Methodological and terminological considerations of functional assessment: Towards a molecular analysis of function.

Abstract

This article addresses potential methodological and terminologi cal limitations of Functional Assessment, and proposes an approach we are developing to address these concerns. The authors propose that current methods of assessment and data analysis may yield a specific behavior pattern due to the effects of reinforcement that could occur during analog the conditions themselves. Shaping of identified target behaviors during analog conditions is one possible problem discussed that may result in masking or obfuscation of the A methodology being developed by the authors to minimize this and other potential problems that incorporates a means of quickly determining effective treatment is presented and discussed. ********** Functional assessment is a hallmark of current behavior analytic practice, appearing in over 100 articles in the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis since 1981. Treatments derived from functional assessment methodology assist in the reduction of disruptive classroom behavior (Dadson & Horner, 1993), severe self-injurious behavior (Vollmer & Vorndran, 1998), the ingestion of inedible substances (Mace & Knight. 1986), and reducing stereotypy (Kennedy, Meyer, Knowles, & Shukla, 2000). There has been a great breadth and scope of work done in this area over the past two decades with significant progress in the development of the methodology. Functional Assessment has become such an integral aspect of the field of Applied Behavior Analysis that it is now a requirement by the federal government for use in educational programs nationally for exceptional children under IDEA '97. In this article, we are addressing a specific methodological limitation we have seen which may be resolved in part via the use of a molecular analysis approach that we have been developing. TERMINOLOGICAL AND METHODOLOGICAL ISSUES IN FUNCTIONAL ASSESSMENT We will address both the terminological and methodological issues in functional assessment, and then present suggestions to address the concerns raised. First, we shall focus on the terminological issues, and second, methodological issues in functional assessment. Use of the term Function Heretofore, the term in the research literature (Iwata, Dorsey, Slifer, Bauman, & Richman, 1994, Mace, 1994, O'Neill, Horner, Albin, Storey, & Sprague, 1997, Vollmer & Smith, 1996) which has been used to refer to maintaining consequences, may pose complications with respect to use of the term itself. When referring to function, one is unclear as to the basic concept involved. Are we merely referring to any reinforcer that can be readily identified as a maintaining consequence of a particular response class; or does the term function refer to the initial reinforcer that shaped the behavior to begin with? The reason we raise this concern is that we have observed situations in which the reinforcer appears not to be readily evident, and another more evident reinforcer that is also maintaining the behavior was identified as the function. This very problem, which is the primary topic of discussion in this article, is further complicated by the lack of terms to adequately illustrate the issue because it has not previously been a focus of concern by behavior analysts. As an example, which we will more fully describe below, a 15 year old student in our school diagnosed with autism, began engaging in several challenging behaviors including rubbing his ears, loud vocalizations, leaving class and wandering about the school grounds. The behavior analyst conducted a functional assessment and initially determined that the function of the behavior was teacher/staff attention due to the persistence of the behavior when these personnel approached him and tried to find out what was bothering him. As it turns out, attention was a current reinforcer that served to maintain these behaviors, however, the true or original function was escape from discomfort due to problems related to recent medical treatment for an ear infection. …