Evaluation of the divided attention condition during functional analyses.
Splitting the therapist’s attention during an FA can shorten the hunt for an attention function, but it only helps a minority of clients.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team tested a new twist on the attention condition of a functional analysis. Instead of giving the child one-on-one attention, the therapist talked to another adult in the room.
They ran both the old way and the new way with nine clients. The goal was to see which method spotted attention-maintained problem behavior faster.
What they found
Only two of the nine clients finished the assessment sooner with the divided-attention setup. For the rest, the new condition did not save time.
Still, for those two cases, the change cut the number of sessions needed. That means the trick can help, but only for a small slice of learners.
How this fits with other research
Strohmeier et al. (2018) and Livingston et al. (2021) took a different path. They used the 10-minute RAAT to ask, "Which kind of attention works as a reinforcer?" Their quick probe worked for every participant, while the divided-attention FA helped just two.
LMcQuaid et al. (2024) pushed speed even further. They finished an entire trial-based FA in 42 minutes and moved straight to treatment. That study shows you can be both fast and thorough without inventing new conditions.
The 2013 paper sits in the middle. It keeps the standard FA frame but swaps one detail. The RAAT and trial-based studies changed the whole game plan and got stronger results.
Why it matters
If a client’s problem behavior looks like it feeds on attention, try the divided-attention condition only when the regular FA drags on with no clear pattern. For most cases, stick with brief tools like RAAT or a synthesized trial-based FA. They save time and give you the reinforcer you need to start treatment on Monday.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
A common condition included in most functional analyses (FAs) is the attention condition, in which the therapist ignores the client by engaging in a solitary activity (antecedent event) but delivers attention to the client contingent on problem behavior (consequent event). The divided attention condition is similar, except that the antecedent event consists of the therapist conversing with an adult confederate. We compared the typical and divided attention conditions to determine whether behavior in general (Study 1) and problem behavior in particular (Study 2) were more sensitive to one of the test conditions. Results showed that the divided attention condition resulted in faster acquisition or more efficient FA results for 2 of 9 subjects, suggesting that the divided attention condition could be considered a preferred condition when resources are available.
Journal of applied behavior analysis, 2013 · doi:10.1002/jaba.20