Foundational Knowledge Flashcards

A functional behavior assessment (FBA) is primarily conducted to:

Answer: Identify antecedents, behaviors, and consequences maintaining a behavior

An FBA identifies the environmental variables (antecedents and consequences) that maintain challenging behavior.

Which of the following is considered the most rigorous method of functional assessment?

Answer: Experimental functional analysis

Experimental functional analysis (EFA) directly manipulates antecedents and consequences to identify behavioral functions.

The four most common functions of challenging behavior identified through functional assessment are:

Answer: Attention, escape, sensory, and tangible

Attention, escape/avoidance, access to tangibles, and automatic (sensory) reinforcement are the four primary behavioral functions.

A preference assessment that presents two items simultaneously and records which item the learner approaches is called a:

Answer: Paired-stimulus (forced-choice) assessment

Paired-stimulus assessment presents two items at a time and identifies preferred items based on approach frequency.

In a scatter plot analysis, a behavior analyst is looking for:

Answer: Patterns linking behavior to specific times or conditions

Scatter plots help identify temporal or contextual patterns by showing when during the day or session a behavior clusters.

Which term describes the observable, measurable characteristics of a behavior (e.g., hitting with an open hand)?

Answer: Topography

Topography refers to the physical form or shape of a behavior — what it looks like.

An antecedent intervention that reduces the motivation to engage in escape-maintained behavior by making tasks shorter or easier is an example of:

Answer: Motivating operation manipulation

Altering task difficulty or length changes the motivating operation (abolishing operation) that makes escape reinforcing.