Emerging themes in the functional analysis of problem behavior.
Look beyond the classic four functions—test for social avoidance, pain, and setting events when an FA feels stuck.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Carr (1994) wrote a think-piece, not an experiment.
The paper maps where functional analysis should go next.
It tells clinicians to look past attention, escape, tangible, and automatic reinforcement.
What they found
The author spotted three gaps.
Social avoidance, pain-driven behavior, and setting events were missing from most FAs.
He urged the field to test these new paths.
How this fits with other research
Smith et al. (2010) later showed that hidden medical problems can keep problem behavior alive.
This backs the paper’s call to add biological reinforcement to FA logic.
Reese et al. (2005) found sensory-avoidance functions in toddlers with autism.
That result echoes the target’s plea to include context and diagnosis-specific triggers.
Davis et al. (1994) ran 152 FAs the same year and mapped the classic four functions.
The two 1994 papers sit side-by-side: one counts what we knew, the other imagines what we missed.
Why it matters
Next time an FA comes out “undifferentiated,” probe for pain, social avoidance, or setting events.
Add a brief health screen or sensory escape test condition.
These extra steps can turn a dead-end assessment into a clear roadmap for treatment.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
The functional control of problem behavior is generally conceptualized as involving attention, escape, sensory reinforcement, and tangible factors. Our analytic tools have now reached a level of sophistication that makes possible consideration of several new, emerging themes in the area of functional analysis. First, we need to examine other functional properties of problem behavior involving social avoidance, biological reinforcement, and respondent conditioning factors. Second, we need to explore the role of context, including social factors such as group interactions, sequencing of tasks and activities, presence or absence of specific individuals, and crowding; as well as biological factors, such as physical illness, exercise, and drugs. Finally, we must consider the multidimensional character of assessment in naturalistic settings and the practical need for developing descriptive analytic procedures that complement and produce results that are congruent with those obtained from traditional functional analyses.
Journal of applied behavior analysis, 1994 · doi:10.1901/jaba.1994.27-393