PSYB45H3 Lecture Notes - Reinforcement
Document Summary
When people who want to change a target behavior do not analyze its functions, they frequently make the situation worse without realizing they are doing so. Functional assessment: is a set of procedures by which we can identify connections between a behavior and its antecedents and consequences. A functional assessment should: define the target behavior exactly and clearly, determine the antecedents produce the excess or deficit, reveal how reinforcement is produced. Antecedents and consequences in functional assessment are usually overt, but can be covert. Target behavior can be one of two types: behavioral excess, behavioral deficit. If the assessment involves a behavioral excess, we focus on instances of the behavior occurring too much and try to determine its antecedents and consequences. If the assessment deals with a behavioral deficit, we focus on instances when the behavior could have or should have occurred. The approaches for identifying antecedents and consequences are: to see effects)