Functional Analysis

A functional analysis is a way to determine the function or reasoning for a behavior in a controlled setting. This is important, due to eliminating extraneous variables that could impact the target behavior in a study. In Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), different variations of functional assessments are used to obtain viable content about the purpose the behavior is serving. According to howtoaba.com “The premise is that no behavior happens in a vacuum. All behaviors that we engage in serve a purpose for us and that purpose is what keeps the behavior going.” (Shira, 2018). With a functional analysis this can be studied by changing just one component and determining how that affects the behavior.

For example, this can be done in a variety of different ways but a common variable to alter is the attention condition. The attention aspect can be run by denying access to attention and to see if the maladaptive behavior occurs more frequently or not. This is done by comparing the baseline condition of maintaining attention versus when you’re denying attention. By doing this you’re potentially proving the independent variable, the component of attention, as a correlation to the problem behavior occurring more frequently. If this undesirable behavior had a higher occurrence, then you have determined a direct change in the environment as a causation for the behavior.

This along with other functional assessments, are used at the end of the day to decipher the function that a behavior serves. These are done to develop effective practices to teach functional ways to serve the behavior as opposed to the learned maladaptive ones. 

Works Cited
Shira. (2023, August 3). How to do a functional behaviour assessment. How to ABA. https://howtoaba.com/how-to-do-a-functional-behaviour-assessment/

When should a functional analysis be done and who should do it? Association for Science in Autism Treatment. (2023, March 5). https://asatonline.org/research-treatment/clinical-corner/functional-analysis/