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Clarifying inconclusive functional analysis results: Assessment and treatment of automatically reinforced aggression
Author(s) -
Saini Valdeep,
Greer Brian D.,
Fisher Wayne W.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
journal of applied behavior analysis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.1
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1938-3703
pISSN - 0021-8855
DOI - 10.1002/jaba.203
Subject(s) - aggression , functional analysis , psychology , reinforcement , intervention (counseling) , developmental psychology , clinical psychology , social psychology , psychiatry , biochemistry , chemistry , gene
We conducted a series of studies in which multiple strategies were used to clarify the inconclusive results of one boy's functional analysis of aggression. Specifically, we (a) evaluated individual response topographies to determine the composition of aggregated response rates, (b) conducted a separate functional analysis of aggression after high rates of disruption masked the consequences that maintained aggression during the initial functional analysis, (c) modified the experimental design used during the functional analysis of aggression to improve discrimination and decrease interaction effects between conditions, and (d) evaluated a treatment matched to the reinforcer hypothesized to maintain aggression. An effective yet practical intervention for aggression was developed based on the results of these analyses and from data collected during the matched‐treatment evaluation.