PSYB45H3 Lecture Notes - Seat Belt, Reinforcement, Biceps
Document Summary
Identifying antecedents: to identify the antecedents for a behavior, behavior analysts need to make systematic observations in functional assessment of behavior. Although it is useful to have hunches about which stimuli is the antecedent for the target behavior, hunches are not conclusions. The antecedents for a behavior such as children"s noncompliance are often specific to the individual. We need to assess the antecedents for each person. Antecedents that are over and immediate are usually easy to identify as they occur right before the target the behavior. But sometimes, it can be a little tricky to identify overt and immediate antecedents as well. For e. g. children in a classroom become distracted because they are seated too closely with each other, although this antecedent is over and immediate we might not notice it at first. Antecedents that are cover or distance are usually difficult to identify because they are not directly observable and consist of thoughts, feelings and physiological states.
