3. HISTORY
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
4. BEHAVIORAL ASSESSMENT CONTEXT IN
CLINICAL PSYCH
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
5. DIFFERENCES FROM TRADITIONAL
ASSESSMENT
1. Interested in samples of behavior, not behavior as
a sign of internal processes
2. Functional Analysis, a very concrete method, is
employed to understand behavior
3. 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)
6. 1. 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
7. 2. Functional Behavioral Analysis (also
called Functional Analysis)
Derived from Skinner’s work with SR
(stimulus-response) learning
SORC model
ABC model (very similar)
Isolates a target behavior for analysis and
understanding in a very concrete,
prescripted manor
8.
9. SORC MODEL FOR CONCEPTUALIZING A
BEHAVIOR
S = stimulus 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
10. ELABORATION OF “O”
Organismic
Physical / medical / physiological, cognitive /
psychological aspects of the client
…that are relevant to treating the target
behavior
11. EXAMPLE OF SORC MODEL
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
12. SIMILAR TO SORC: ABC
A = Antecedent – similar to “situation”
B = Behavior – similar to “response”
C = Consequence – outcome
13. 3. Is an ongoing & active process, through all points
of behavioral therapy: initial assessment, therapy,
and evaluation of improvement
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
16. BEHAVIORAL INTERVIEWS
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.
17. OBSERVATION: A PRIMARY TECHNIQUE
Observational methods (as opposed to self-report)
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
18. CONTROLLED PERFORMANCE TECHNIQUES
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
19. SELF-MONITORING TECHNIQUES
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
20. EMA
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
21. ROLE PLAYING
Controlled-setting for “safety”
Provide a scenario for client to act out,
possibly with a clinical assistant or the
therapist
Benefit: therapeutic since it’s practice in a
safe setting plus provides ongoing
assessment
22. INVENTORIES, CHECKLISTS
E.g., child behavior checklist CBCL
Parent, peer, self, teacher rate on a list of behaviors
Usually multiple raters
Questionnaire format
Often have multiple “factors” in checklist
E.g., aggressive, depressed, anxious behaviors
Benefit: they offer a quantitative measure!
23. COGNITIVE-BEHAVIORAL ASSESSMENTS
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.
24. CHALLENGES TO VALIDITY AND
RELIABILITY
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