff present--------------------------------------B > Client Ema bangs head--------------------------------------REF > No change in Mary

Staff’s Behavior(Mary remains calm and

caring.)----------------------------------------If Mary Staff is consistent, her

presence will become an SD

RADICAL BEHAVIORISM

Primary Behavioral Processes/Leading to Strategies:• Schedules of reinforcement

o Intermittento Fixed ratio

o [e.g., Continuous (every response)]o (e.g., every 10th response)

o Variable ratio (e.g., every 1 to 5 responses)o Random ratioo Fixed interval (e.g., 1st response after a set time)o Variable interval (e.g., 1st response after 10 to 12 seconds)

PRIMARY BEHAVIOR ANALYSIS STRATEGIES

Strategies:• FBA• MO• SD• Skills

o Crowd outo Prevent o Replaceo (e.g., Select, Model, Practice

Problem solving, Fade in Establishing Operations for desirable behavior)

• Reinforcing desirable behavior

• Shaping desirable behavior• Scheduling reinforcement• Establishing discriminative

stimuli for desirable behavior• Collect Data• Adjust the FBA as necessary• Repeat

TERRI DOES FBA

FBA and Psychiatric Diagnoses

“A person is first of all an organism, a member of a species and a subspecies, possessing a genetic endowment of anatomical, physiological and chemical characteristics, which are the products of the contingencies of survival to which the species and each organism has been exposed in the process of evolution.

Each person acquires a repertoire of behavior and becomes an individual as it contacts unique contingencies, grounded by consequences, to which it is exposed in its lifetime. Each individual is able to acquire such a repertoire because of its evolved susceptibility to the processes of conditioning. The behavior an individual exhibits at any moment is under the unique control her/his genetic endowment, learning history and the current setting.”

Diagnosis or No Diagnosis

• Different categories of behavior result from different biological, neurological chemical makeup, and different experiences (environmental interactions).

The FBA Process is the Same

• All individuals have environmental, biological, neurological and chemical differences, and they are often changing.

• Our eyesight, hearing, pain thresholds, hormones, chemistry, self induced chemicals, diets, learning history (via parents, siblings, friends, experiences)

• All of us are affected by environmental events (behavioral processes)

• Because of all of the above each of us are affected somewhat differently.

The FBA Process is the Same

• There are Sd’s but their effects are slightly different• There are MO’s but their effects are slightly different • There are Reinforcers, but their effects are slightly

different• Therefore, our Behaviors are slightly different• Whether or not there is a psychiatric diagnosis,

empirical observations and systematic recording of the effects of these processes lead to the most effective environmental interventions (i.e., BSP’s)