ABAT Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA) and Functions of Behavior

Question 1

A student repeatedly throws materials off his desk when given a difficult worksheet. After observing that the behavior consistently stops when the teacher removes the worksheet, the behavior analyst concludes the behavior is maintained by which function?

Accepted Answer

Escape from demands

Answer

The behavior stops when the aversive task (the difficult worksheet) is removed, meaning the student is negatively reinforced by escaping the demand. This is the escape function of behavior.

Question 2

Which of the following best describes an ABC (Antecedent-Behavior-Consequence) recording?

Accepted Answer

A narrative record of what happened before, during, and after each instance of a target behavior

Answer

ABC recording is a direct observation method in which the observer records the antecedent (what occurred immediately before), the behavior (exactly what the person did), and the consequence (what happened immediately after) for each instance of the target behavior.

Question 3

What are the four most commonly identified functions of challenging behavior in ABA?

Accepted Answer

Attention, escape, access to tangibles, and automatic/sensory reinforcement

Answer

The four functions of behavior — often remembered with the acronym SEAT — are Social/attention, Escape from demands or aversive stimuli, Access to tangibles or preferred activities, and Automatic (sensory) reinforcement that occurs independent of the social environment.

Question 4

A scatter plot is used in functional behavior assessment primarily to:

Accepted Answer

Identify times of day or conditions during which a target behavior is most and least likely to occur

Answer

A scatter plot is an indirect assessment tool that maps behavior occurrence across time intervals (e.g., hour blocks, class periods) over multiple days. Patterns in the scatter plot reveal when or under what conditions the behavior is most likely, guiding the development of a hypothesis about its function.

Question 5

Which type of functional behavior assessment involves the behavior analyst directly manipulating antecedents and consequences in a controlled way to test hypotheses about the function of behavior?

Accepted Answer

Functional analysis (experimental analysis)

Answer

A functional analysis, developed by Iwata and colleagues, is an experimental method in which conditions (attention, escape, alone, play/control) are systematically manipulated to identify which consequence is maintaining the problem behavior. It provides the most direct evidence of behavioral function.

(ABAT) Applied Behavior Analysis Test Practice Test

(ABAT) Applied Behavior Analysis Test Practice Test

ABAT Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA) and Functions of Behavior