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Behaviorism beginning in 1930’s
 Pavlov: Pavlovian or classical conditioning
 B.F. Skinner
(most noteworthy work 1953)
 Skinner box for rat learning research
 Operant or response-stimulus (RS) conditioning

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Grows from Behavior Theory / Learning
Theory
Aspects of it can be easily combined with other forms of assessment – very common to do so
Differs from traditional assessment
(clinical interview and testing) in 3 ways

1.
2.
3.
Interested in samples of behavior, not behavior as a sign of internal processes
Functional Analysis, a very concrete method, is employed to understand behavior
Assessment is an ongoing, active part of all phases of treatment (not just always in the back of clinician’s mind, as in other types of treatment)

1.
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Sample vs. Sign
In behavioral assessment, test / interview responses are interpreted as “samples” of behavior that are thought to generalize to other situations
In traditional assessment (even psychodynamic), we interpret test data as
“signs” of internal processes

2.
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Functional Behavioral Analysis (also called Functional Analysis)
Derived from Skinner’s work with SR
(stimulus-response) learning
 SORC model
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ABC model (very similar)
Isolates a target behavior for analysis and understanding in a very concrete, prescripted manor

 S = s timulus or “antecedent” factors which occur before target behavior
 O = organismic variables relevant to target behavior
 R = the response = the target behavior
 C = consequences of target behavior

 Organismic
 Physical / medical / physiological, cognitive / psychological aspects of the client
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…that are relevant to treating the target behavior

 S – Stimulus: a child is ignored by her peers in class
 ( O – Organismic: the child has previously been diagnosed with ADHD)
 R – Response: She increases the volume of her voice (i.e., yells)
 C – Consequences: her peers pay attention to her, some role their eyes

 A = Antecedent – similar to “situation”
 B = Behavior – similar to “response”
 C = Consequence – outcome

3.
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Is an ongoing & active process, through all points of behavioral therapy: initial assessment, therapy, and evaluation of improvement
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Assessment is an ongoing process in almost all clinical orientations, in that it’s almost always in the
“back” of clinician’s mind.
Ex: Hmm, I thought Mr. Z had depression, but now he’s exhibiting more anxious symptoms; I wonder if this is more a mixed anxiety-depression sydrome.
In behavioral assessment, is a planned & integral part of entire therapeutic process

 Behavioral Interviews
 Observational methods
 Naturalistic Observation
 Controlled Observation
 Controlled Performance Techniques
 Self-Monitoring
 Role-playing
 Inventories, Checklists
 Cognitive-Behavioral Assessments

 Behavioral interviews: ask questions focused on target behaviors
 Goal: help clinician gain general perspective of problem behavior and the variables that perpetuate it
 Understand antecedent factors
 May use structured diagnostic interview
(relatively new development)
 Not different from traditional interview in format, only in focus.

 Observational methods (as opposed to selfreport) provide a sample of behavior in naturalistic OR controlled conditions
 Fewer problems in research than therapy
 Naturalistic: at home or school, in a hospital, or in therapy
 Controlled: situational tests that approximate real life

 Similar to controlled observational methods, except that the observer interferes more
 do not approximate real life, but may be analogous to or heighten aspects of real life
(pressure, interpersonal challenges, presence of phobic stimuli)
 Contrived situations
 Potential for standardization across individuals

 Have client observe their own behaviors, thoughts, and emotions
 chance of bias?
 Typically more part of treatment than assessment for this reason
 Clients keep list of observations in similar fashion as SORC or ABC
 Dysfunctional Thought Record DTR is most common of self-monitoring in clinical setting

 Special kind of self-monitoring
 Ecological Momentary Assessment
 Real-time assessment using a PDA
 Increasingly used in research
 Example: for assessment of emotions & cognitions associated with eating habits, participants may be asked to answer questions on the PDA each time it beeps (set randomly ~3x day), and before and after all meals and snacks

 Controlledsetting for “safety”
 Provide a scenario for client to act out, possibly with a clinical assistant or the therapist
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Benefit: therapeutic since it’s practice in a safe setting plus provides ongoing assessment

 E.g., child behavior checklist CBCL
 Parent, peer, self, teacher rate on a list of behaviors
 Usually multiple raters
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Questionnaire format
Often have multiple “factors” in checklist
 E.g., aggressive, depressed, anxious behaviors
 Benefit: they offer a quantitative measure!

 Add component of conscious & remembered “thoughts” as an additional type of behavior to assess
 Example: Beck Depression Inventory
 Asks questions about behaviors such as sleep, appetite, decision making related to decision
 But also thoughts: negative thoughts about self, thoughts about death, etc.

 Reliability & validity influenced by
 complexity of behavior observed
 level of training, experience of observer(s)
 unit of analysis chosen & coding system used
 influence of observation on target
(problematic) behavior
 generalizability of observations to other settings/situations