Kathryn Potoczak, James E. Carr, & Jack Michael. (2007)
The effects of consequence manipulation during functional analysis of problem behavior maintained by negative reinforcement.
Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis,
40, 719-724.
Two distinct analytic methods have been used to identify the function of
problem behavior. The antecedent-behavior-consequence (ABC) method
(Iwata, Dorsey, Slifer, Bauman, & Richman, 1982/1994) includes the delivery
of consequences for problem behavior. The AB method (Carr & Durand, 1985)
does not include consequence delivery, instead relying exclusively on
antecedent conditions to evoke the behavior. The AB and ABC functional
analysis methods were compared in this study with 4 children with
developmental disabilities who engaged in task-related problem behavior.
Results show that the ABC method identified an escape method for all four
cases, whereas the AB method failed to identify a function for any case.
DESCRIPTORS: functional analysis, assessment, problem behavior