Compare and contrast Structural Analysis and Consequence Analysis as outlined in Chapter 9 of your e-book. Be sure to include specific descriptions of the processes related to each in your response (simply listing terms will NOT be enough for a solid grade). You will need to specify the steps necessary for conducting Functional Analysis in an applied setting and review some of the conditions such assessments are completed in. Strengths and weaknesses of this approach should be discussed as well.

 

Here is an example response to give you an idea or maybe just find a way to reword it.

 

Structural Analysis and Consequence Analysis are different in that the first studies antecedents that occur before and the second studies consequences that occur after a behavior (Steege & Watson, 2009). In a school setting, a Structural Analysis can be conducted by testing different types of assignments with students displaying problem behaviors in order to see which assignments make these behaviors happen more or less often. Some students may have more difficulty with specific tasks, such as reading or math homework. Steege and Watson (2009) also mention that behavior can be greatly affected by whether a student is being given a visually-based task or a language-based one.

            Consequence Analysis involves providing an individual with different consequences for a specific target behavior to determine which consequence is responsible for maintaining the behavior. The function of any target behavior could be gaining attention, escape, sensory stimulation or access to a tangible. Therefore, any of these types of consequences can be tested to determine the function of the behavior. If giving a person attention for engaging in a problem behavior makes this behavior occur more frequently, it is likely that the behavior should be ignored or placed on extinction. These are merely a few of the important insights which these analyses provide (Steege & Watson, 2009).

            It is important that the analyst conducting the functional analysis also creates a graph of the various data that is recorded through either Structural or Consequence Analysis. This will help to represent the data to non-professionals who may be confused by the results otherwise. It is also important to take into account both the strengths and weakness of conducting a functional analysis. This type of analysis has many strengths, such as being able to accurately identify the function of a behavior. Once the function of a behavior is known, the analyst may move on to developing a behavioral intervention plan to address whatever behavior is begin targeted. However, these experimental analysis take a great deal of training to complete and most staff members at a school are not equipped to conduct them without the help of a behavior analyst. For that reason, some schools may choose not to implement these as the required professionals and resources may not be available (Steege & Watson, 2009).

Reference

Steege, M.W. & Watson, T. S. (2009). Conducting school-based functional behavioral assessments: A practitioner's guide (2nd ed.).  New York, NY: The Guilford Press.