BCBA - Board Certified Behavior Analyst Behavioral Assessment Methods Questions and Answers — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A BCBA is tasked with identifying the function of a student's aggressive behavior, which occurs at a high rate and poses a risk of injury. The BCBA decides to systematically manipulate antecedents and consequences in a controlled setting to test hypotheses about what is maintaining the behavior. Which behavioral assessment method is the BCBA employing?
- Descriptive Assessment
- Indirect Assessment
- Functional Analysis (Correct answer)
- Ecological Assessment
Correct answer: Functional Analysis
A functional analysis is the only assessment method that involves the systematic manipulation of environmental variables (antecedents and consequences) to demonstrate a cause-and-effect relationship between the environment and the behavior. Descriptive and indirect assessments can generate hypotheses, but they do not directly test them.
Question 2: Which of the following is considered an indirect method of behavioral assessment?
- ABC narrative recording
- Scatterplot analysis
- Administering a motivational assessment scale (Correct answer)
- Direct observation of the target behavior in the natural environment
Correct answer: Administering a motivational assessment scale
Indirect assessments gather information about the behavior without the assessor directly observing it. This includes methods like interviews, checklists, and rating scales, such as the Motivational Assessment Scale. The other options (ABC recording, scatterplots, and direct observation) are all forms of direct descriptive assessment.
Question 3: A behavior analyst is working with a new client who is nonverbal and has difficulty making choices. The analyst wants to identify potential reinforcers. They decide to present one item at a time and record the duration of the client's engagement with each item. Which type of preference assessment is being used?
- Paired Stimulus
- Multiple Stimulus Without Replacement (MSWO)
- Single Stimulus (Successive Choice) (Correct answer)
- Free Operant
Correct answer: Single Stimulus (Successive Choice)
The single stimulus, or successive choice, preference assessment involves presenting items one at a time and measuring the individual's reaction, such as duration of engagement. This method is particularly useful for individuals who have difficulty choosing between multiple items presented simultaneously.
Question 4: A BCBA is reviewing a student's records, interviewing their teacher and parents, and having them complete behavior rating scales. The primary goal of this phase of assessment is to:
- demonstrate a functional relation between the environment and behavior.
- develop a formal hypothesis about the function of the behavior. (Correct answer)
- select a socially valid replacement behavior.
- conduct a comprehensive skills assessment.
Correct answer: develop a formal hypothesis about the function of the behavior.
Indirect assessment methods like record reviews, interviews, and rating scales are used to gather broad information and formulate a hypothesis about the function of a target behavior. This hypothesis can then be tested through more direct methods like descriptive assessment or functional analysis.
Question 5: The key distinction between a descriptive assessment and a functional analysis is that a descriptive assessment identifies _______, whereas a functional analysis identifies _______.
- function; correlation
- causation; function
- hypotheses; causation
- correlation; a functional relation (Correct answer)
Correct answer: correlation; a functional relation
Descriptive assessments involve observing and recording behavior as it naturally occurs, which can reveal correlations between environmental events and the behavior. A functional analysis goes a step further by systematically manipulating variables to demonstrate a causal, or functional, relation between those variables and the behavior.
Question 6: A BCBA is conducting an assessment to identify the skills a learner currently has and which skills are deficits, in order to create a comprehensive curriculum plan. The BCBA uses a tool that breaks down broad skill areas into specific, teachable components and measures the learner's performance against a pre-set list of criteria. This type of assessment is best described as a:
- Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA)
- Criterion-Referenced Skills Assessment (Correct answer)
- Norm-Referenced Assessment
- Preference Assessment
Correct answer: Criterion-Referenced Skills Assessment
Criterion-referenced assessments, such as the VB-MAPP or ABLLS-R, measure an individual's skills against a predetermined set of criteria or standards, rather than comparing them to the performance of others (norm-referenced). They are used to identify specific skill strengths and deficits to guide intervention planning.
BCBA - Board Certified Behavior Analyst Behavioral Assessment Methods Questions and Answers
A BCBA is tasked with identifying the function of a student's aggressive behavior, which occurs at a high rate and poses a risk of injury.
The BCBA decides to systematically manipulate antecedents and consequences in a controlled setting to test hypotheses about what is maintaining the behavior.
Which behavioral assessment method is the BCBA employing?