Functional analysis in
behavioral psychology
Behaviorism is a systematic approach to understanding the behavior of humans and animals. It assumes that behavior is either a reflex evoked by the pairing of certain antecedent stimuli in the environment, or a consequence of that individual' ...
is the application of the laws of
operant
Operant conditioning, also called instrumental conditioning, is a learning process where behaviors are modified through the association of stimuli with reinforcement or punishment. In it, operants—behaviors that affect one's environment—are c ...
and
respondent conditioning
Classical conditioning (also known as Pavlovian or respondent conditioning) is a behavioral procedure in which a biologically potent stimulus (e.g. food) is paired with a previously neutral stimulus (e.g. a triangle). It also refers to the learn ...
to establish the relationships between
stimuli and responses. To establish the function of operant behavior, one typically examines the "four-term contingency": first by identifying the
motivating operation
Motivating operation (MO) is a behavioristic concept introduced by Jack Michael in 1982. It is used to explain variations in the effects in the consequences of behavior. Most importantly, an MO affects how strongly the person is reinforced or pu ...
s (EO or AO), then identifying the antecedent or trigger of the behavior, identifying the behavior itself as it has been
operationalize
In research design, especially in psychology, social sciences, life sciences and physics, operationalization or operationalisation is a process of defining the measurement of a phenomenon which is not directly measurable, though its existence is in ...
d, and identifying the consequence of the behavior which continues to maintain it.
Functional assessment in
behavior analysis
Behaviorism is a systematic approach to understanding the behavior of humans and animals. It assumes that behavior is either a reflex evoked by the pairing of certain antecedent stimuli in the environment, or a consequence of that individual' ...
employs principles derived from the natural science of behavior analysis to determine the "reason", purpose, or motivation for a behavior. The most robust form of functional assessment is functional analysis, which involves the direct manipulation, using some experimental design (e.g., a multielement design or a reversal design) of various antecedent and consequent events and measurement of their effects on the behavior of interest; this is the only method of functional assessment that allows for demonstration of clear cause of behavior.
Applications in clinical psychology
Functional analysis and consequence analysis are commonly used in certain types of psychotherapy to better understand, and in some cases change, behavior. It is particularly common in
behavioral therapies such as
behavioral activation, although it is also part of Aaron Beck's
cognitive therapy
Cognitive therapy (CT) is a type of psychotherapy developed by American psychiatrist Aaron T. Beck. CT is one therapeutic approach within the larger group of cognitive behavioral therapies (CBT) and was first expounded by Beck in the 1960s. Co ...
. In addition, functional analysis modified into a behavior chain analysis is often used in
dialectical behavior therapy.
There are several advantages to using functional analysis over traditional assessment methods. Firstly, behavioral observation is more reliable than traditional self-report methods. This is because observing the individual from an objective stand point in their regular environment allows the observer to observe both the antecedent and the consequence of the problem behavior. Secondly, functional analysis is advantageous as it allows for the development of behavioral interventions, either antecedent control or consequence control, specifically designed to reduce a problem behavior. Thirdly, functional analysis is advantageous for interventions for young children or developmentally delayed children with problem behaviors, who may not be able to answer self-report questions about the reasons for their actions.
Despite these benefits, functional analysis also has some disadvantages. The first that no standard methods for determining function have been determined and meta-analysis shows that different methodologies appear to bias results toward particular functions as well as not effective in improving outcomes. Second, Gresham and colleagues (2004) in a meta-analytic review of JABA articles found that functional assessment did not produce greater effect sizes compared to simple
contingency management
Contingency management (CM) is the application of the three-term contingency (or operant conditioning), which uses stimulus control and consequences to change behavior. CM originally derived from the science of applied behavior analysis (ABA), bu ...
programs. However, Gresham et al. combined the three types of functional assessment, of which descriptive assessment and indirect assessment have been reliably found to produce results with limited validity Third, although functional assessment has been conducted with a variety host of populations (i.e.) much of the current functional assessment research has been limited to children with developmental disabilities.
Professional organizations
The
Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies
The Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT) was founded in 1966. Its headquarters are in New York City and its membership includes researchers, psychologists, psychiatrists, physicians, social workers, marriage and family therap ...
(ABCT) also has an interest group in
behavior analysis
Behaviorism is a systematic approach to understanding the behavior of humans and animals. It assumes that behavior is either a reflex evoked by the pairing of certain antecedent stimuli in the environment, or a consequence of that individual' ...
, which focuses on the use of behavior analysis in the school setting including functional analysis.
Doctoral level behavior analysts who are psychologists belong to the
American Psychological Association
The American Psychological Association (APA) is the largest scientific and professional organization of psychologists in the United States, with over 133,000 members, including scientists, educators, clinicians, consultants, and students. It ha ...
's division 25 –
Behavior analysis
Behaviorism is a systematic approach to understanding the behavior of humans and animals. It assumes that behavior is either a reflex evoked by the pairing of certain antecedent stimuli in the environment, or a consequence of that individual' ...
. APA offers a diplomate in behavioral psychology and school psychology both of which focus on the use of functional analysis in the school setting.
The World Association for Behavior Analysis offers a certification for clinical behavior therapy and behavioral consultation, which covers functional analysis.
The UK Society for Behaviour Analysis also provides a forum for behavior analysts for accreditation, professional development, continuing education and networking, and serves as an advocate body in public debate on issues relating to behavior analysis. The UK-SBA promotes the ethical and effective application of the principles of behavior and learning to a wide range of areas including education, rehabilitation and health care, business and the community and is committed to maintaining the availability of high-quality evidence-based professional behavior analysis practice in the UK. The society also promotes and supports the academic field of behavior analysis with in the UK both in terms of university-based training and research, and theoretical develop.
See also
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Applied behavior analysis
Applied behavior analysis (ABA), also called behavioral engineering, is a psychological intervention that applies empirical approaches based upon the principles of respondent and operant conditioning to change behavior of social significanc ...
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Behavioral therapy
Behaviour therapy or behavioural psychotherapy is a broad term referring to clinical psychotherapy that uses techniques derived from behaviourism and/or cognitive psychology. It looks at specific, learned behaviours and how the environment, or o ...
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Clinical formulation
A clinical formulation, also known as case formulation and problem formulation, is a theoretically-based explanation or conceptualisation of the information obtained from a clinical assessment. It offers a hypothesis about the cause and nature of t ...
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Functional behavioral assessment
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Operant conditioning
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Professional practice of behavior analysis
The professional practice of behavior analysis is a domain of behavior analysis, the others being radical behaviorism, experimental analysis of behavior and applied behavior analysis. The practice of behavior analysis is the delivery of interven ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Functional Analysis (Psychology)
Behaviorism