Throughout a functional analysis, it is essential to identify another variable maintaining target behavior. To improve the conditions of a severe problem by first controlling the problem behavior using the suspected maintaining environmental variable, the reason for functional analysis was designed (Jessel, 2019). The behavior targeted for reduction in this case is temper outbursts that are disproportionate to the situation, a common characteristic of individuals suffering from Disruptive mood dysregulation disorder (DMDD). A potential variable is social attention since certain conducts are maintained due to the reception of social reinforcement or attention from others when indulging in those behaviors.
In order to investigate if social attention is a maintaining variable in temper outbursts, I would begin by defining the target problem. Having identified the behavior targeted for reduction, I would specify the intensity, frequency, and duration of the outbursts. Afterward, I would conduct a functional assessment interview. Assuming the individual exhibiting the outbursts is X, I would interview people who interact with X. Talking to the person exhibiting the problem or people interacting with him/her is conducting a functional behavioral assessment’ first strategy (O’Neill et al., 2014). Moreover, interviews as an informant method provide information about the problem’s occurrence (O’Neill et al., 2014). The interviews would inform me when the outbursts are likely, the consequences that proceed, and any social attention-related patterns.
I would then design test conditions to manipulate social attention availability. The conditions comprise no attention, low attention, and high attention. Hypothetically, high-attention periods would prompt X to positively respond to the outbursts, while X might engage minimally in low-attention conditions. I would then initiate control conditions where social attention does not follow the outbursts. It is imperative to note that proper scheduling of control conditions and putative reinforcers creates a safe environment for the analysts and the person under study (Hanley, 2012). As a result, I would have established a baseline that would enable comparisons with the test conditions.
I would then proceed to systematic data collection on the occurrences of the outbursts in every condition. In the process, I would measure the outbursts’ intensity, frequency, and duration. I would repeatedly administer the test and control conditions to ensure consistency and data reliability.
However, the functional analysis is likely to encounter barriers. Since I intend to manipulate social attention, it may raise ethical concerns. Therefore, I will be obliged to ensure that the analysis is conducted ethically with X’s well-being in mind. I would obtain informed consent from the parents because the individual is likely to be a child, a minor. I would also encounter observer bias. Using observers will likely influence X’s and those providing social attention behavior. As mitigation, I would train the observers well and use objective data collection tools should the observer bias persist. Additionally, I may encounter generalization issues since a controlled setting is involved. Critics have continuously interrogated if psychology’s lab-based experiments should allow the generalization of findings beyond the laboratory where the results were attained (Holleman et al., 2020). I might struggle with generalizing the results to real-world cases. As a remedy, I would analyze a naturalistic setting to increase the ecological validity of the results.
References
Hanley, G. P. (2012). Functional assessment of problem behavior: Dispelling myths, overcoming implementation obstacles, and developing new lore. Behavior Analysis in Practice, 5, 54-72.
Holleman, G. A., Hooge, I. T., Kemner, C., & Hessels, R. S. (2020). The ‘real-world approach’ and its problems: A critique of the term ecological validity. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 721. https://doi.org/10.3389%2Ffpsyg.2020.00721
Jessel, J., Metras, R., Hanley, G. P., Jessel, C., & Ingvarsson, E. T. (2020). Evaluating the boundaries of analytic efficiency and control: A consecutive controlled case series of 26 functional analyses. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 53(1), 25-43.
O’Neill, R. E., Albin, R. W., Storey, K., Horner, R. H., & Sprague, J. R. (2014). Functional assessment and program development. Cengage Learning.
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