Deck 20: Behavioral Assessment: Initial Considerations

Question 1

Give six reasons for collecting accurate data during an assessment or baseline phase and throughout a program.

Answer 1

(a)An accurate behavioral assessment provides a description of the problem that will help the behavior modifier to decide whether or not he or she is the appropriate one to design a treatment program; (b)an accurate Baseline will sometimes indicate that what someone thought was a problem is actually not a problem;(c)the initial assessment process often helps the behavior modifier to identify possible causes of the problem behavior and the best treatment strategy; (d)accurate baseline data provides means for clearly determining whether the program has produced or is producing the desired change in behavior; (e)publicly posted results can be both prompts and reinforcers for the behavior modifier for carrying out a program; (f)the displayed data may lead to improvements apart from any further treatment program.

Question 2

Define behavioral assessment.

Answer 2

Behavioral assessment involves the collection and analysis of information and data in order to identify and describe target behavior, identify possible causes of the behavior, select appropriate treatment strategies to modify the behavior, and evaluate treatment outcome.

Question 3

Briefly distinguish between direct and indirect assessment procedures.

Answer 3

Direct assessment procedures involve direct observation and measurement of some aspect of a behavior as the behavior occurs.The concern is to produce a record of what a client is doing.With indirect assessment, the behavior modifier typically relies on a verbal description of the behavior of a student.The description may come from the client and/or others through interviews and/or formal questionnaires.

Question 4

What does reactivity mean in behavioral assessment? Illustrate with an example.

Question 5

Briefly describe the advantages and disadvantages of indirect assessment procedures.

Question 6

List the five main types of indirect assessment procedures.

Question 7

List the four phases of a behavior modification program.

Question 8

Describe two circumstances that might lead to the use of indirect assessment procedures.

Question 9

What error does the case of Dr.Caldwell and the door slammer's mother exemplify? Explain how accurately recorded data counteracted this error.

Question 10

In what types of settings are the terms training program, and intervention strategy or therapy program typically used?

Question 11

What does the term target behavior mean? Illustrate with an example from an earlier chapter.

Question 12

What error does the case of the boy who went around pinching adults exemplify? Explain how accurately recorded data counteracted this error.

Question 13

What two things typically occur during the assessment phase of a behavior modification program?

Question 14

What is prerequisite to the design and implementation of a behavior modification program?

Question 15

Briefly describe the details of the clever graphing system devised for the child who got the rabbit to the carrot patch.

Question 16

Briefly describe how Ernest Hemingway and Irving Wallace used self-recording to help them maintain their writing behavior.

Question 17

What are the five functions of the intake phase of a behavior modification program?

Question 18

What is the purpose of the follow-up phase of a behavior modification program?

Question 19

List and describe briefly four types of questionnaires used in behavioral assessments.

Question 20

Briefly describe the advantages and disadvantages of direct assessment procedures.

Question 21

Describe two differences in the goals of a behavioral approach to assessment compared to a traditional approach.

Question 22

What is the major purpose of sport-specific behavioral checklists?

Question 23

Describe a difference between the method of a behavioral approach compared to a traditional approach to assessment.

Question 24

What are two differences between behavioral checklists and traditional psychological tests?

Question 25

How does a behavioral approach differ from a traditional approach to assessment in terms of a basic assumption about performance on a test or a checklist?