Assessment and Treatment of
Problem Behavior
Applied Behavior Analysis
Understanding Behavior
• Behavior is something you say or do
• Why do we behave?
– Dynamic Systems theory
• Attractor Wells
– Economic theory
• Incentives
– Behavior Analytic Theory
• Reinforcers
• Punishers
What is Applied Behavior Analysis? (AKA: ABA)
• ABA focuses on problems of social importance
• ABA can be used to “motivate” students
– Concepts of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation
• Behavior occurs due to influences that can be
observed in the student’s environment
• Procedures can be put in place to change the student
behavior
Why Behavior Occurs
• Main reasons:
– To get attention (positive or negative)
– To get tangible items (food, toys, etc.)
– To get out of something or avoid something
– Likes the way it feels (thumb sucking, nail biting, etc.)
• Appropriate and inappropriate behaviors occur
because they are reinforced.
• Reinforcement means:
– Getting something they want
– Getting out of something they don’t want
Functional Analysis of Behavior Disorders
• Assumptions:
– Behavior problems are learned performances
– Adaptive and maladaptive (problem) behavior are learned in the same
manner
• Functions of Bx:
– Positive reinforcement
• Social (attention, access to materials)
• Automatic (e.g., sensory stimulation)
– Negative reinforcement
• Social (escape from demands)
• Automatic (e.g., pain attenuation)
• Purpose
– To identify the maintaining variables (sources of reinforcement) for a
behavior
Group Activity
• Identify the reinforcer in the handout
examples
How to Identify Why Problem Behaviors
are Occurring
• Look at what is happening immediately before
the inappropriate behavior (aka: Antecedents)
• Then look at what happens immediately after the
inappropriate behavior (aka: Consequences)
• These are the ABC’s of behavior
– A= antecedent B= behavior C= consequence
Gathering information about
Antecedents
• When does the problem behavior (PB) usually occur?
• Where does the PB usually occur?
• Who is present when the PB occurs?
• What activities or events precede the occurrence of the
PB?
• What do other people say or do immediately before the
PB occurs?
• Does the child engage in any other behaviors before the
PB?
• When, where, with whom, and in what circumstances is
the PB least likely to occur?
Gather information about
Consequences
• What happens after the PB occurs?
• What do you do when the PB occurs?
• What do other people do when the PB occurs?
• What changes after the PB occurs?
• What does the child get after the PB?
• What does the child get out of or avoid after the
PB?
Common
Antecedents, Behaviors, & Consequences
Antecedents Behaviors Consequences
Staff are ignoring child Disruption Staff reprimand
Peers not playing Laughing, singing, Peers laugh
w/child burping
Peer takes child’s toy Pushing, hitting, Peer gives toy back
shoving
Peer has a toy child Kicking, throwing, Peer gives toy
likes biting
Transition to new Tantrum Sits out w/staff
activity
Instruction is given Refuses Doesn’t have to do it
ABC Examples
• During snack time, Amy jumps up from her seat and
ducks under the table, or wanders around the cafeteria.
The counselors run after Amy and bring her back to the
table whenever this happens. They then proceed to tell
her that she can’t run around during snack and they give
her a couple extra “goodies” to try and keep her in her
seat.
• Snack time out of seat attn & snacks
Antecedent Behavior Consequence (i.e., reason)
More Examples
• The other children switch the game of basketball
to HORSE and Adam begins stomping his feet
and balling up his fists and then typically runs
behind the pole. The other children then
resume the game of basketball instead of
HORSE.
• Switching the game stomping, balling fists,
and hiding returning to basketball
More Examples
• As Mike arrives to the program site he is whining
that he does not want to be there. Immediately
after his mom leaves, he begins to argue with
staff which leads to aggression. Mike is then sent
home for the rest of the week.
• Arrival at the program aggression sent
home
More Examples
• Ann is asked to clean up. Although she starts to
clean up, she is doing it really slowly. The
counselor starts to help her clean up.
• Cleaning up working slow gets out of doing
all the work herself
Examples…You Try
• Every time the leaders announce it is homework
time Eric says he has a stomach ache and feels
like he’s going to throw-up. The leaders have
him lie down in the office for 20 minutes or until
he feels better.
• Antecedent = announce it’s homework time
• Behavior = complains of a stomach ache
• Consequence = gets out of homework
Examples…You Try
• During large group activities Katie always starts to act
silly (e.g., jumping up and down, making noises,
making faces, and so on). The leaders always tell her to
stop, she’s disrupting everyone else and often is pulled
away from the group to sit beside a leader.
• Antecedent = group activity & no individual attention
• Behavior = jumping, making noises, making faces
• Consequence = individual attention from staff
Why Identify ABC’s?
• Once you know why a behavior is occurring you
can begin to change it.
• You need to do two things:
– Stop giving reinforcement for the inappropriate
behavior
– Teach more appropriate ways to get reinforcement
(what they want or get out of something they do not
like)
General Principles: Reinforcement
• Reinforcement is when a behavior is reliably and
consistently followed by a consequence that
strengthens or increases the likelihood that the behavior
will occur again in the future.
• Sr+ is when the behavior is followed by the presentation
of a stimulus/event that increases the behavior (e.g.,
getting money to go to work).
• Sr- is when an aversive stimulus/event is removed
following a behavior that increases that behavior (e.g.,
doing something because someone is nagging you, stops
the nagging).
Reinforcement
• How does reinforcement work?
– Increasing Appropriate Behavior
• Provide reinforcement (i.e., something the child likes) when
the appropriate/desired behavior occurs
• Ex: A leader tells Sally to get in line and Sally complies by
getting into line w/out arguing. The leader then praises
Sally and she earns a token
– Decreasing Inappropriate Behavior
• Do not give reinforcement for inappropriate/undesirable
behavior when it occurs
• Ex: During grocery shopping Johnny tantrums when they
walk down the candy aisle (which usually results in his mom
giving him a candy bar), mom continues to walk down the
aisle and does not give him a candy bar
Antecedents Behaviors Consequences
Staff are ignoring child Disruption Staff reprimand
Peers not playing Laughing, singing, Peers laugh
w/child burping
Peer takes child’s toy Pushing, hitting, Peer gives toy back
shoving
Peer has a toy child Kicking, throwing, Peer gives toy
likes biting
Transition to new Tantrum Sits out w/staff
activity
Instruction is given Refuses Doesn’t have to do it
Antecedents Behaviors Consequences
Staff are ignoring child Child approaches staff Staff interact w/child
Peers not playing Child asks to play Peers interact
w/child
Peer takes child’s toy Child asks for it back Toy back & staff praise
Peer has a toy child Child waits his/her turn Praised for waiting &
likes turn
Transition to new Transitions Praise, token, pick
activity activity
Instruction is given Complies Praise & token
Reinforcement Cont.
Four factors to consider when using reinforcement:
• To be effective the reinforcer must be delivered
immediately following the behavior
• To be effective the reinforcer must be consistently
delivered following the behavior
• You can increase the effectiveness of a reinforcer by
withholding the reinforcer
• What is reinforcing to one individual may not be
reinforcing to another
• Preference assessment can be useful to identify
reinforcers
Preference Assessments
• Lists
• Choices
• Open Ended
• Other
Ways to Change Behavior
• Antecedent Manipulations
• Reinforcement
– Low rate
– Other behaviors
– Alternative behaviors
– Incompatible behaviors
• Withholding reinforcement (aka: extinction)
Understanding Antecedents
(AKA: What sets the child off)
• Situational
– Time of day
– Certain staff are around
– Activities or events
– Others say or do something to the child
• Motivational
– Not getting enough attention
– Not getting any turns to play with toys
– Hungry
• Effort
– The problem behavior takes less effort than an appropriate
behavior
Changing Antecedents to
Prevent Inappropriate Behavior
• Situational
– Time of day
• Do HW before recess
– Certain staff are around
• Make sure certain staff are not still reinforcing the problem behavior
• Place staff at the table with the children
– Activities or events
• Make the activity less difficult by breaking it down
• Give child warnings before a transition or change in activity
• Let the child help during a transition (e.g., line leader)
– Others say or do something to the child
• Separate particular children who act out together
• Reinforce peers for not provoking the child (e.g., not grabbing toys or
teasing)
• Staff provide reminder to go to the bathroom
Changing Antecedents to
Prevent Inappropriate Behavior
Motivational
• Provide a lot of attention prior to group activities
where individual attention is lower
• Provide a lot of attention when the child first
arrives so they are less likely to act up to get
attention
• Let the child be “staff’s helper” so they get more
staff attention
• Give the child more attention throughout the
day!!
Changing Antecedents to
Prevent Inappropriate Behavior
Effort
• Keep the books up high so Billy cannot reach them to
throw
• Promote a desirable behavior that requires little effort
– Have Jonathan ask for a break from his homework rather than
throw a tantrum
– Have Rachel raise her hand to get attention rather than walk
across the room to ask staff for it
Using Reinforcement to
Promote Appropriate Behavior
Reinforcing Alternative Behaviors
• Reinforce alternative behaviors to replace the
inappropriate behavior
• Ex.) A child hits their peers because they want access to
the toy. Provide reinforcement when the child asks for
the toy instead of hitting.
• Ex.) A child sucks their thumb throughout the day
because it feels good. Provide reinforcement for any
alternative behavior involving the use of the hands.
Using Reinforcement to
Promote Appropriate Behavior
Reinforcing Low Rates of Behavior
• If the behavior is appropriate but not at the level it is
occurring, or if it is tolerable at a lower rate.
• Ex.) A child is asking to go to the bathroom every 15
minutes (asking to go to the bathroom is not
inappropriate, but asking every 15 minutes is). Provide
the child with 6 “bathroom” cards for the afternoon and
reinforce the use of the cards, but when s/he runs
out…no more bathroom!
Using Reinforcement to
Promote Appropriate Behavior
• Reinforcing Other Behaviors
– Reinforce ANY other behavior than the current
undesirable behavior (CATCH THE CHILD BEING
GOOD!!)
– Ex.) “Thanks for sitting quietly, lining up, cleaning up,
waiting, using your words, hanging out with us,” etc.
Using Reinforcement to
Promote Appropriate Behavior
• Reinforcing Incompatible Behaviors
– Reinforce behaviors which are incompatible with the
undesirable behavior
– Ex.) Reinforce playing with toys instead of nail biting
or thumb sucking.
– Ex.) Reinforce hands down instead of picking their
nose.
– Ex.) Reinforce chewing w/mouth closed rather than
talking w/mouth full.
Steps for Using Reinforcement
• Define desirable behavior
• Define undesirable behavior
• Identify the reinforcer(s) you are going to use
• Reinforce desirable behavior immediately and
consistently
• Eliminate reinforcement for undesirable behaviors
• Gradually fade to an intermittent schedule of
reinforcement for desirable behavior
• Program for generalization (reinforce in numerous
settings)
Decreasing Behaviors: Learning to Withhold the
Reinforcer (AKA: Extinction)
• First, identify the reason the undesirable behavior
occurs, or the reinforcer for the behavior
• Next, stop delivering the reinforcer for the problem
behavior
– If behavior is maintained by things the child likes (attention,
toys, activities), you would stop giving the child these things
when they engage in the undesirable behaviors
– If behavior is maintained by getting out of things the child
does not like (homework, instructions, activities), you would
stop letting the child get out of these things when they engage
in the undesirable behaviors
Audience Participation
• For the examples provided to you in the next
section, explain how you would withhold
reinforcement (use extinction) …
Examples of Withholding Reinforcement
A – Counselor talking to a parent
B – Child interrupts rudely
C – Reprimands
Extinction =
A – Child playing with toys and another child takes toy away
B – 1st child tantrums
C – Counselor gives the 1st child back the toy
Extinction =
A – Teacher tells child to clean up
B – Child yells “No!”
C – Teacher takes child aside and talks to them
Extinction =
Examples of Withholding Reinforcement
(cont.)
A – Children are eating snack
B – Child pours milk on the table
C – Counselor reprimands
Extinction =
A – Child wants to play outside
B – Child runs out of the building
C – Child gets to play outside
Extinction =
A – Child goes to program
B – Child gets in fight
C – Child gets suspended from program and gets to stay home
Extinction =
Ethical Considerations
• Extinction is very effective for decreasing undesirable behaviors,
but you should consider some factors before using it
• Extinction cannot always be implemented in a recreation setting
(inappropriate touching, aggression)
– You can still minimize amount of reinforcement the child will receive (block
response w/o eye contact or verbal statements)
• Extinction burst – an initial increase in frequency, duration, or
intensity of the behavior
– If you use extinction, and the behavior escalates, do not give in by
delivering reinforcement. If you give in, you have taught the child that they
now have to escalate to get what they want.
• Extinction will not work if it is not used consistently
• Extinction will not work if you do not reinforce appropriate
behaviors
Punishment
• Increases the likelihood that the Bx will not occur
again
• Misconceptions
– Time Out
• Is it working?
• Positive effects?
• Negative effects?