Evaluating the effects of physical reactions on aggression via concurrent-operant analyses

Stephanie A. Hood, Nicole M. Rodriguez, Kevin C. Luczynski, Wayne W. Fisher

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

6 Scopus citations

Abstract

Under naturally occurring conditions, the individual who is the target of aggression is likely to physically react to evade the aggressor and avoid physical harm. Like other forms of attention that occur following problem behavior, physical reactions may maintain problem behavior. However, evaluating the effects of physical reactions is complicated by issues related to therapists' ability to consistently and safely control their reactions, which may prove difficult to achieve in functional analyses. We evaluated the utility of a concurrent-operant analysis to test behavioral sensitivity to physical reactions. The results suggest that the concurrent-operant analysis may be useful when therapists cannot consistently refrain from responding contingent on problem behavior in the control condition of a more typical functional analysis.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)642-651
Number of pages10
JournalJournal of applied behavior analysis
Volume52
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 1 2019

Keywords

  • aggression
  • attention-maintained
  • concurrent-operant schedules
  • functional analysis
  • protective equipment

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Philosophy
  • Applied Psychology
  • Sociology and Political Science

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