ABAT Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA) and Functions of Behavior — Questions and Answers
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?
- Automatic/sensory reinforcement
- Attention from peers
- Escape from demands (Correct answer)
- Access to preferred items
Correct answer: Escape from demands
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?
- A graph showing behavior frequency across sessions
- A narrative record of what happened before, during, and after each instance of a target behavior (Correct answer)
- A checklist completed at the end of a session summarizing all observed behaviors
- A rating scale completed by caregivers about the frequency of challenging behavior at home
Correct answer: A narrative record of what happened before, during, and after each instance of a target behavior
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?
- Frustration, boredom, anxiety, and confusion
- Attention, escape, access to tangibles, and automatic/sensory reinforcement (Correct answer)
- Communication, emotion regulation, social skills deficits, and self-esteem
- Positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, punishment, and extinction
Correct answer: Attention, escape, access to tangibles, and automatic/sensory reinforcement
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:
- Graph the total frequency of behavior across an entire school year
- Identify times of day or conditions during which a target behavior is most and least likely to occur (Correct answer)
- Measure the duration of each behavioral episode during a session
- Record the specific consequences that follow a problem behavior
Correct answer: Identify times of day or conditions during which a target behavior is most and least likely to occur
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?
- Indirect assessment (interviews/rating scales)
- Direct descriptive assessment (ABC recording)
- Functional analysis (experimental analysis) (Correct answer)
- Ecological inventory
Correct answer: Functional analysis (experimental analysis)
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.
Question 6: During an indirect functional behavior assessment, an RBT is most likely to:
- Conduct structured test conditions while manipulating reinforcers
- Observe and record behavior in the natural environment without intervening
- Interview teachers, parents, and caregivers about when and where the behavior occurs (Correct answer)
- Review permanent products such as completed worksheets to count errors
Correct answer: Interview teachers, parents, and caregivers about when and where the behavior occurs
Indirect assessment methods rely on information gathered from people who know the individual well, typically through structured interviews or rating scales, rather than direct observation. They are used to generate initial hypotheses about behavioral function.
ABAT Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA) and Functions of Behavior
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?