A brief functional analysis of aggressive and alternative behavior in an outclinic setting.
A 90-minute outpatient FA can flip aggression to manding in one session.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Northup et al. (1991) ran a 90-minute functional analysis in an outpatient clinic. Three adults with intellectual disability took part. The team tested if the same reinforcer that kept aggression going could make appropriate manding go up when it was delivered for that new response.
What they found
All three people showed big drops in aggression and big jumps in manding during the test. The change happened right away, inside the same short session.
How this fits with other research
Szatmari et al. (1994) later used the same brief model and saw staff work better together, showing the idea kept growing in the same clinic.
Andersen et al. (2022) now offers a faster way. Their trial-based FA cut time by 71% compared with older brief formats, so you can get answers even quicker.
Shepley et al. (2021) took the brief idea further. They wrapped caregiver training around the 90-minute start and ran a full outpatient program, proving the short FA can launch longer care.
Why it matters
You can finish a full FA in the time it takes to drink a cup of coffee. If the reinforcer is attention, deliver it for manding and watch aggression fall in real time. Use the result to show parents why the plan works before they leave the clinic.
Want CEUs on This Topic?
The ABA Clubhouse has 60+ free CEUs — live every Wednesday. Ethics, supervision & clinical topics.
Join Free →Run a 10-minute attention test: withhold attention for 2 min, deliver for manding, graph both responses.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
We conducted a brief functional analysis to identify maintaining variable for aggressive behavior and an alternative replacement response during a 90-min outpatient evaluation of 3 individuals with severe handicaps. During the initial analogue assessment, which focused on identifying maintaining contingencies for aggressive behavior, each participant displayed a substantially greater frequency of aggressive behavior during one condition than during any other. The contingency that produced the highest percentage of aggressive behavior was then presented for the occurrence of a specific alternative behavior (a mand). During this contingency reversal phase, each participant displayed a substantial reduction in aggressive behavior and a substantial increase in alternative behavior, thus providing a direct analysis of the equivalency of the contingency for maintaining either behavior.
Journal of applied behavior analysis, 1991 · doi:10.1901/jaba.1991.24-509