Using antecedent manipulations to distinguish between task and social variables associated with problem behaviors exhibited by children of typical development.
A simple attention-only probe can tell you if a typical child acts out for people or for escape from work.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Four kids with no diagnosis took part.
Researchers set up two simple test rooms.
In one room, hard tasks plus adult attention made two kids act out.
In the other room, adult attention alone made the other two kids act out.
No task was given in the second room—just people talking.
What they found
Two kids only melted down when work was tough and people watched.
Two other kids melted down the moment any adult gave them eye contact.
The test showed which kids wanted escape from work and which kids wanted more people time.
How this fits with other research
Repp et al. (1992) saw the same dance years earlier.
They watched adults give more help to kids who cried for attention and less help to kids who cried to be left alone.
Firth et al. (2001) later showed that in group homes, grown-ups still hand out attention right after problem acts, proving the pattern holds beyond little kids.
Orsmond et al. (2009) moved the idea into autism classrooms.
They swapped lights, gave five-minute warnings, and cut problem acts to almost zero.
Together, these studies say: first find if the child wants people or wants space, then change the room, not the child.
Why it matters
Next time you run an FBA, add a pure attention test.
Sit with the child, give no task, just talk.
If problem behavior jumps, you have a social function.
If it stays flat, look at the work next.
This one extra condition saves you weeks of guessing.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
In the antecedent functional assessment literature, researchers have introduced task demands and social attention simultaneously while varying the level of task difficulty. Though research has demonstrated situations in which a combination of social and task antecedents occasion socially avoidant responses from children with disabilities, no current studies have been offered to assess the impact of high levels of adult attention devoid of task demands on problem behaviors exhibited by children of typical development. A multiple element design was used to assess the specific effects of task and social antecedents on the problem behaviors of four children of typical development. Results identified two children whose behavior was associated with a combination of difficult task demands and attention in the form of commands and redirections and two children whose behavior was associated only with high levels of adult attention that did not include commands or redirections. These results suggest that antecedent functional assessment procedures can assess the impact of high levels of attention without the presence of task demands.
Behavior modification, 2001 · doi:10.1177/0145445501252006