Functional Behavior Assessment Flashcards
7 cards from real ABA practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Functional Behavior Assessment flashcards as text
In an experimental functional analysis using Iwata et al.'s (1982/1994) methodology, which condition serves as the control?
Answer: Play/no-demand condition
The play or no-demand condition serves as the control because it provides rich reinforcement (attention and preferred items) with no demands, resulting in low rates of problem behavior for comparison.
Which FBA method involves observing and recording antecedents, behaviors, and consequences as they naturally occur without any planned manipulation?
Answer: Descriptive assessment (direct observation)
Descriptive assessment involves direct, systematic observation of behavior as it naturally occurs in the environment, recording ABCs without experimental manipulation of variables.
When a functional analysis shows the highest rate of problem behavior in the 'alone' condition, what function is most likely indicated?
Answer: Automatic reinforcement (sensory stimulation)
Elevated behavior in the alone condition (with no social consequences available) indicates the behavior is maintained by automatic reinforcement, as the individual produces the reinforcer independently of others.
A 'functional analysis' is distinct from a 'descriptive assessment' because functional analysis:
Answer: Experimentally manipulates antecedents and consequences to test hypothesized functions
Unlike descriptive assessments that only observe naturally occurring behavior, functional analyses involve experimental manipulation of environmental variables to establish a functional relationship and confirm behavior function.
What is the purpose of a 'competing behavior pathway' model within the FBA process?
Answer: To map how the problem behavior, its maintaining consequences, and a desired alternative behavior interrelate
The competing behavior pathway (or competing pathways model) illustrates the relationships among setting events, antecedents, the problem behavior, its maintaining consequences, and appropriate alternative behaviors to guide intervention design.
Which of the following best describes a 'brief functional analysis'?
Answer: A streamlined version of the experimental functional analysis using fewer trials per condition
A brief functional analysis uses an abbreviated number of trials per test condition to quickly identify the function of behavior, making it more feasible in applied settings while still including experimental manipulation.
Setting events in an FBA differ from immediate antecedents because setting events:
Answer: Occur earlier in time and alter the effectiveness of later antecedents and reinforcers
Setting events (also called establishing operations or distal antecedents) occur prior to the immediate antecedent and context, altering how the individual responds to subsequent stimuli and reinforcers.