Teachers often feel that they only have 4 options in dealing with behaviors.
Ignore the problem and hope it goes away
Refer the student/s to an assistant principal
Call the students’ parents and ask for help
Apply a consequence, such as detention or some other punishment

 Observable
 Measurable
 Clear and concise
 Complete

 Steps in the behavior change process
 select target behavior
 collect and record baseline data
 identify reinforcers
 implement interventions, collect and record intervention data
 evaluate the effects of the intervention

 The target behavior is the behavior to be changed or modified.
 The target behavior may be an existing behavior that needs to be increased or decreased or a non-occurring behavior.
 Considerations of target behavior; type of behavior, frequency of behavior, duration of behavior, intensity of behavior

 Have already discussed this project with your subjects. That means when you collect your baseline data that it has been compromised….
 People will do better (or worse) than typical if they know…. so the baseline data is not valid.

 danger to individual or others
 frequency
 duration
 behavior will produce higher level of reinforcement for individual than other behaviors
 impact of behavior on skill development
 if learning the behavior will reduce the negative attention that the individual receives
 if learning the behavior will increase reinforcement for others in the individual’s environment
 difficulty (time and energy) to be expended to change behavior
 cost involved in changing behavior

 Behaviors that risk the child’s life
 Behaviors that risk the child’s continuing to live with the family
 Behaviors that limit the child’s participation in special education
 Behaviors that limit the child’s adaptation to the community outside home and school

 Some behaviors occur so infrequently that they do not require a formal program
 for example:
 annual 2 minute tantrum
 occasional reading reversal
 infrequent falling out of his seat
 monthly bus-missing behavior

 Increase group participation, in-seat behavior, interactions with peers, typing skills, reading rate, number skills, study skills
•
Decrease verbal outbursts, inattentiveness, use of four letter words, food intake, smoking, talking during study period, spelling errors

 select only one behavior
 analyze behavior for frequency, duration, intensity and type
 is behavior to be decreased or increased
(direction of behavior change)
 is the behavior observable
 is the behavior measurable in numeric terms
 describe the behavior in precise, descriptive terminology

 Can you count the number of times the behavior has occurred in a given amount of time?
 Can you describe the target behavior so that someone who is unfamiliar with what you are doing will know exactly what to look for?
 Have you broken down the behavior down to its smallest components
 Is the definition valid? Can every instance of the behavior be captured? Is the definition reliable? Can two or more observers record the same occurrences and non-occurrences of the behavior?

 FREQUENCY
 The number of times a behavior occurs.
 When determining frequency of occurrence of a behavior, we count the number of times the behavior occurs within an observation period.

 RATE
 frequency expressed in ratio with time
 can compare frequency data in nonstandardized observation periods or opportunities to respond.
 Rate is calculated by dividing the number of times a behavior occurred by the length of the observation period.

 Duration
 a measurement of how long a behavior lasts
 Duration is important when the concern is not the number of times a behavior occurs but how long

 Latency
 length of time between instructions to perform it and the occurrence of the behavior
 Latency is relevant when the concern is not how long it takes a student to do something, but how long it takes to begin to do it

 Topography
 what the behavior looks like
 topography describes a behavior’s complexity or its motor components.
 It may involve many behaviors performed together.

 Force
 the intensity of the behavior

 Locus
 describes where it occurs, either in the environment, or on the individuals body.
 Locus describes the target of the behavior or where in the environment the behavior is taking place

 For the purpose of project 2 - we will be using behavioral dimensions.
 frequency
 rate
 duration
 latency
 topography
 force
 locus

 Identify and define a target behavior
 students will identify a target behavior of the selected participant to increase. The target behavior must be observable. Identify the
DIMENSIONS of the target behavior and define it so it can be measured reliably. Tell why you chose this behavior for the participant. How will increasing the behavior make a difference in the life of the participant?

Three general categories of collecting data for behavioral information
 Reviewing and analyzing written reports
 Observation
 Recording a sample of the behavior as it occurs

 Methods of obtaining information
 Interviewing the student
 Interviewing others
 Testing the student
 Directly observing the student

 What people say vs. what they do
 Tolerance levels
 Ecological factors
 Reactivity to assessment

 Permanent product - outcomes of behavior
 Observational recording systems
 event recording - counts
 interval recording - counts
 time sampling - counts
 duration - temporal
 latency - temporal

 Recording tangible items or environmental effects that result from a behavior; for example written academic work
80% Correct
Spelling Test
1.
Tangible
2.
Environmental
3.
Behavior
4.
Academic

Day
1
2
3
 Recording a tally or frequency count of behavior as it occurs within an observation period; an observational recording procedure
Assignments
Due
5
6
6
17
Completed
//
///
////
9

 An observational recording system in which an observation period is divided into a number of short intervals. The observer counts the number of intervals when the behavior occurs
+ + + + + + + -
Number of intervals attending
Total number of intervals

 An observational recording system in which an observation period is divided into equal intervals; the target behavior is observed at the end of each interval
40 Minutes
+ + + + + +
Number of intervals on task
_________________
Total number of intervals

 Recording the amount of time between the initiation of a response and its conclusion; an observational recording procedure
Observation time:
11:00 – 11:30
Duration Min.
Start
11:04
11:11
11:21
11:26
Stop
11:08
11:16
11:23
11:30
2
4
4
5

 Recording the amount of time between the presentation of the cue and the initiation of a response.
Signal
11:02
11:03
11:01
11:04
10:59
Begin
11:05
11:06
11:02
11:07
11:01
1
3
3
3
Latency
(Minutes)
2
12

 4-3 Observational data collection systems pg 107
 Figure 4-23 Selected observational recording procedures pg 131

 Reactivity - presence of an observer
 Observer drift - change the stringency of operational definitions
 Complexity - observational coding system
 Expectancy - bias interpretation of results

 Develop a recording sheet for your baseline data collection.

 Graphs should be simple and uncluttered
 Purposes for graphs:
 means for organization
 formative & summative program evaluation
 vehicle for communication
 commonly used to display data in a serial manner across duration of instruction or intervention


 axes
 x-axis - abscissa, horizontal
 y-axis - ordinate, vertical
 Axes are drawn in a ratio of 2:3
• If y = 2, then x = 3

 The x-axis serves as the boundary of the graph.
 Shows how frequently data were collected during the period represented on the graph.
 The right boundary of the graph ends at the last session.
 Horizontal line – bottom boundary

 Vertical line serves as the left-hand boundary of the graph.
 The label identifies the target behavior and kind of data that is being reported.

High School Student Detentions
100
80
60
40
20
0
1st Qtr 4th Qtr 2nd Qtr 3rd Qtr
Grading Periods
2003-2004
East

 Ordinate scale - scale on the y axis, used to record the performance of the target behavior, ALWAYS begins with zero
 Scale break
- when the ordinate scale is not continuous, it is permissible to begin the scale at zero, draw two horizontal lines between the first and second lines on the graph paper, & label the 2nd line 50%.

 Each data point is individually plotted.
The placement or value does not affect the placement or value of the next data point.
 Small geometric forms, such as circles, squares, or triangles are used to represent the occurrences of the target behavior during a specific time segment.

 When a solid line is drawn connecting the data points, it forms the data path.
 A single geometric shape is used to represent each point on a single data path.
 When more than one path is represented - each path is represented by a different geometric shape.
 No more than 3 different paths should be plotted on a single graph.
 Continuity break- 2 parallel hash marks are placed on the data path to indicate a break in the sequence of the intervention

 the name of the student(s) is placed in a box in the bottom right hand corner of the page of the graph.

 number of items or percentage of terms resulting from behavior
 % of correct responses can be calculated by dividing the number of correct responses by the total number of responses and multiplying the result by 100.
 Ex. % of correctly spelled words, # of math problems completed

 May be recorded as
 # of occurrences of a behavior if the amount of time is consistent across sessions
 # of correct or a % if there are a consistent
# of opportunities to respond
 a % correct if the # of opportunities to respond varies

 Required when concerned about accuracy and speed
 Rate data reflect fluency of performance and allow judgements about the development of proficiency.
 If the responding varies from session to session, rate must be calculated so that the data can be compared.
 See figure 5-6, p. 149

 Reported as the number or percent of total observed intervals during which the behavior occurs (usually reported as %).
 Interval data is usually divided into short segments of time, if the targeted behavior occurred any time within that interval, it is counted.
 Time sampling data is divided into periods of time, and behaviors are counted if they occur at the end of the interval.

 Reported as the number of minutes or seconds it takes a student to complete a behavior or as how much of a specified period of time a student spent engaging in a particular behavior.

 Reported as the number of minutes or seconds that elapse before a student initiates a behavior following a request for the behavior to be performed or for a natural occasion for its performance to occur.

 Phases of an intervention during which different approaches or techniques are used.
 Baseline: current level of behavior
 Intervention: by drawing a dashed line between the last session of one condition and the beginning of another.
 Data points are not connected across conditions.

 runs from the top of the graph to the bottom of the graph
 this line is drawn between the last session of one condition and the first session of the next
 remember data points are not connected across conditions
 a brief descriptive condition label is placed above the data path for each condition

 presents an additive view of a behavior across sessions, providing a count of the total number of responses.
 a steep slope indicates rapid responding, a gradual slope indicates slow responding, and a plateau or straight line indicates not responding,

 provides a continuous line with a slope that indicates the rate of responding
 steep slope - indicates rapid responding
 gradual slope - indicates slow responding
 plateau - indicates no responding (straight line)

 Joshua’s hitting behavior
 Time M T W T F Total
 9-9:10 / / / /
 9:30-40 / / // / /
 10-10:10 // /// / // /
4
6
9
 10:30-40 /// / //// /// //
 Day total 7 6 7 7 5
13

3
2
1
0
6
5
4
8
7
M on
Tu es
We d
Th ur s
Baseline
Fr i
M on
Tu es
We d
Th ur s
Intervention
Fr i

3
2
1
0
6
5
4
8
7
M on
Tu es
We d
Th ur s
Baseline
Fr i
M on
Tu es
We d
Th ur s
Intervention
Fr i

 a bar graph uses vertical bars rather than data points and connecting lines to indicates performance
 each vertical bar represents one observation period
 height corresponds with a performance value on the ordinate
 summarize student performance data

 Divide the number of data points in half by drawing a vertical line down the graph

Trend line practice
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

 On the left half of the graph, find the midsession and draw a vertical line

Trend line practice
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

 On the left half of the graph, find the midperformance point and draw a horizontal line.

Trend line practice
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

 Repeat steps of 2 and 3 on the right half of the graph.

Trend line practice
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

 Draw a line connecting the intersections of both halves of the graph.
 THIS IS THE TREND LINE

 to demonstrate experimental control
 to show intervention effects

 Comparisons made between conditions
 must have an intervention to use single subject design
 more than one person or group can be included in the intervention

 AB
 ABAB or reversal
 Multiple baseline
 across settings
 across subjects
 across behaviors

 Refers to any number of factors involved in research
 dependent variables-behavior being targeted for change
 independent variable-intervention being used to change behavior
 Functional relationship - trying to demonstrate a cause-effect relationship between dependent and independent variables

 Quantitative data collected before the behavior change intervention has been implemented.
 Process of collecting pre-intervention or baseline data can be referred to as a functional assessment
 Baseline data should be stable (provides a representative sample)

 Identification of antecedent and consequent events, temporarily contiguous to the behavior,which occasion and maintain the behavior
 Baseline data provide the foundation on which the behavior change process is established.

 Indication of direction in the performance of the behavior
 usually 3 successive data points in the same direction
 no trend
 increasing trend
 decreasing trend

 Experimental control - changes in the dependent variable are related to manipulations of the independent variable
 Confounding variables - conditions that are not controlled by the teacher

 Two phases - baseline and intervention
 weakest of all designs
 does not provide for replication
 simple
 quick and uncomplicated
 does not demonstrate confidence in determination of a functional relationship

 Phases - baseline, intervention, baseline
2, intervention2
 simple allows for precise analysis
 withdrawal of an effective intervention

 Two phases - baseline and intervention
 intervention phase has sub-phases
 systematic changing of performance (increase or decrease) criterion
 each intervention sub phase is separated on the graphic display by a dashed line
 no need to withdraw a successful intervention

 Simultaneous analysis of more than dependent variable.
 Page 186 in your text looks at multiple baselines across behaviors, individuals or settings.
 Same scale of measurement should be used across all….

 Can establish a functional relationship without withdrawing the intervention
 can be difficult to control confounding variables across settings, behaviors or students.

 Allows comparison of the effectiveness of more than one treatment or intervention on a single subject
 ABBABAAB, BAC, can be sequentially in blocks
 can provide accurate and rapid feedback
 answers the question which method is most effective

 Interventions are introduced consecutively
 ABC design
 can only give an indication of the effectiveness
 no functional relationship can be established