The first step taken in applied is, precisely, choosing the target behaviors. Those that we will then evaluate, measure and change. The main criterion for carrying out this choice is that the behaviors have an impact on the person’s quality of life, favoring access to new reinforcers and contexts.
Behavioral evaluation includes direct and indirect procedures and has the objective of identifying and defining specific behaviors to intervene, but also of:
- Discover environmental variables that are related to the increase or decrease of said behaviors
- Give an idea of the context and the resources available
- Observe competing contingencies
- Finding generalization and maintenance factors
- Examine reinforcers and punishments
The information collected will help the behavior analyst manipulate the variables to the benefit of the person and so that the planned interventions have a greater probability of success.
Before performing the evaluation
There are two questions that a behavior analyst should ask himself:
- Do you have the authority, permission, resources and skills to intervene? For example, if you are on a bus and see a father trying to handle a girl who is showing disruptive behavior, should the analyst do an analysis and recommend an intervention to the father? The situation would be different if it occurs during a training session in which the parent has requested assistance beforehand.
- What records or data currently exist that provide information about what has been done in the past regarding the target behavior? Historical, medical and educational data.
Evaluation methods in applied behavior analysis
As mentioned before, in applied behavioral analysis an evaluation can include direct and indirect methods.
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Indirect methods
Within this group we classify methods whose data derive from collection, reconstruction and/or subjective scales such as interviews and questionnaires. It can be applied to the person with whom we will work or to individuals who have regular contact with them.
Indirect methods are further classified into:
- Closed indirect evaluations: A Likert-type scale is often used to score a series of questions, resulting in a total score that provides direction on possible behavioral controlling variables. Its biggest advantages are that it is easy to manage and does not require much skill on the part of the administrator.
- Open indirect evaluations: The informant is encouraged to comment freely. The informant’s narrative often leads to follow-up questions that provide more context about the possible variables controlling the behavior. Its main advantages are that information can be obtained on a wide range of contextual variables and the opportunity to establish a link with the informant.
The information provided by the client to the behavior analyst
The behavioral interview is usually the first step to identify target behaviors, which will then be confirmed or not by conducting direct observation or in empirical analysis. The interview is characterized by using “what” and “when” questions, focusing on the environmental conditions that occur before, during and after the behavioral episode. As a result, hypotheses are obtained that will guide the experimental manipulation to discover functional relationships.
Two questions that we can use as an example of behavioral interviews are:
- In your own words, could you define the problematic behaviors that led you to consult?
- What usually happens after “x” behavior occurs?
The information provided by significant others
In applied behavioral analysis, it is not always possible to interview the client directly or information is needed from people who are important in the client’s life.
A common problem in this case is the use of vague words, labels or terms that do not specify the behavior to be changed, in addition to assuming that the causal factors are intrinsic to the client (for example, “he is lazy”). To remedy this problem, structured questions are asked that help describe the problem in terms of specific behaviors, environmental conditions, and events associated with those behaviors.
Examples of questions that could be asked to clarify what they mean by disobedience or immaturity are:
- What does the girl do that leads you to say that her behavior is immature or disobedient?
- During what part of the day does the girl seem most immature or disobedient?
- How do you or your family members respond when the girl exhibits these behaviors?
Checklists and scales
They can be used alone or in combination with the interview. Checklists consist of descriptions of specific behaviors and the conditions under which each occurs. Specific checklists can be created for particular behaviors or skills.
A scale, which has a Likert scoring system, attempts to obtain more precision when describing and quantifying the target behavior. For example, the one used in the school environment. The problem with the use of ordinal scales is that there is data interpretation, a detail that must be kept in mind.
Direct methods
They are so called because they provide measurable and validated information about the client’s behavior. Some types of direct evaluations are:
- Standardized tests: Each time it is administered, the same questions and tasks are asked using specified procedures and the scoring criteria are always the same. Some have normalized scores. Most of these tests cannot indicate target behaviors and are therefore not usually useful in behavioral assessment. Finally, you may need to have a specific profession to administer certain types of tests (for example, be a psychologist).
- Criteria-based evaluation: A child’s performance is measured on commonly accepted developmental milestones.
- Curriculum-based assessment: Data is obtained through a student’s daily or weekly performance in response to planned lessons.
- Direct observation: They are carried out in the client’s natural environment and are very useful for evaluating or determining target behaviors. The quality of such observations increases by including a wide range of people, environments, and behaviors. The ABC registry is an example of this category, where all the behaviors of interest that occur in a certain period of time are recorded, along with the antecedents and consequences that accompany them.
The ecological assessment
Given the complexity of the interrelationship between environment and behavior, in this type of evaluation a lot of information is collected about a person: physiological, physical, environmental data, interaction with others, history of reinforcement, etc. Although a lot of data is collected, the main objective is to identify the main behavioral problems. This type of evaluation is usually expensive in terms of time and could pose some ethical and legal problems in relation to confidentiality.
What is reactivity in applied behavioral analysis?
It refers to the effect that the evaluation itself has on the behavior that is being evaluated. According to some studies, the presence of an observer can influence the subject’s behavior (, ). Another form of observation that affects the behavior under observation is self-monitoring. However, the effects of reactivity are believed to be temporary. To remedy this problem, behavior analysts typically choose the least intrusive observation method possible, take into account possible reactivity effects, and repeat the observation until reactivity decreases.
Fountain: Cooper, J.O., Heron, TE, & Heward, W.L. (2019). Applied Behavior Analysis (3rd Edition).