Functional Analysis

Functional Analysis: Find The Function Of The Challenging Behavior!

A functional analysis is the part of the Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA) process that confirms the hypothesis as to what the function of the challenging behavior is. This is the hardest part of the FBA as it yields the most information and consists of experimentally manipulating the environment to test for the function of the challenging behavior. Antecedents and consequences representing those in the client's natural environment are arranged so that their separate effects on problem behavior can be observed and measured (Cooper, Heward & Heron, 2007). In order to do this, the practitioner implements a procedure that sets up specific conditions based on the following four conditions; play, escape, attention and alone condition. By determining which condition produces the highest frequency of behavior, practitioners can be confident that this condition serves as the function of the challenging behavior.

Running the Conditions:

During an FA, the practitioner is testing one condition at a time.

Attention Condition: In the attention condition there is only the practitioner and the client in the room. The practitioner will only give the client attention when the client engages in the challenging behavior. Then attention is removed. This allows the practitioner to determine if the challenging behavior is contingent on access to attention.

Escape Condition: In the escape condition, there is only the practitioner and the client in the room. The practitioner will deliver task demands, when problem behavior occurs the demands are removed. This allows the practitioner to determine if the challenging behavior is contingent on access to escaping demands.

Play Condition: The client is permitted to play. This is the control condition, in which the problem behavior is low because reinforcement is freely available and no demands are placed on the client. 

Alone Condition: The practitioner and the client are alone in the room as the client is engaging in an activity. The practitioner is to give no attention or demands to the client to ensure that the behaviors being observed are not being reinforced by social mediation of others.

If problem behavior occurs frequently in all conditions, or is variable across conditions, responding is considered undifferentiated in which results are inconclusive and the function of the problem behavior is automatic reinforcement or cannot be determined.

Cooper, J. O., Heron, T. E., & Heward, W. L. (2007). Applied Behavior Analysis (3rd Edition). Hoboken, NJ: Pearson Education.

Hanley, G. P., Iwata, B. A., & McCord, B. E. (2003). Functional analysis of problem behavior: a review. Journal of applied behavior analysis, 36(2), 147–185.