Bowman, L. G., Fisher, W. W., Thompson, R. H., & Piazza, C. C. (1997).
On the relation of mands and the function of destructive behavior.
Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis,
30, 251-265.
When standard analogue functional analysis procedures produce
inconclusive results in children with conversational speech, the
child's mands may help to identify the function of destructive
behavior. In the current investigation, functional analyses
conducted with 2 children who exhibited self-injury, aggression,
and property destruction were undifferentiated across conditions.
Based on informal observations and school and parental report, an
analysis was conducted using mands to help determine the function
of the destructive behavior. Using a multielement design, the
therapist's compliance with the child's mands occurred either on
a fixed-ratio (FR) 1 schedule or contingent on destructive
behavior. Destructive behavior occurred at high and consistent
levels when reinforcement of mands was contingent on destructive
behavior and at near-zero levels when reinforcement of mands
occurred on the FR 1 schedule. Based on these results, a second
analysis was conducted in which com pliance to mands occurred
only when the child appropriately requested it (i.e., functional
communication training plus extinction) and, for 1 child,
compliance with mands was terminated contingent upon destructive
behavior (i.e., functional communication training plus response
cost). For both children, the rates of destructive behavior
decreased markedly. The results suggest that assessing the
child's mands may be useful in decreasing destructive behavior
when a functional analysis is inconclusive.
DESCRIPTORS: functional analysis, behavioral assessment,
developmental disabilities, mands, verbal behavior