Targeted Topics in ApplieD Behavior Analysis

Setting the Scene:
You are a Board Certified Assistant Behavior Analyst (BCaBA) who works for Applied Behavior Associates, a
community mental health agency. A group home provider serving adolescent foster children, ages 13–17, has
submitted a referral to your agency for staff training in “behavior control procedures.” You have been assigned
to provide training in basic principles of positive behavior intervention for the home. The home previously
contracted with a non-credentialed “behavior specialist” who wrote behavior guidelines for the staff to follow.
These guidelines included such recommendations as, “Whenever you notice a resident becoming aggressive,
tell him to go to the quiet area. If he refuses, implement the two-person transportation procedure to move him
to the quiet area. Prevent the resident from leaving the quiet area until he is calm. After the resident has met
criteria to leave the quiet area, remove all privileges for the rest of the day.” These procedures have failed
miserably, and you are being asked to provide some guidance.
Discussion:
Discuss the three-term contingency (antecedent, behavior, and consequence) and its relevance to
understanding why behaviors occur. What information pertaining to the three-term contingency needs to be
considered in the current scenario?
Discuss the components necessary for an operational definition of a target behavior. Provide an operational
definition of the target behavior labeled “aggression” in the scenario that could be used to provide more clarity.
Discuss one of the seven dimensions of Applied Behavior Analysis outlined by Baer, Wolf, and Risley (found in
Applied Behavior Analysis, Chapter 1, and beginning on page 16) and describe how the dimension can be
applied when considering interventions in the current scenario