Behavior Systems
Analysis
What is BSA?
 BSA is a 2 credit course designed to implement
the concepts learned in Psychology 460 and/or
444
 Students analyze organizational contingencies
and implement interventions based on this
analysis
 This course helps you apply the 6 steps of
behavior analysis in a real life setting.
 This project is not hypothetical and all data and
interventions are REAL!!!
What’s the Purpose of
BSA?
 To gain experience in OBM
 Teach students the principles of Behavior
Systems Analysis
 So they can use their training to analyze
problems in real settings
 Increase their knowledge and fluency of those
principles
 To improve the well-being and functioning of
organizations and society.
I am really busy this
semester! How Demanding is
BSA?
 That’s totally up to you!!!!!
 You are only required to put in as much
time as you can
 But the catch……….
 The more time you put in to your
organization the better it will be
I am not really all that
interested in OBM. Should I
still participate?
 Definitely!!!
 BSA provides students with not only
OBM experience, but also, with
management experience
What is MY role in the BSA
Project?




Attending BSA class.
Complete assignments.
Conduct a professional interview
Pinpoint an problematic area in and
organization that you're assigned to.
 Implement an intervention in your
organization!!!
 Do Final Fiesta/Power Point Presentation
Who will be supervising
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
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you on your
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project.
Example Projects
 “Hall/Swanson” Staff
 “Ricky Schroeder’s” Department
Store
 “Breakfast Club Academy”
In Quest of Perfection: One
Staff’s Journey




“Mark Paul Gosselar”
Psychology 460
T.A. “Shannon Doherty”
03.16.02
 The Hall Director’s (HD) goal
is to have the Resident
Assistants (RA) turn in their
activity sheets once a week or
100% of the time.
 Informative meeting and job-aids to help staff
remember how to fill in activity reports and their
location.
 The Senior R.A. will put up a sticker per week per
R.A. on a chart in the office to show the staff their
progress.
 The H.D. will praise and give corrective feedback to
the staff members weekly.
 If an R.A. doesn’t turn in their activity
sheet, they will have to do all the other
R.A’s bulletin boards.
 They hate doing bulletin boards.
 The performance manager (ME) evaluated the data on a weekly basis.
 Every staff member wasn’t turning in their activity sheets weekly. Baseline
= about 30%
 The intervention changed that!
 The R.A.s turned in their sheets just about weekly. Intervention = about
100%
 The intervention was a success!
# of sheets turned in
H/ S turning in activity sheets
Baseline
Intervention
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
1
2
3
4
Weeks
5
6
7
Second Project
Increasing On Time Arrival at “Ricky
Schroeder’s” Department Store




Psychology 460
“AC Slater”
TA: “Screech Powers”
April 22, 2002
Ricky Schroeder’s
Ricky Schroeder’s
The Problem
 Employees are showing up to work late
 Employees are absent
 WHY?......
The Manager of “Ricky
Schroeder’s” and I Must
Design an Intervention
 It must be
EFFECTIVE
 It must be
INEXPENSIVE
 It must NOT be
Timely
 It must NOT be
Tedious
REWARD SYSTEM:
 Daily, Weekly, and Monthly Winners:
 Daily: All employees that show up to work on
time will be eligible to win a 15 minute break.
 One person per day will win coupon for
break.
 Weekly: The employees(part time & full time)
with the highest % of on time work arrival will
be eligible to win a $10 gift certificate to
spend at “Ricky Schroeder’s”.
 Monthly: The employees(part time & full time)
with the highest % of on time work arrival will
be eligible to create his/her own schedule for
the following week of work.
Number of tardies
Decreasing Tardiness
BASELINE
25
20
15
10
5
0
1
2
3
INTERVENTION
4
5
Weeks
6
7
8
Third Project
A Behavior Systems
Analysis Approach To
Improving Behavior of
Delinquent Children
“George Jefferson”
Spring 2005
TA Name: “Weezy Jefferson”
Setting and Participant
Description
 “Breakfast Club Academy” (BCA) located
in downtown Yellow Brick Roadsville, MI
 20-60 children from surrounding
neighborhoods attend for open gym night
 From 3rd graders up to 6th graders
 3 Children with high rate behavioral
problems selected
 BCA staff; volunteer helpers
The Behavioral Battle
 BCA has a community service based program in
which neighborhood children can participate
 Running in the hallways is the most frequent cause
of injury
 Most children that participate are not easily
persuaded and it takes some guidance to get them
to follow rules
 Most volunteer staff have had no prior training with
children
Behavioral Battle Cont.
 A controlled environment equals a safe
and fun atmosphere for the children
 The fewer problems that occur the more
children that are allowed to attend the
open gym nights
 No contingencies were in place to control
the children’s behavior
Analyze the Natural
Contingencies
 The probability of a child exhibiting
appropriate behavior was minimal even
when someone gave them prompts and
corrective feedback
 The child that “showed off” or pushed the
limits of supervisory control received
praise and attention from peers. This
reinforcement caused problem behaviors
to increase in frequency
Analyze the Natural
Contingencies
Ineffective Natural Contingency
Child has given
probability of
being caught by
supervisor
Child
runs in the
hallway
Child has
infinitesimally
higher probability
of getting caught
by supervisor
Analyze the Natural
Contingencies
Natural Competing Contingency
Child has less
praise/attention
from friends
Child runs in
hallway
Child has more
praise/attention
from friends
Specify the Performance
Objectives
 Lower the amount of inappropriate
behavior (behavior requiring supervisory
guidance)
 Have all children understand and follow
the rules
 Create an environment that is safe for the
group to interact
 Lower or end the need for hall monitors
Design the Intervention
 Inform social director/manager of the
intervention
 Inform the group (children) of the system
 Create a data collection sheet to record
behaviors
 For every incorrect behavior, child must
do 15 pushups, or leave the gym.
Design the Intervention
Three Contingency Model of Performance Management
Child has
low probability
of
getting caught
by supervisors
Child wont
receive a
reprimand
and have to do
pushups
when caught
No fear of
reprimand
and
doing pushups
Child runs in
hallways
Child has
infinitesimally
higher probability
of getting
caught by
supervisors
Child runs in
hallways
Child will
receive a
reprimand and
have to do
push ups
when caught
Child runs in
hallways
Fear of
reprimand
and doing
pushups
Implement the Intervention
 Attend and record intervention, twice per week,
for three weeks
 Every time a child is caught running in the
hallways by a supervisor, or myself, they will be
reprimanded and be told to do 15 push ups or
they will be asked to leave
 At the end of the day the intervention will be
evaluated
 Look at the difference between pre-incorrect
behavior, and post
Evaluate the Intervention
 The data showed that there has been a definite
decrease in the problem behavior of running in
the hallways
 Hallway supervisors mentioned the “rule” too
many times and were inconsistent with
applying consequences
 Since the outcomes for violating the rule were
improbable or too small they did not control the
children’s behavior
Evaluate the Intervention
Number of problem
responses
Baseline
Intervention
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
Nelly
Lil' Wayne
Puffy
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Days
8
9
10 11 12 13
Is this a realistic goal?
 This was a very real, working intervention
 Due to changes in behavior from baseline to
intervention, we can see that it was effective
 With the number of children attending the gym
nights this intervention created a much more
fun and safe atmosphere for everyone
involved.
 No cost
Conclusion





PRO’S:
Easy to apply
Fast and effective
No cost
Decrease in injuries
Conclusion Cont.
 CON’S
 Very infrequent attendance by volunteers
 Some volunteers and children possibly
misunderstood the intervention
 The children attending where only 3rd thru
6th graders
Discussion
 A need for more research on the difference
between age groups, possibly separating the
younger children from the older children
 Mandatory behavior training for all supervisors
and staff would greatly improve the
effectiveness and understanding of the
intervention
 A follow up to see if the staff is still following the
intervention and to see if it is still effective
What do I get out of
participating in BSA?
 2 credits
 A great letter of recommendation from Dr.
Malott
 Practical experience in Behavior Analysis
 Guidance to achieve your personal goals in
psychology
 Networking with organizations
 A better understanding of the six steps of
behavior systems analysis.
Oh yes…Even more
benefits!!
 Applied experience in OBM
 A chance to boost your GPA (an “A” in a two
credit course)
 A great opportunity to build your resume or vita
 Your BSA projects can be used as your 460
Final Fiesta project (this puts you ahead of the
other 460 students)
 And lets not forget……..a FUN TIME!
Questions or Comments?