Please read sections 5.3
After reading section 5.3, please respond to the following questions.
What are three things you will remember from what you read in the chapter? Why? What was one thing that you really liked that was in the chapter? Why? What was one thing that you disliked that was in the chapter? Why?
You should also have a behavioral program in place (the steps you provided previously). Please implement that program (i.e., start reinforcing the behavior) and continue to collect data.
5.3
1. From this section I will remember the concept of functional assessment. This was the main point in the section and was explained pretty clearly. A functional assessment is when a person looks at the reasons for why a behavior is occurring. It assesses the antecedents and the consequences to see which part of the unwanted behavior is being reinforced and takes note of where the intervention needs to go. With the functional assessment a person forms a hypothesis of the reasons for a behavior and comes up with intervention strategies that will hopefully serve to reduce the behavior. If it doesn't work a new hypothesis and intervention can be implemented.
The second this from this section I will remember is what a direct assessment is. Functional assessments can be in one of two forms and one is direct assessments. This occurs when a person observes behaviors first hand. It requires a person to be in a natural setting and take notice when a target behavior occurs. The person must also recognize what happens as a result of the behavior and what might have elicited the behavior. Observations can be written down or taken down electronically. When recording what happened it is best if a person records right away because as time passes we tend to forget what really happened.
The third thing I will remember goes along with the second thing I mentioned. If I remember one I remember the other because they are compliments of each other. This concept is indirect assessment. The information obtained in an indirect assessment is second hand knowledge. By this I mean that the information is not directly observed and is obtained from another source. This can be in the case of people who can not speak for themselves or people unwilling to speak. Information then is gained through parents, teachers, or peer groups. They usually use techniques such as interviews or questionnaires to gain the information. Although the information is not directly observed, information from a third party could be less biased.
2. From this section I liked the idea of a leaning out schedule. This is when a behavior does not need to be reinforced as often to get the same results and eventually leads to the behavior happening by natural reinforcement. This leads for the intervention to be complete. I liked this one because I think it applies greatly to my behavior goal of watching less TV. I reinforce myself with going out with friends on the weekends if I follow my plan, otherwise I'm stuck in doing homework. Eventually I'll just be used to getting my work done instead of TV because of all the other productive things I will naturally accomplish, such as volunteering.
2. One thing I did not like from this section was that sometimes it is necessary to experiment with interventions. I understand that flexibility is needed in case the intervention is not working but it seems like if you choose another one a person would have to start all over with a new baseline. This could take weeks and weeks and sometimes people are in needs of change faster than waiting a few months to find an intervention that might work. I really don't know of anything to fix this time consuming issue because it is just a problem that comes along with trial and error but I feel like it could become discouraging to a persons progress and lead them to an even higher likelihood of failing.
I have finished up with my baseline behavior and have begun to implement my reinforcement of going out with friends on a weekend night. I also fill it with naturally reinforcing things such as volunteering. I am continuing to write down when I watched TV and for how long and then adding up totals at the end of the day. I also mark down if there was a specific reason for watching TV, like a movie with friends or watching the election last week. As of now my intervention looks to work but the only way to tell if that is true is with time.
Terms: antecedents, consequences, functional assessment, direct assessment, intervention, hypothesis, behavior, target behavior, elicit, indirect assessment, experiment, leaning out, reinforce
5.3
1. The first thing that I am going to remember is the steps involved in the behavior modification process. The first step is to describe the target behavior. The second step is to describe the consequences. The third step is to describe the antecedent. The fourth step is to examine the ABC’s. The fifth step is to device the new antecedents and consequences. The final sixth step is to evaluate the outcome. For example you could say that your target behavior is to not eat as much at night. The consequences to eating at night is that you are gaining weight. The antecedent to this behavior is watching television. When you watch television at night you emit the behavior of snacking on food which leads you to gain weight. Now you can change your nightly routine so that you read a book instead of watching television which could lead to you not snacking nearly as much.
2.The second thing that I am going to remember after reading this section is that a functional assessment of a behavior is designed to help develop a hypothesis that has to do with the ABC’s of behavior. Functional assessment is used to help the person who wants to change a behavior by identifying the environment where the behavior seems to happen the most. To go off my earlier example the environment would be watching television at night.
3. The third thing that I am going to remember is that a functional analysis is characterized as either direct or indirect. Direct assessment is the observation and recording of behaviors while indirect assessment involves more active with the surroundings like interviews or questionnaires. In direct assessment it is very important to keep a very informational record about the behavior you are observing because you can’t always rely on your memory. An advantage to an indirect assessment is that the outside observers may be less subjective.
4.One thing that I liked when learning about altering a behavior with punishment or reinforcement is that you can always change or redefine your target behavior. This ability makes me not feel as bad when I fail at a target behavior the first time I try to change it. For example, I am counting calories and the first time that I started counting calories I wanted to stay under 1600 calories. That turned out to be a really hard target behavior for me to keep up. I have now changed it to staying under 1800 and have been doing a lot better with this.
5. There wasn’t anything in this section that I didn’t like or didn’t agree with. Something else that I agreed/liked in this section was the part on leaning out the reinforcement schedule. I liked this part because it just made sense that if you reinforce yourself to frequently it can get to the point of extinction where the reinforcement becomes unappealing. Leaning out the reinforcement can still be reinforcing even if you don’t get reinforced quite as much.
Terms: Behavior modification, target behavior, consequences, antecedent, emit, behavior, ABC, functional assessment, functional analysis, direct assessment, indirect assessment, subjective, punishment, reinforcement, hypothesis, leaning out, reinforcement schedule, frequently, reinforce, extinction,
Section 5.3
Three things i'll remember from this section:
1.) I'll remember how important it is to establish the circumstances that elicit the behavior. This is really important to set up a functional assessment of the behavior. Functional assessment of a behavior is designed to investigate behaviors, set up hypotheses, and begin to understand how to intervene the outcome of the behavior. I think this concept helps us examine the functions of our behaviors, also why the behavior even occurs in the first place.
2.) The most important thing I'll remember and take from this class would be the steps of behavior modifying process. The steps are basic, understandable, and helpful. I think they follow a great order and guide you in the right direction of modifying your behavior. Also, the steps are helpful for reinforcing or punishing a behavior. Understanding these steps will basically sum up the idea of the class because the ultimate goal would be to emit the process of behavior modification.
3.) Another thing I'll remember would be direct assessment, this is something I have trouble with. At the moment we are in the process of recording our own behavior. Direct assessment involves the observation and recording of behaviors. I have found that recording the target behavior is fairly difficult. It's time consuming, inconvenient at times, and hard to remember. I think this is something I need to work on, so I can correctly modify my behaviors.
The thing I really liked from this section were the steps of the behavior modification process. I believe those steps define the class in and of itself. I feel that once I can emit those steps, I will have completed the class.
I can't say there was anything I disliked in this section. Although, I say this every week, it is the truth. I feel since I don't know the material I should have nothing tho complain about. I am learning as we continue through the class material.
Terminology: elicit, functional assessment,hypotheses, behavior, functions of behavior, process of behavior modification, modifying, reinforcing, punishing, emit, direct assessment, target behavior,
One thing I remember from this chapter is what the functional assessment of behavior is. This is designed to guide one in developing a hypothesis while thinking of the relationship between the ABC’s of behavior. This allows us to look and analyze a behavior and see what is reinforcing it and find an intervention to decrease it from happening if the behavior is undesirable. Behaviors usually occur because something is reinforcing it. It is important to understand why a behavior is occurring because that makes it a lot easier to extinguish the behavior. This makes a lot of sense because you can’t understand something if you don’t know why it is happening.
Another thing I remember is direct assessment. This is when you observe and record behaviors. So this involves knowing when a target behavior occurs and what happens after. So, we can look back and see what could have elicited the behavior. It is best to try to record data and the ABCs as soon as possible. Our memories are not perfect and it can be hard to remember events from earlier. So, it is handy to have a your recorder devices nearby. This was a new term I found interesting to learn.
Also I remember that indirect assessment. This is when interviews or questionnaires at used to figure out if there has been progress. This can be with the individual trying to change a behavior or others in their life who observe them like parents and teachers. This method is most often used when an individual is unable to communicate with others well. Outside observes tend to be less subjective which can be an advantage. This was interesting to read about because it is a lot different from most topics discussed in this class.
I really liked reading about tweaking target behaviors and contingencies. After starting to do documentation, sometimes people find that their target behaviors are too broad. Most of the time you have to keep changing and redefining these target behaviors and contingencies. This will improve the behavior modification process. I liked this section because it proves that anyone can do behavior modification and there is not wrong way because there is always room for improvement. It is something you continue to keep doing to keep meeting more and more goals we have for ourselves.
I disliked reading about interventions. I feel that interventions are not always necessary. IF you really want to meet a goal and change a behavior the process of behavior modification is an intervention. You have to figure out why you do what you and find a way to fix it.
I have started to use going out to eat as a reinforcer to get myself to follow through with getting my to-do list for the day done by 11:00p.m. and more importantly just getting everything I need to get done…done. This is going well and I am continuing to write down how many of my to-do list gets done each day.
Terms: extinguish, behavior, functional assessment, intervention, elicited, behavior modification, target behaviors, contingencies, reinforcer
5.3
From this section I will emit the behavior of of remembering what a functional assessment is to determine what elicits the undesired behavior to occur. During a functional assessment an hypothesis is formed. After the hypothesis is created a person could look at the behavior and discover what is reinforcing the behavior. This happens so that an intervention can take place and decrease the undesired behavior.
Another thing I will emit the behavior of remember form this section is that experimenting occurs after the hypothesis has been found. The experimenting is done with behavior interventions. This is important because it shows that their is more than one way to modify a behavior.
I will also emit the behavior of remembering direct assessment. Direct assessment is the actual observation and recording behaviors. The observations happen under naturally occurring events. During the observation the antecedent should be written down in details as well as the behavior and the consequences. Because these need to be written down in detail immediately after they happen it is best to keep a behavioral diary around at all times.
I didn't like or dislike anything from this chapter. I found this chapter to be full of basic information.
Terms: Emit, behavior, functional assessment, elicits, undesired behavior, decrease, experimenting, modify, direct assessment, antecedent, consequences, , behavioral diary
1) I will remember that having a well defined target behavior allows us to focus on the specific problem and learn what actually elicits the behavior along with what maintains it. The thing that mantains it are the contingencies.
2) I will also remeber that examining the function of the behavior will help develop a hypotesis of why the behavior occurs. This is important for the functional assessment of behavior.
3) I will also remeber that there can be direct and indirect assessments done. Direct is when you examine the behavior as it occurs under the naturally occuring conditions. Indirect would be working through a second party of some sort. The good thing about indirect is that the second party can be less subjective being they are outsiders to this whole process.
I liked that the chapter continued to cover every aspect of this self directed behavior modification. I liked the steps being listed.
terms: elict, direct assessment, indirect assessment, self directed behavior modification, contingencies, functional assessment of behavior, target behavior
5.3
1. The first concept I will remember is functional assessment. This is when the person who is trying to change a behavior examines the baseline they have collected about that behavior and forms a plan to work around or with the antecedents that are eliciting the behavior. A functional assessment can be in either a direct form or indirect. A direct method is by observing and recording the behavior firsthand. The indirect method involves gathering the information secondhand through interviews or questionnaires. It is also important to note the topographies and functions of the behavior being emitted and observed because this can help with the assessment.
2. The next concept I will remember and liked from this section was the idea of looking at behavior modification as a type of experiment. When you have completed a functional assessment the plan you make to change the behavior is somewhat of a hypothesis. The individual then can test out or experiment with this hypothesis in their behavioral intervention and see if it works. That is why recording can be so crucial. If the intervention fails the person can go back and make adjustments to the plan or form a new one altogether.
3. The last concept I will remember from this section was the different schedules of reinforcement. The section talked about how after you have been working on the target behavior a lot you might not feel the need for continuous reinforcement, so you begin a “leaning out” which simply means to decrease how often you reinforce. Or you could also put yourself on a random reinforcement schedule. Another option is to stop reinforcing yourself altogether because the behavior itself has become a natural contingency and is rewarding in itself.
I liked how the section began by reviewing how behavior modification works in the simplest of terms. It reviewed how one has to pick a behavior that they want to increase through reinforcement or decrease/ extinguish through punishment. From there the person should set a specific goal that focuses around a target behavior and learn how to elicit this target behavior by controlling the antecedent and how to maintain by what consequences the behavior brings about.
I disliked the review problems in this section. I felt like they were just review from other sections.
Terms: functional assessment, behavior, baseline, antecedents, elicit, direct functional assessment, indirect functional assessment, topographies, functions, emit, behavior modification, experiment, hypothesis, behavioral intervention, recording, schedules of reinforcement, continuous reinforcement, leaning out, reinforce, random reinforcement, natural contingency, reward, reinforcement, extinguish, punishment, goal, target behavior, consequence
Section 5.3
What are three things you will remember from what you read in the chapter? Why?
1. Direct assessment is one thing that I will take from this section. It sounds very self-explanatory but looking at it a little more in depth it requires a little more work than what most would think. For example, when your pizza is done in the oven you take it out and you eat it. So in the antecedent of cooking a pizza, your behavior is to take the pizza out of the oven so you have the consequence of being able to eat unburned pizza. But looking at it more closely there are things missing. For instance, how did you take the pizza out of the oven because you can’t do it without some sort of hot pad or device or you’ll burn your hand.
2. Everything behavior we display (or don’t display) serves some sort of purpose for us whether we realize it or not. When looking at the positive or negative behaviors we emit we can hypothesize as to why are displaying these behaviors. We can then experiment with what will work to increase or decrease these behaviors we want to change if we even want to change them.
3. I will also remember that functional assessment is basically testing out our hypothesis. When reading over the description of the purpose of functional assessment that is how I perceived it.
What was one thing that you really liked that was in the chapter? Why?
I liked the clarity in the reading. I feel as though reading this section helped get a little more in depth in what we are discussing. I felt that how to observe our behavior and how to experiment and change the behavior if we wish, was covered well.
What was one thing that you disliked that was in the chapter? Why?
I didn’t really care for the numerous examples that we were to give. I understand that these are provided for our own benefit and to make us actually think about what we are reading but sometimes it can seem a little repetitive.
For Section 5.3
There are many things that I will remember from reading this section, one of them being that a functional assessment of behavior helps you develop a hypothesis regarding the relationship between the ABCs (antecedent, behavior, consequence) of behavior. This then becomes the basis for future intervention to decrease undesirable behavior and increase desirable behavior. I know that I will remember this information because this section of reading made sure to focus on the topic of functional assessment, and I believe that it is important information that will help guide me to success when it comes to making sure I attain my goal.
Another thing that I know I will remember from reading this section is that you can examine functions to help develop a working hypothesis of why the behavior occurs in the first place. By figuring out what is reinforcing the behavior, we could possibly change the contingencies and then extinguish the behavior. All of this information was shared in a larger discussion about topography and function. I know that I will remember this information because we have been learning about this topic little by little throughout the semester, and therefore I already know a lot about it. Since this reading gave me a little more information on it, I will add it to what we have already learned.
A final piece of information from the reading that I will remember is that you can experiment with behavioral interventions. To do so, you need an existing baseline before the intervention takes place. Next, the intervention is implemented and behavior is continually recorded. If the intervention doesn’t change the frequency of the target behavior in the way that we would like it to, then we would need to alter the intervention or reevaluate the original hypothesis. I know that I will remember this bit of information because of the fact that it makes sense. When something does not work how you want it to, go back and try again. Only then will you be able to find what will work in your favor.
Something that I especially enjoyed from the section was when it discussed direct assessment versus indirect assessment. Direct assessment involves the observation and recording of behaviors, done by the individual, by others, or electronically. These observations happen under naturally occurring conditions and involve writing the ABCs in a behavioral diary. This will allow there to be accurate recording and documentation. Indirect assessment, on the other hand, might involve the use of an interview process or a questionnaire. The ABCs are identified through these processes along with the function of the behavior. Indirect assessments may be used if the individual is not able to communicate or is unwilling to communicate, and an advantage to this is that observers may be less subjective. I really liked this section, especially the part about indirect assessment, because of the fact that I work with children in a group home who are intellectually disabled and are also nonverbal. It would make sense that they would be indirectly assessed versus directly assessed due to reasons stated above.
Something that I did not particularly like from this section was that there are so many different things that could be wrong with your whole behavior modification process if your intervention isn’t working the way that you would like it to. You might have to go back and completely change your hypothesis, your target behavior, your reinforcement schedule, or many other things just to be able to achieve what you are trying to do. I didn’t like reading this because it makes things a lot more frustrating. It makes me realize that behavior modification is really not all that simple. There is a lot of thought that goes into it, which makes me want to get it right on the very first try instead of having to go back after I have already started and tweak things. I also didn’t really care for how this section was set up. There were a lot of words and not very many things breaking all of it up. This made it confusing to read in some areas, and I found myself having to go back and reread certain parts multiple times before they made sense. Other than that, I am happy with what I read throughout this section!
All in all, I felt that I understood what was discussed in this reading section. I am looking forward to going over this material in class on Thursday! I have already implemented a behavioral program for my goal I am working on and have continued collecting data. I will hand my graph in during class!
Terms: functional assessment of behavior, hypothesis, antecedent, behavior, consequence, intervention, goal, reinforcing, contingencies, extinguish, topography, function, experiment, baseline, target behavior, direct assessment, indirect assessment, documentation, behavioral diary, behavior modification, reinforcement schedule, behavioral program, data
Section 5.3
1. The first thing I will emit to remember is the steps involved in the behavior modification process. Before starting the behavior modification process you need to think of a behavior you want to reinforce or punish. Then you start with the first step which is to describe the target behavior. This allows you to focus more on the specific behavior and learn what elicits the behavior. The second step is to describe the consequences. This allows you to pay attention and document the occasions when the behavior occurs. The third step you describe the antecedents. This allows you to define what the antecedents in relation to the target behavior are. The fourth step is to examine the ABCs. Then the five and six step is to devise new antecedents and consequences and evaluate the outcome.
2. The second thing I will emit to remember is the term functional assessment of the behavior. Functional assessment of the behavior is designed to help you develop a hypothesis regarding the relationship between the ABCs of behavior. Functional assessment is used to help try to change a behavior. It can help identify the antecedents in which the behavior occurs and show how the results of the behavior function to maintain in (consequences). This allows you to hypothesis why the behavior was occurring in the first place.
3. The third thing I will emit to remember is the difference between direct assessment and indirect assessment. Direct assessment involves observing the behaviors while they are occurring. This involves recording the behavior which can be done by an individual, by others, or electronically. The observations are made under naturally occurring conditions. Direct assessment determines the ABCs. Indirect assessment involves gathering information about the behaviors usually through the second party sources. This could involve the use of an interview process or even a questionnaire. It is important to keep an informational record about that behavior you are observing.
One thing I found pleasant about this section was going through the steps in behavior modification process. I think it is important to understand how these steps work to help change your target behavior. It is easier to understand since I have a better understanding of all the terms. I also found it pleasant to better understand when it is necessary to reinforce your target behavior. This involves making your reinforcement schedule leaner. There wasn’t anything I disliked about this section. I found this section to be very helpful. The only thing I question is whether or not I did the function and intervention examples correctly.
My baseline is complete and I have started reinforcing/ recording my target behavior.
Terms: emit, behavior modification, reinforce, punish, target behavior, behavior, elicits, antecedents, consequences, baseline, hypotheses, functional assessment, direct assessment, indirect assessment, pleasant, and reinforcement schedule
5.3 The first thing I will evoke into my memory from reading this chapter is that the functional assessment of behavior is used to design a hypothesis on how the behavior relates to the ABC’s. This lets me know that when I decided to manipulate a behavior or even extinguish it I need to look at the antecedents and the consequences that go along with the behavior. If these are negative consequences which I would assume they would be if I want to extinguish it, then I will have an easier time going about my plan.
The second thing I will evoke into my memory from this chapter is not all the functions of the behavior we want to manipulate are aversive. The chapter talks about how someone might want to control their eating. We all know that we need to eat to stay alive however it can also be used as an activity when we are bored which leads into aversive consequences. It is appropriate to look at all the functions of the behavior at hand before we decide to manipulate them. Some of the functions may we rewarding to us.
The third thing I will evoke into my memory from this chapter is that reinforcement is not something that needs to be given all the time. It can be “leaned out”. This means if you want a behavior to occur all the time like getting a young child to emit the behavior of going bathroom by themselves, at first you may give them candy when they do it but after awhile it becomes second nature (if you will) and reinforcement is no longer needed. It needs to be done as a process, first give a lot of candy and praise and as it become more common give less and less. Don’t just suddenly stop giving it.
One thing I found desirable about this chapter was the beginning. It elicited me to think back at the previous chapters and focus on the key points. I found that it also helped in reading the rest of chapter 5.3 by focusing on key topics that the chapter dealt with.
One thing I found aversive about the chapter was that once again there was no summary. I find the summary rewarding so when I print out the chapters and want to look back on them for reassurance on a specific topic, I don’t have to read through each chapter again I can simply scroll through the summary and see if it’s covered.
Terms: aversive, reinforcing, behavior, function of behavior, evoke, elicit, emit, antecedents, manipulate, consequences, rewarding
Chapter 5.3
1) The first thing that I will remember from this section is that functional assessments are meant to develop a hypothesis as to which situations elicit a target behavior. In order to increase the chances of a successful behavioral intervention, we have to analyze the ABC's of our behaviors to gain a better understanding of why we partake in certain behaviors.
2) The second thing that I will remember is that once we develop a working hypothesis, we get to do some experimenting to see which types of reinforcement or punishment are more effect to increase or reduce the frequency of our emitted target behavior. Tweaking and changing our antecedents can directly impact the consequences of the behavior we want to change, so it is easy to see whether or not our experiments are working.
3) The third thing that I will remember is the difference between direct assessments and indirect assessments. Direct assessments are done through natural observation and written records, whereas indirect assessments are done through interviews and questionnaires/surveys. Natural contingencies allow for the best accurate recordings of behavioral changes including reinforcement, punishment, and extinguishing behaviors. More objective contingencies result from indirect assessments allow for communication with individuals who have troubles with communication about their behaviors.
One thing that I liked about this chapter was by explaining how to analyze a behavior in-depth, it really helped me understand how to determine what works and what doesn't work in terms of experimenting with changes. One thing that I didn't like was how repetitive the examples were since we've discussed all of them multiple times and it seems we explain the same basic changes most of the time.
Terms used: functional assessments, elicit, behavioral intervention, ABC, experimenting, reinforcement, punishment, emit, target behavior, antecedents, consequences, direct assessments, indirect assessments, contingency, extinguish
5.3
Three things I'll remember from this chapter are:
a)If a person knows what is reinforcing their behavior, changing the contingencies can occur and the likelyhood of extinguishing the desired behavior is possible. I'll remember this because I think reinforcemnet is a big part of getting our desired outcome.
b)Because the correct intervention is hard to emit, having different hypothesis will help us when one of them fails. I'll remember this because with my own target behavior, I have changed the intervention a couple of times.
c)The assessment methods. Direct assessment is observing and recording of behaviors while indirect assessment is gathering information about behaviors through other people. I'll remember this because for our project we are using both of these methods. We are using direct assessment ourselves to gather information outside of class, however during class we get to hear about other behaviors that other students have gathered infromation on.
One thing I liked about this chapter was that the information was useful for understnading how to change our own target behaviors that we are working on changing now.
One thing I didn't like about this chapter was there wasn't a summmary. I like reading the summary at the end just to see the key points and maybe see if I took the right material away from the chapter.
Terms used: Target behavior, emit, direct assessment, indiret assessment, contingencies, extinguish, reinforcing, intervention, modify(change), hypothesis
Sec 5.3
Direct Assessment: When you are trying to change your behavior, you need to keep track of your changes, and your interventions. This is an important step in emitting a new behavior, and should involve the creation of a hypothesis list. This step is one that helps you determine the ABC's of your behavior change. You should look for problems that are preventing you from emitting the desired response, as well as what you can do to change it. I found this to be important because it is a new concept, that I was vaguely aware of, but am now much more knowledgeable about.
Indirect Assessment: This involves asking someone to help categorize your behavior, and monitor it. Because we cannot always be objective towards ourselves. The saying "I am my own worst critic" typically is true. We tend to not be objective towards our own behaviors. This can be just as useful in directing a behavior change, and might allow you to be more successful because you are not categorizing your own behavior. Your own behaviors are often misinterpreted by yourself, and characterized more favorable towards you.
Hypothesis: Although this may not seem like a crucial step in modifying your behavior, it definitely is. This can be an essential part in helping your emit a desired behavior. Hypothesizing why you are not emitting a certain response, can be helpful in helping your produce change. I find this to be important because it gives BMod its scientific bases. Although I would classify it as a soft science.
There was nothing in this section I disliked except for the fact that it was lacking a review section, but I feel like it is justified due to its briefness.
I liked this section because it gave me more information on how to modify my behavior, as well as others. This section is important, because it shows me more steps in helping me achieve my goals.
Terms: Direct Assessment, Behavior, Interventions, Emitting, Hypothesis, Response, Indirect Assessment,
Section 5.3
Three things stuck out to me from this chapter: function, hypothesis, intervention.
I found out that the functional analysis is analyzing the function of the behavior. It was great to combine the information we learned earlier in class about the topography of behaviors to making behavioral interventions. This is really important when trying to identify a way to modify the behavior long term.
Find out the function? Now try to find another behavior that perform the same function. This was an application of the information that we learned about differential reinforcement of other (DRO). Is there a behavior that performs the same function, that will compete with the target behavior? Also, is there a relationship between antecedents and behavior, or behavior and consequences?
Picked a DRO? start tracking your progress. The most important thing about intervention tracking is to focus on the antecedents and consequences. What is triggering the behavior? We is causing it to be repeated? I was watching The Dog Whisperer a yesterday and saw this illustrated. There was a dog that was displaying an aggressive target behavior. As soon as the dog whisperer come the analyze the dog, he saw that the another dog was eliciting the agressive behavior by making specific body language. After he identified the problem, he was about to find a way to intervene.
I liked how this chapter brought together many earlier concepts that we learned in this book. It helps me learn the old concepts even better.
I didn't like all the empty box examples is this chapter. I could see how it might be nice to hand-write in when reading a printed copy, but I was reading it on a computer screen and it took longer to scroll down.
I started my intervention and also recording of my target behavior.
Terms: antecedent, consequence, behavior, target behavior, eliciting, intervention, differential reinforcement of other, functional assessment, topography, hypothesis.
Week 13 Tuesday 11/13/12 Blog
After reading section 5.3, please respond to the following questions.
What are three things you will remember from what you read in the chapter? Why?
I learned that there are six steps to behavior modification and each one of them involves its own calculation and individual process. I learned that identifying the target behavior is actually only step one and modifying this target behavior can take much effort. I learned that a functional assessment is step 4 in the process. During functional assessment one can assess scenario during which behavior tends to occur including time of day or week and presence of other influential individuals or triggers.
These things I will remember because in reflecting on the situational circumstances of our behavior we are able to really begin to understand and help ourselves predict occasions that tend to have successful outcomes for ourselves and others.
What was one thing that you really liked that was in the chapter? Why?
I really enjoy getting very specific with time and place and participants in our functional assessments. This step provides us an opportunity to amend our process to better fit the person and situation to potential create stronger tendencies for successful behavior modifications.
What was one thing
that you disliked that was in the chapter? Why?
I disliked specifics as well because this can be very challenging. It can take brutal honesty too to reflect on some of the true triggers to our behaviors. some of the persons, places, and things that motivate our behavior are not very dignified, and thus may need consideration in and of themselves. It is in this functional assessment processing that I dislike, but find very rewarding in the end. Thanks!! -ebs- 11/13/12 @ 1602hrs. CentricTime
Term% behavior modification, triggers, behavior, functional assessment, target behavior, reward, participants, outcomes
Section 5.3
Three things I will remember from this section:
1. I will remember that having a specific target behavior allows us to focus on the specific problem and learn what elicits the behavior along with its contingencies.
2. I will remeber that examining the function of the behavior will help develop a hypothesis of what elicits the beheavior.
3. I will remeber that there can be direct and indirect assessments. Direct assessments are when you examine the behavior as it occurs under natural conditions. Indirect assessments are working through a second party.
I enjoyed this section because it gave me insight on how to modify behavior. There was nothing I did not like about this specific section.
Terms used: Elict, direct assessment, indirect assessment, self-directed behavior modification, contingencies, functional assessment of behavior, target behavior.
Section 5.3
Three things I will remember from this chapter is that 1) functional assessment allows us to figure out what is wrong with our goal, that 2) direct assessment uses observation and 3) indirect assessment uses an interview or questionnaire process. One thing I liked about this chapter was that it had what direct and indirect assessment includes. However, one thing I disliked was that this chapter was longer than it should have been.
Terms: functional assessment, direct assessment, indirect assessment
The first thing I will remember is the review of the steps involved in behavior modification. It was a good review of that modification begins with a behavior that we either want to reinforce/increase or punish/decrease. After the targeted behavior is recognized and defined, we can focus on the problem and figure out what elicits the behavior emitted. The small review will be remembered because sometimes it gets lost within all the other information.
The second thing is the functional assessment of behavior. The functional assessment of behavior is designed to help you form a hypothesis regarding the relationship between the ABC's of behavior. It helps identify the antecedents in which the behaviors occur and how the consequences of the behavior. When it comes to our behavior modification, this was needed in order to help distinguish what behavior we were wanting to reinforce or punish.
The third thing I will remember involves direct assessment and indirect assessment. Direct assessment involves the observation and recording of behaviors through the individual or others. Something we are doing for our behavior modification. Indirect assessment also involves observation and recording. However, with indirect assessment an interview process or questionnaire is involved. When doing our behavior modification process we focused on direct assessment, however in other classes I have used indirect assessment.
One thing I really liked was the quick review in the beginning. With all the information in very section the basics tend to get lost so the quick review was helpful.
Again, there really wasn't one thing I didn't like. The section gave a lot of information in an sequence that made sense and with examples that helped.
Terms Used: reinforce, punish, targeted behavior, elicits, emitted, functional assessment of behavior, antecedents, consequences, direct assessment, indirect assessment
5.3
Three Things I Will Remember From This Section:
1. Often times a behavior occurs because of a specific antecedent. So keeping track of what the antecedent triggers the target behavior is very important because then you know what tempts the behavior to occur. For example the antecedent to my target behavior, which is working out, is either the gym being too full or waiting too late in the day and getting lazy.
2. You can use a functional assessment of behavior to help you develop a hypothesis between the ABCs and the behavior. If you discover the contingencies that occur with the behavior it makes it a lot easier to distinguish. So once you develop a hypothesis like I did above about going to the gym too late or showing up and the gym being too full. You can use that information to form an intervention. You can increase that targeted behavior through reinforcement or decrease the behavior by substituting it with a behavior that provides the same function.
3. If your intervention fails the first time you may need to go back and experiment to make changes in the current plan. Very rarely are we successful at changing the behavior on the first attempt. There are two ways that you can do a functional assessment. The first is a direct assessment which involves either recording you behavior and using observation; much like we are currently doing in class. The other is an indirect assessment which often times involves an interview.
I really like that this chapter was relevant to the current behavioral modification that we are doing in class. I disliked the material in this section because some of it was review and other parts we just not appealing.
Terms: Antecedent, Target Behavior, Functional Assessment of Behavior, Hypothesis, Behavior, Function, Distinguish, Experiment, Direct Assessment, Indirect Assessment
5.3
One thing I will remember is the functional assessment of behavior. This is used to help develop a hypothesis between the antecedent, behavior and consequences that may be happening. It is important that when someone is doing this assessment that they are very observant and are able to write down everything that may be happening in order to come up with a valid hypothesis. For one of the examples in the book I have for functions of eating, that some of them are because one is hungry, or stressed, or bored. There are many other reasons to why this may be happening and it is important that by figuring out why the reasons are it could be used to help intervene and have some sort of intervention.
Another thing I will remember is direct assessment. This involves the observation and recording of behaviors. This goes along with the functional assessment and that it is efficient if every observation should be recorded. If we say that we will remember something, we probably won’t and then it won’t be recorded. Something I noticed when I study is that I either have music on or the tv in the background, or I’m eating. I might not notice this right away, but by recording these behaviors, I can see the trends that are occurring.
Another thing I will remember is indirect assessment. This can be used through either an interview process or a questionnaire. This can be helpful if outside observers provide more of an insight or if the individual is unable to communicate. I think this is helpful with supplementing direct assessment, and could provide valuable data. I also think that sometimes one needs to look at things from another perspective in order to get the whole picture.
I liked the information in this chapter, it was easy to follow. I didn’t like how there were so many examples, it was an easy concept so I got kind of annoyed that I had to keep emitting this behavior of filling out the sheets.
Terms: functional assessment of behavior, antecedent, behavior, consequence, hypothesis, observant, valid, functions, intervention, direct assessment, observation, indirect assessment, data, emitting
Section 5.3
This reading elicited the memory of these three concepts:
1.) It is important to notice the circumstances (antecedents) in which the target behavior occurs and what happens afterwards (consequence) so a functional assessment can be conducted. A functional assessment is designed to help come up with a hypothesis regarding the ABC's of behavior. The assessment is basically an educated guess to what the function of the target behavior is.
2.) The functional analysis of behavior can be either direct or indirect. A direct assessment involves the observation and recording done by the individual, others, or electronically of the behavior. This observation is made under naturally occurring conditions. The indirect assessment involves the use of an interview with parents, teachers, or care givers or a questionnaire. This type of assessment is often necessary when an individual is unable to communicate.
3.) It is not uncommon to change and redefine the target behavior and contingencies during the modification process. We do not always hit the correct intervention on the first try. It is actually desirable to try new approaches because it is a sign of a dynamic intervention. This makes me feel better because I feel like I keep changing my reinforcement and reinforcement schedule.
I liked that this section explained that we need to figure out in what circumstances the target behavior occurs, for what function, and what the consequence is when the behavior is emitted. It helps us decide what will work, what does work, and what doesn't work.
I did not like that there was no summary again. I really enjoy those overviews of the topics within the section because they help me focus in on those specific concepts.
I am continuing to record my baseline without implementing my intervention. I will admit that I am struggling to commit to my target behavior because I am still trying to figure out what causes me to avoid working out in the first place. Also, I cannot seem to stick with a reinforcer... I am thinking about treating myself to a delicious treat at the end of the week if I do an ab workout for any amount of time.
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Terms: Behavior, Target Behavior, Antecedent, Consequence, Emit, Elicit, Desirable, Reinforcer, Reinforcement, Reinforcement Schedule, Functional Assessment, Intervention, Modification Process, Baseline, Contingencies, Direct and Indirect Assessment
I can recall the terms functional assessment, experiment, and direct assessment. Although there is not a clear definition of functional assessment in the section, I get the idea that it is about looking at the function of behavior and creating hypothesis. This assessment tries to determine the function so we can come up with alternatives for the behavior. The experiment can also help us test the hypothesis, so we can figure out the underlying motivation and adjust the behavior according to its cause. Direct assessment is simply straightforward observation. Its opposite is indirect assessment, which uses surveys or interviews to gather data. This approach has more room for error.
I like the ideas of experiment and testing hypothesis. The scientific method makes the whole process more interesting, so we are not limited only to interventions, but have the opportunities for new discovery as well. Modifying behavior is more fun with experiments.
I dislike the example of giving fingers. Frankly I still do not understand the situation described in the text. I have never seen people doing that on a highway, and I do not know why people would want to do that in a car moving so fast. How can you see hand gestures in a car that passes you in seconds? Well, I have no clue.
Terms: functional assessment, experiment, direct assessment, indirect assessment
5.3
1. I will remember a lot of things from this chapter. The first thing I will remember is that the first step to changing a behavior is to describe the target behavior. This is important because there is no way to successfully change a behavior if your not sure what needs to be changed. I think this is important because
2. The second thing I will remember from this chapter is the functional assessment. I found this term to be very interesting. It is the process of determining what events reinforce the behavior that is being observed. For example this would be like finding out that a dog emits a whining behavior because the owner always gives it a treat to calm it down. The dog sees the treat as a positive reinforcement for whining so the dog will continue to whine to get treats.
3. The third thing I will remember from this chapter is about indirect assessment. This is the process of using things such as interviews or questionnaires to determine the intervention needed to successfully change the behavior. I thought it was interesting that the interviews could be given to teachers, parents, caregivers, and the individual that is in need of the behavioral change. I thought it was interesting how they can use these different sources to strategize a plan.
I liked this chapter because it showed the important steps to modify a behavior and the different techniques that can be used to go about this difficult process.
Terms: reinforcement, emit, target behavior, intervention, indirect assessment, and functional assessment.
Section 5.3
There are three things that I will elicit in remembering from this section. First, the understanding of the functional assessment of behavior. This is planned to help determine a hypothesis for the ABC's of the behavior that you are interested in modifying. We use this to know what is setting the occasion for the behavior and what the consequence is for that behavior. By keeping an accurate record of the functional assessment, this will better help you to find different hypotheses for your experiment in modification.
Secondly, I will remember that you may need to emit several hypotheses for your experiment. This is a trail and error which is determined by the information from your baseline that you collect before you conduct the experiment. This helps with determining why the behavior that is needing to be modified is elicited to begin with. Knowing what the antecedent is helps to channel the emitted behavior else where.
Lastly, I will remember the difference between indirect and direct assessment. Indirect assessment is best used for those who need a less subjective assessment. This can be done by conducting interviews or a collection of questions from those who are familiar with the individual's behavior. Also, this helps with different options for hypotheses. Direct assessments are those that we give to ourselves. Its important to be as honest and accurate as possible, to identify the antecedent and consequence of the behavior.
I did not dislike anything about this section. I enjoyed getting a in depth understanding of the different steps that are involved in modifying a behavior. This allows for me to get a better understanding as to how I can really improve my behavior modification.
5.3
3 things I will remember:
1. Steps involved in the behavior modification process:
a. Step 1: Describe the target behavior
b. Step 2: Describe the consequences
c. Step 3: Describe the antecedents
d. Step 4: Examine the ABCs (Functional Assessment)
e. Step 5: Devise new antecedents and consequences
f. Step 6: Evaluate the outcome
2. One thing I know I can remember is an indirect assessment. This is where and interview can be done in a way that is more of a questionnaire , it’s a way that the outside observer is less subjective.
3. And the direct assessment is where the observation of the behavior is also recorded. Where the recording is able to be done by the individual emitting the behavior, by the observer, others, or electronically.
4. Functional assessment is another idea that sticks to mind. It’s when a person who is trying to change a behavior examines the baseline of the data that they have collected about their targeted behavior. Then they form a plan to work around/with the antecedents that they have previously came up with.
5. Different schedules of reinforcement is talked about, one you work on a target behavior for so long you may not feel like it needs continuous reinforcement so you start decreasing how often you reinforce the behavior.
6. There wasn’t anything I didn’t like about this chapter.
7. What I did like about this chapter was how summarized a lot of material that we started with in the beginning like: reinforce goes with increase and punish goes with decrease, it’s always nice to just have litter refreshers in classes where you are always continuing in reading and builds on top of each other.
Terms: Behavior modification, target behavior, consequences, antecedents, abc, functional, assessment, indirect assessment, direct assessment, behavior, emitting, reinforce, punish, Functional assessment, Different schedule of reinforcement, continuous reinforcement.
5.3
One thing that I will remember from this section is the steps from behavior modification. Step one being describe the target behavior. Step two is describe the consequences. Step three is describe the antecedents. Step four is examine the ABC's (functional assessment), which is used to help you develop a hypothesis of the relationship of the ABCs of your behavior. Step five is devise a new antecedent and consequences. Finally, step six is evaluate the outcome.
The second thing that I will remember from this section is after you have a hypothesis you begin experimenting. The baseline is used as the control group for the experiment.
The third thing that I will remember is that the functional analysis of behavior is either a direct assessment or indirect assessment. Direct assessment is observing the behaviors as they occur. Indirect is gathering your information from secondary sources.
One thing that I liked from this chapter was that it reviewed over some of the beginning material. Its nice to have a refresher when we have continuous reading that builds on top of each other.
One thing that I didnt like about this particular section was that there wasnt a summary at the end of the section that went over the new material we learned.
Section 5.3
As I emit to comprehend this section, I elicited the topography of behavior modification in that, to distinguish a behavior, it has to be targeted. This is due to the fact that a target behavior is easy to distinguish by either reinforcing it or punishing it. The second thing I elicited tied up with the scenario that indicates when measuring your behavior, it is better to incorporate a functional assessment of the behavior I am trying to modify. This is done in order to investigate the behavior in what the reinforcement may be to design an intervention to decrease the aversive behavior. The third thing elicited was experimenting. After categorizing behaviors in topography, experimenting is done to determine the hypothesis of how the behavior is functioning and the circumstances in which it occurs. We then know this is accurate once the intervention works.
Even though we’ve covered this previously, I still like how we depend on an intervention to distinguish whether our behavior is increasing or decreasing. If either or is reoccurring, we then have to restate the hypothesis and go over the same steps. One thing I dislike is direct assessment. I do not focus nor do well on tasks that I am good at knowing that I am being watched directly. Indirect behaviors sometimes get uncomfortable especially when family members are around and personal questions are asked.
Terms used:
Emit
Comprehend
Elicited
Topography
Behavior modification
Distinguish a behavior,
Target behavior
Reinforcing
Punishing
Measuring your behavior
Functional assessment of the behavior
Intervention
Aversive behavior
Experimenting
Increasing
Decreasing
Reoccurring
Terms used:
Indirect
Direct assessment
5.3
This section covers the functional assessment of behavior. The functional assessment of behavior deals with measuring the instances and circumstances in which the individual is emitting the target behavior. I will remember that in order to functionally assess our behavior, we need to consider it's function or us. We can make hypothesis and test them through interventions to see what works. Functional assessment relies on a trial and error basis to help pinpoint exactly what function the target behavior serves. Another thing I will remember from this chapter is that their are two ways to assess a target behavior. One is through direct assessment. Direct assessment is when the behaviors are directly observed and recorded. Indirect assessment involves the gathering of information from the peers of the person who is emitting the target behavior and putting it together to determine the best route to take when it comes to intervention. I liked the chapters explanation of how to get to the roots of the target behavior to find out it's function. Once you know it's function it can help you to better understand what elicits you to emit the target behavior. Sometimes I found it hard to come up with the function of certain behaviors mentioned in the chapter. That was really the only thing I didn't like.
Functional Assessment of Behavior, Emit, Target Behavior, Function, Intervention, Elicit, Direct/Indirect Assessment
One thing I will remember is the step of forming a hypothesis in functional assessment. A hypothesis is important in understanding how is the behavior is functioning and what antecedent is eliciting it. I felt that the finger example was a good demonstration of why forming a hypothesis and experimenting with it was important. Another thing I will remember is the direct version of functional assessment. Direct assessment involves observing and recording of behaviors, much like an experiment might. It can be done by the individual themselves or by others. A third thing I will remember is the indirect version of functional assessment. Indirect assessments usually involve things like questionnaires or interviews. Indirect assessment is used when the individual in question is unable or unwilling to communicate for whatever reason. Something I liked about the chapter was the relation of various concepts to real world examples, like the “giving the finger” example I mentioned earlier. One thing I disliked about the chapter was how much time it spent reviewing earlier lessons on things like topography, but I understand that it was important in relation to the topic.
Terms: hypothesis, functional assessment, behavior, antecedent, eliciting, experiment, direct assessment, indirect assessment
Section 5.3
First: functional assessment. Looking at the ABC’s and seeing how they interact and impact each other can be important when you are looking for or have found a pattern. Second: experimenting to see which behavioral intervention is the best for correcting or reinforcing a behavior. If at first you don’t succeed, pick a different intervention. Third: natural contingencies. I used to have a good feeling when reading but with classes it has become an assignment instead of a joy. I look forward to (hopefully) reading for pleasure instead of just for homework.
I kind of liked the direct and indirect assessment. I think they both have their benefits. Direct can allow you to record behaviors that other people may not see. Not because they are not visible but because they are so routine that the people around you don’t see them as the antecedent for your behavior. While indirect behavior can allow others to point out behaviors that you may not even notice that you engage in. But these can both act as downfalls to the other. With direct behavior you may do something that only other people see because it is already your norm. Or with indirect there may be behaviors that you do that others don’t see because they are not around at the time when you engage in the behavior.
Everything regarding modifying a behavior is becoming so scientific. I miss the good old days when the way to modify a behavior was you got a sticker on your chart that was on the frig. Helped me get a morning routine down and not be late for school. Maybe I need to do that again but for my reading goal.
Terms: functional assessment, behavior, experimenting, behavioral intervention, reinforcing, natural contingencies, direct assessment, indirect assessment, and antecedent.
5.3
The first thing I will remember about this chapter is how antecedents and contingencies influence and modify behavior. It didn’t really occur to me in the context of modifying our own behavior how influential antecedents are. For example with my behavioral modification goal I want to increase how often I exercise to three times a week for at least 35 minutes. If the antecedent is that I am feeling sick on my stomach and tired I am less likely to emit the behavior of exercising as opposed to the antecedent of me feeling energized and relatively well. The contingencies or consequences work the same way only after and may influence the behavior the next time. For example if the consequence that followed my workout was that I was sick afterwards I may be less likely to emit the behavior again.
This next part I will remember is also linked to the last concept. It becomes important to understanding the contingencies and circumstances in which the behavior of not exercising is emitted. For example when I have a headache I find that I do not exercise or if I have a lot of homework I end up not exercising. Another circumstance I found in which I do not emit the behavior of exercising is when my husband cannot go with me to exercise.
So in continuation with the parts previously discussed before, I will also remember how an intervention fits into the equation. So as to experimenting with an intervention, basically we are trying different ways to influence the behavior; which in my case I am trying to increase. So as an experiment what I can try is a couple on interventions. One of the circumstances that influence my behavior to exercise is having a headache. So I could try two different experiments, one is that I try exercising with the headache and see how the exercise affects it (does it make it worse, does it stay the same, or could it actually make it better), or two I could lay down and wait for the headache to pass and go in at a later time to exercise. Another circumstance that I addressed was when I have a lot of homework I do not exercise. An intervention I could try is to do my exercise behavior in intervals of 10 minutes after doing homework for 30 to 45 minutes, that way it isn’t one chunk of time rather used as a reward and a break from homework.
I really liked this chapter! It gave me a lot of insight into why I may not be emitting the behavior I desire and also how I can work to change that.
5.3
1. One thing that I will remember from this section are the steps to the behavior modification process.
1: Describe the target behavior
2: Describe the consequences
3: Describe the antecedents
4: Examine the ABCs
5: Devise new antecedents and consequences
6: Evaluate the outcome
2. Another thing that I will remember from this section is the functional assessment of behavior. This means that it is designed to help you develop a hypothesis based on the relationship between the ABC’s of behavior.
3. Also I will remember direct assessment and indirect. This involves the observation and recordingof behaviors. The observations are done under natural occurring conditions. Indirect might involved the use of an interview or a questionnaire.
One thing I liked about this chapter is that is goes into depth about step four, and how each section is defining each step in depth so it helps us better understand what we are learning.
There wasn’t anything I didn’t like about this chapter other than it was a little on the boring side, but you are always going to have sections that are more boring than others.
5.3
The first thing I'll remember is the idea of Functional Assessment, which was the topic of this section. In functional assessment you observe a behavior through its antecedents and its consequences. Then after seeing what kind of response the behavior elicits can start hyphothesizing as to what causes the behavior and what causes it to be reinforced. The next step includes experimenting, which is just like any other experiment in any other science, through a series of trial and error you elicit different things out of the client to get them to emit a corrected behavior. The next thing I'll remember is that there are two types of assessment, direct and indirect. Direct assessment is observing the subject in a naturally occuring environment for the behavior (so say at school, work, etc). This is a good approach to use when you want to see just what exactly elicits the behavior that you're trying to change. While indirect on the other is where you'd be questioning either teachers, parents, or the subject themselves about the behavior that needs changing. This really helps because you're hearing about the behavior from the ones it affects most and you're not having to be objective about Oh is it this or that. The final thing I'll remember is that when making a new behvior for the antecedent, that tweaking is going to be a key thing for the ongoing modification. I believe the saying goes along the lines of most plans don't survive first contact could apply rather well here. I really liked the chapter and how well it explained all the concepts with relateable examples. There was nothing really to dislike for the chapter either, excellent chapter!
Terms: Antecedent, Behavior, Consequence, Emit, Elicit, Functional Assessment, Direct, Indirect Assessment.
When reading this section, I learned the difference between indirect and direct assessment and the type of modification determines which form of assessment will be more successful. Indirect assessment is when an outsider assesses the behavioral modification through things like an interview or a questionnaire. Direct assessment is self monitored and recorded. It would be better to use indirect assessment to monitor behaviors that the individual does out of habit, like nail biting. Having an outsider observe and keep track of when the behaviors are emitted will show more accurate results. Direct assessment would be better to use when trying to record behaviors that other people wouldn’t notice as well as the individuals themselves.
Another thing I will remember from this section is that there are different schedules of reinforcement and that some schedules are more effective in modifying behavior than others. A continuous schedule of reinforcement is when reinforcement is delivered every time the individual emits the correct behavior. This is a good schedule to start out with, but over time, the individual might become burnt out, or they might become too habituated to receiving the reinforcement every time and it won’t be as rewarding anymore. At this point, it would be wise to stretch the ratio to a fixed ratio schedule, where reinforcement is received, for example, after every other (FR-2) or every fifth (FR-5) time that the behavior is emitted.
The third thing I will remember after this reading is that the baseline data of a behavioral modification program is similar to a control group of an experimental study. I had never thought of baseline data in this way before, but it makes perfect sense. The baseline and the control are both used to compare to the intervention groups and to determine whether or not the intervention is successful.
I really liked that this chapter explained different schedules of reinforcement a little bit. I wish it would have gone into more depth, but I think I gained a pretty good understanding of the concept from the short part that was in the section. I think I could maybe even apply this to my behavioral modification intervention as well.
I think it would have been beneficial to have this reading earlier in the semester. It seems like it would have really helped me with my behavioral modification plan because it offered suggestions like how the plan might need to be modified, to pay attention to the antecedents and change them if possible and necessary, and to be really specific in the target behavior.
Terms: reinforcement, antecedents, target behavior, behavior modification, emit, baseline, schedule of reinforcement, continuous schedule, direct/indirect assessment
Prior to reading section 5.3, I thought about the steps of behavior modification. I may remember steps involved being describing a target behavior, describing consequences, describing antecedents, Examine the ABC's (which is referred to as functional assessment), divise new antecedents and consequences, and finally evaluate the outcome or outcomes. So far, we have been learning about the first three steps and I am excited that we are going further into our topic of behavior modification. I may remember the section discussing direct assessment and indirect assessment. I thought this was interesting, as this is a subject that is brought of often in my Research Methods class. I feel that I relate more to the direct approach when interacting with individuals, if given a choice. I value that the text speaks of recording these interactions, which I find important. I remember the text pointing out that behavior modification is a dynamic process that involves antecedents, consequences, and oh so much more. One thing I liked in the section was the definition of functional assessment. I feel that this, too, is very important and one may want to look out for and modify possible antecedents and consequences. Within this class, we have learned much about the function of behaviors and I think of this often. It is kind of interesting to think of why a friend may making emitting some behaviors while others are not. To think of function of behaviors may be to think one step further and looking at functions of antecedents, consequences and interactions. One thing I disliked in the section was in the first paragraph, speaking of focusing on specific problems, so to modify and intervene. I feel that behaviors may be modified that aren't merely problems. As I read, I thought of mountains, mashed potatoes and flowers and music.
Terms used: behaviors, modify, emit, antecedents, consequences, interactions, functional assessment/ behavior
First thing I will remember from this chapter:
The behavior modification process. This process helps me understand how to change a behavior in steps. When you emit the behavior of using these steps in order to get a more desirable behavior. With each step, it makes a person describe each aversive behavior in order to create a more pleasurable behavior. The steps make a person realize their behavior.
Next thing I will remember is that the function assessment helps us investigate the behavior and what is reinforcing it. Through this, we can make a plan to change the behaviors. I, personally, believe that this ties in with the behavior modification process.
Last thing is using the hypothesis and actually experimenting with it. Now it sounds like we are doing the experiments on a dog or something, but this could be used on humans, since it is humane. :) Look at how some parents try a sticker system in order to potty train a child, or the star system at school for doing your daily jobs and being good. These started out as hypothesizes and turned into plans that create pleasurable behavior emitted by the child or adult.
One thing that I didn't like in the chapter is basically the whole thing. I had a harder time emitting the behavior of being able to read and understand this chapter. I feel like there was so much in the parts with the function assessment.
One thing that I did like is how the function assessment and the behavior modification process really go hand in hand. Im glad it was brought up again in this chapter.
Terms: Behavior, modification, function assessment, emit, aversive, pleasurable, hypothesis, experiment, reinforce
This reading was informative and went over an important theme of 1)direct and indirect approaches for the behavior modifcation assessment. Getting the baseline behavior is important to understanding the organisms behavior. 2) While recording the behavior that is aversive, looking at the antecedent which elicits and emits the behavior of the organism is key. 3 Another important fact learned in this reading was the functional assessment where you look at the abc and target behavior and try to understand and either reinforce or punish the behavior which is aversive. Once you are able to look at this objectively you can make inferences to try and change it, try and try again. 4) One of the things I liked was that after you have been doing something after awhile your behavior gets modified, you can reduce the contigences of award, with random schedule or leaning out. This makes the new behavior and consequence strong and will hopefully make extinction of behaviors. 5) One of the problems I am having with this behaviorial technique is the behavior diary which you need to keep constant tabs of the targeted behavior. For some of the behaviors they are more easily graphed or recorded, some not so easy.
This reading was informative and went over an important theme of 1)direct and indirect approaches for the behavior modifcation assessment. Getting the baseline behavior is important to understanding the organisms behavior. 2) While recording the behavior that is aversive, looking at the antecedent which elicits and emits the behavior of the organism is key. 3 Another important fact learned in this reading was the functional assessment where you look at the abc and target behavior and try to understand and either reinforce or punish the behavior which is aversive. Once you are able to look at this objectively you can make inferences to try and change it, try and try again. 4) One of the things I liked was that after you have been doing something after awhile your behavior gets modified, you can reduce the contigences of award, with random schedule or leaning out. This makes the new behavior and consequence strong and will hopefully make extinction of behaviors. 5) One of the problems I am having with this behaviorial technique is the behavior diary which you need to keep constant tabs of the targeted behavior. For some of the behaviors they are more easily graphed or recorded, some not so easy.
Terms: behavior, antecedent, function assessment, emit, elicit, aversive, behavior diary, reinforce, punishment, target behavior, contingences, random schedule, extinction, leaning out, baseline behavior
5.3
From section 5.3 I will remember the concept of functional assessment, this concept was clear to understand and I was able to apply it to my own behavior modification. A functional assessment is when a person looks into the details as to why their behavior is occurring. During this process the individuals look at the antecedents and the consequences to see which part of the behavior needs to be changed to benefit the individual. In which the individual makes a hypothesis of the reasons why they have the outcome behavior and if the outcome is not what the individual wants. The individual will hopefully come up with intervention strategies that will reduce the behavior, and continue to do so until the behavior is reduced. Secondly, I will remember that there are two types of functional assessment one of which is called direct assessment. Direct assessment is when an individual notice when the target behavior occurs during a natural setting, and takes note of it. This allows the individual to keep a personal record of when the behavior happens and what is happening before or after the behavior occurs. The third think I will remember is the other concept of functional assessment and that is indirect assessment. Indirect assessment is when an individual dose not directly observe the behavior but, rather obtained from another sources. Information is gained from another individual family, friend, peer, teacher ext. even though the information is not directly observed, the information can be less biased coming from a third party.
I liked the steps being listed in this section, it gave a great visual. I also enjoyed the review section; it was a nice summary of what we have gone over in class.
Terms:
Behavior modification, target behavior, consequences, antecedent, functional assessment, direct assessment, indirect assessment, hypothesis, reinforce
I will remember the steps involved in the behavior modification process:
1 describe the target behavior
2 describe the consequences
3 describe the antecedents
4 examine the ABCs (functional assessment)
5 devise new antecedents and consequences
6 evaluate the outcome
These steps are the core vein of this course. We have learned up to 3, and now we learn about step 4.
Step 4 is functional assessment, and I will also remember what this is. Functional assessment is trying to give yourself an outside perspective of a behavior and try to explain it completely by its ABC’s. Find the antecedent, you know the behavior, and try and find the consequence. The A and the C are the forces that affected your behavior. Trying to find these are crucial in trying to analyze your behavior.
Finally, I will remember the two different ways to analyze behaviors: Direct and Indirect. Direct means that you personally observed the behavior and recorded it. Indirect assessment involves getting the information from someone else who has observed the behavior. This can be obtained by interviews, surveys, or questionnaires.
One thing I liked about this chapter was how this chapter was about observing behaviors in real life. This chapter was the applied use of behavior modification.
One thing I didn’t like: I can’t really complain here. I enjoyed this chapter and I enjoyed how in depth the explanations of the analysis were.
Terms: ABC's, functional assessment, direct and indirect assessment