Behavioral and Functional Assessment

Abstract

As a specialty, behavioral assessment is relatively new in the broad field of psychological assessment. In 1979, two new journals devoted exclusively to behavioral assessment were published: Behavioral Assessment (by the Association for Advancement of Behavior Therapy), edited by Rosemary Nelson, and Journal of Behavioral Assessment (now Journal of Behavioral Assessment and Psychopathology),edited by Henry Adams. Although behavioral assessment procedures certainly predated the publication of these journals, the creation of these outlets gave formal recognition to the behavioral approach to assessment. In the inaugural editorial statement for Behavioral Assessment, R. Nelson (1979) described behavioral assessment as follows: Behavioral assessment is broadly conceived to include assessment, design, methodology, statistics, dependent variables, and program evaluation, regardless of population or setting. Behavioral assessment is distinguished from other types of assessment in its emphasis on meaningful response units and on their controlling variables (both environmental and organismic) and to its responsiveness to intervention strategies…. Behavioral assessment excludes trait assumptions and sign-oriented approaches to measurement. While psychometric procedures may be applied to behavioral techniques, traditional conceptualization is generally incompatible with a behavioral approach. (p. i)