Severe problem behaviors related to social interaction. 1: Attention seeking and social avoidance.
Test both high and low attention in your FA—some kids hit to escape you, not to get you.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team ran a functional analysis on kids with developmental delay. They tested three adult-attention conditions: lots of attention, little attention, and attention given only after problem behavior.
Each child spent short sessions in each condition. Observers counted how often severe problem behavior happened.
What they found
Kids split into two clear groups. One group acted out most when attention was taken away. The other group acted out most when adults gave them lots of attention.
The first group wanted more contact; the second wanted less. Same diagnosis, opposite social needs.
How this fits with other research
Repp et al. (1992) part 2 showed these same kids instantly changed how adults taught them. Attention-seeking kids got more teacher talk; social-avoidant kids got less. The cycle locked in place.
Slocum et al. (2024) later treated the avoidance group with stimulus fading plus reinforcement. Four of five autistic kids dropped their problem behavior, proving the 1992 pattern still guides treatment today.
Capio et al. (2013) gave a ready-to-use plan: differential reinforcement plus extinction cut avoidance behaviors and boosted short social interactions. The 1992 discovery became a manualized intervention.
Cengher et al. (2021) zoomed in on escaping conversation. A simple two-minute delay before letting the child leave made talking better than leaving. One small tweak, big drop in problem behavior.
Why it matters
Stop guessing that every kid who hits ‘wants attention.’ Run one high-attention and one low-attention condition in your FA. If behavior rises when you hover, you have social avoidance, not attention seeking. Plan treatment that gives the child space first, then slowly adds contact on their terms.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Studies concerning the functional analysis of severe problem behaviors have suggested that it is important to identify the different categories of stimuli that control problem behavior because each has unique treatment implications. The present study explored the differential effects of adult attention on the severe problem behaviors of two groups of children with developmental disabilities. A third group of nonproblem children was examined for comparison purposes. Children participated in three experimental conditions in which the level of adult attention was manipulated: noncontingent high attention, noncontingent low attention, and contingent attention. Results validated the existence of two groups of children who differed as to their social orientation: (a) One group of children commonly initiated social interactions and was most likely to exhibit problem behaviors under conditions of low adult attention, and (b) the other group of children rarely initiated social interactions and exhibited frequent problem behaviors under conditions of high adult attention. Implications of these data for escape and attention theories of child problem behavior are discussed, as are the applied implications for reinforcer assessment and teaching strategies.
Behavior modification, 1992 · doi:10.1177/01454455920163002