Behaviors do not occur in isolation. If they occur on a regular basis, they are serving some purpose or function. Think about behaviors in which you engage on a regular basis. Why do you keep doing them? Your readings illustrate that there are only three functions of a behavior: (1) positive reinforcement: you get something you like, (2) negative reinforcement: you escape or avoid something you do not like, and (3) self-stimulation (automatic reinforcement). Which one of these is effective in maintaining your behavior?

To prepare:

ASSIGNMENT: Select and provide a description of a single problem behavior that could be maintained by any one of the following: (a) social positive reinforcement, (b) social negative reinforcement, and (c) automatic reinforcement. Next, give an example of how your selected problem behavior could be maintained by each of these three means. Provide a hypothetical Antecedent-Behavior-Consequence (ABC) analysis for one of the three. Finally, explain how your intervention would differ based on the function of the behavior.

• Cooper, J. O., Heron, T. E., & Heward, W. L. (2007). Applied behavior analysis (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
• Chapter 16, “Motivating Operations” (pp. 374–391)
• Chapter 17, “Stimulus Control” (pp. 392–410)
• Chapter 24, “Functional Behavior Assessment” (pp. 500–524)