Functional Analysis
Another central feature of behavioral assessment is
traceabletoB.F.Skinner’s (1953) notion offunctional
analysis. This means that exact analyses are made of the
stimuli that precede a behavior and the consequences
that follow it. Assessing the manner in which variations
in stimulus conditions and outcomes are related to
behavior changes makes possible a more precise under-
standing of the causes of behavior (Yoman, 2008). The
major thesis is that behaviors are learned and main-
tained because of consequences that follow them.
Thus, to change an undesirable behavior, the clinician
must (a) identify the stimulus conditions that precipitate
it and (b) determine the reinforcements that follow.
Once these two sets of factors are assessed, the clinician
is in a position to modify the behavior by manipulating
the stimuli and/or reinforcements involved.
Crucial to a functional analysis is careful and
precise description. The behavior of concern must
be described in observable, measurable terms so
that its rate of occurrence can be recorded reliably.
With equal precision, the conditions that control it
must also be specified. Bothantecedent conditionsand
consequent eventsare thus carefully elaborated. Such
events as time, place, and people present when the
behavior occurs are recorded, along with the specific
outcomes that follow the behavior of concern.
Suppose, for example, a child is aggressively dis-
ruptive in the classroom. A psychodynamic assessment
might be directed toward analyzing the needs that the
child is trying to satisfy. The hope is that once these
needs are identified, they can be modified and the
undesirable behavior eliminated. A behavioral assess-
ment would ignore such hypothesized internal deter-
minants as“needs”and focus instead on the target:
aggressive behavior. It might be discovered that the
child usually takes objects (e.g., a pencil) from another
child (i.e., behaves aggressively) when the teacher is
paying attention to others in the classroom. When the
aggressiveness occurs, the teacher almost invariably
turns her attention to the disruptive child. A func-
tional analysis, then, reveals that lack of attention
(stimulus) is followed by taking a pencil from another
child (behavior), which in turn is followed by attention
(consequence). Once this pattern of relationships is
established, steps can be taken to change it and thereby
modify the undesirable behavior. As an example, the
child might be put in a room alone following the
disruptive behavior. This treatment would be
expected to alter the behavior because it is no longer
followed by consequences that the child finds rein-
forcing. This scenario may not seem much different
from what many parents would do intuitively. The
difference, however, resides in the care and precision
with which relationships are identified and in the
exact specification of the target behaviors. Table 9-1
summarizes a number of differences between psycho-
dynamic and behavioral approaches to assessment.
Most behavioral therapists have broadened the
method of functional analysis to include“organismic”
variablesaswell.Organismic variablesinclude physical,
physiological, or cognitive characteristics of the indi-
vidual that are important for both the conceptualiza-
tion of the client’s problem and the ultimate
treatmentthatisadministered.Forexample,itmay
be important to assess attitudes and beliefs that are
characteristic of individuals who are prone to experi-
ence depressive episodes because of their purported
relationship to depression as well as their suitability as
targets for intervention. A useful model for concep-
tualizing a clinical problem from a behavioral per-
spective is theSORC model(Kanfer & Phillips, 1970):
S stimulus or antecedent conditions that
bring on the problematic behavior
O organismic variables related to the prob-
lematic behavior
R response or problematic behavior
C consequences of the problematic behavior
Behavioral clinicians use this model to guide
and inform them regarding the information needed
to fully describe the problem and, ultimately, the
interventions that may be prescribed.Behavioral Assessment as an Ongoing Process
As pointed out by Peterson and Sobell (1994) and
others (e.g., Yoman, 2008), behavioral assessment
in a clinical context (like most good assessment) isBEHAVIORAL ASSESSMENT 257