Psych 282 - Chapter 3 - Graphing Behavior and Measuring Change PDF

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Jeffrey Pisklak ...

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Chapter Three – Graphing Behavior and Measuring Change Introduction  The primary tool used to document behavior change is the graph  Graph: A visual representation of the occurrence of a behavior over time o Efficient way to view the occurrence of the behavior because it shows the results of recording during many observation periods  Behavior analysts use graphs to identify the level of behavior before treatment and after treatment begins o The graph makes it easier to compare the level of the behavior before, during, and after treatment because the levels are presented visually for comparison Components of a Graph  In the typical behavior modification graph, time and behavior are the two variables illustrated  Each data point on the graph gives you two piece of information: when the behavior was recorded (time) and the level of the behavior at the time o Time is indicated on the horizontal axis, the x-axis or the “abscissa” o The level of the behavior is indicated on the vertical axis, the y-axis of the “ordinate”  Six components are necessary for a graph to be complete o The y-axis and the x-axis o The labels for the y-axis and the x-axis o The numbers on the y-axis and the x-axis o Data points o Phase lines  A phase line is a vertical line on a graph that indicates a change in treatment; a change from non-treatment to treatment phases, or from one treatment phase to another treatment phase o Phase labels  Appears at the top of the graph above the particular phase  “Baseline” refers to the no-treatment phase Graphing Behavioral Data  Behavioral data are collected through direct observation and recording of the behavior on a data sheet or other instrument o Once the data has been recorded on a data sheet, it can be transferred to a graph Research Designs  The purpose of a research design is to determine whether the treatment (independent variable) was responsible for the observed change in the target behavior (dependent variable) and to rule out the possibility that extraneous variables caused the behavior to change  Independent Variable: The variable that the researcher manipulates to produce a change in the target behavior  Dependent Variable: The target behavior  Extraneous/Confounding Variable: Any event that the researcher did not plan that may have affected the behavior  Functional Relationship: When a researcher shows that a behavior modification procedure causes a target behavior to change o A functional relationship is established if…  A target behavior change when a independent variable is manipulated (a procedure to implemented), while all the other variables are held constant, and…  The process is replicated or repeated one or more times and the behavior changes each time  A behavior modification researcher uses a search design to demonstrate a functional relationship; a research design involves both treatment implementation and replication o If the behavior changes each time the procedure is implemented and only when the procedure is implemented, a functional relationship is demonstrated A-B Design  A-B Design: Two phases – baseline and treatment, where A = baseline and B = treatment o The simplest type of design, but not a true research design  With this design, we can compare both baseline and treatment to determine whether the behavior changed in the expected wat after treatment o However, the A-B design does not demonstrate a functional relationship because treatment is not replicated (implemented a second time) o Not a true research design because it does not rule out the possibility that an extraneous variable was responsible for the behavior change  The A-B design is not a true research design because it doesn’t include a replication and thus does not demonstrate a functional relationship o Rarely used by behavior modification researchers o Most often used in applied, non-research situations, when people are more interested in demonstrating that the behavior change has occurred rather than in proving that the behavior modification procedure caused the behavior change

A-B-A-B Reversal Design  A-B-A-B Reversal Design: Baseline and treatment phases are implemented twice o Called a reversal design because after the first treatment phase, the researcher removes the treatment and reverses back to baseline o Extension of the A-B design  Highly unlikely that an extraneous variable happened at the exact time as the baseline/treatment, so its very likely that the independent variable caused the behavior change  Variations of the A-B-A-B reversal design may be used in which more than one treatment is evaluated o i.e. You implemented one treatment (B) and it did not work, so you implemented a second treatment (C) and it did work o To replicate this treatment and show experimental control, you might use an A-B-C-A-C design  If the second treatment (C) resulted in a change in the target behavior each time it was implemented, you are demonstrating a functional relationship between this treatment and the behavior  A number of the considerations must be taken into account to deciding whether to use the A-B-A-B research design o First, it may not be ethical to remove the treatment in the second baseline if the behavior is dangerous o Second, you must be fairly certain that the level of the behavior will reverse when treatment is withdrawn  If the behavior fails to change when the treatment is withdrawn, a functional relationship is not demonstrated  Another consideration is whether you can actually remove the treatment after it is implemented Multiple-Baseline Design  There are three types of multiple-baseline designs: o Multiple-Baseline-Across-Subjects Design: There is a baseline and a treatment phase for the same target behavior of two or more subjects o Multiple-Baseline-Across-Behaviors Design: There is a baseline ad treatment phase for two or more behaviors of the same subject o Multiple-Baseline-Across-Settings Design: There is a baseline and treatment phase for two or more settings in which the same behavior of the same subject is measured  Remember that both the A-B-A-B design can also have two baseline phases and two treatment phases, but both baseline and treatment phases occur for the same behavior of the same subject in the same setting o With the multiple-baseline design, the different baseline and treatment phases occur for different subjects, or different behaviors, or different settings  A multiple-baseline design may be used: o When you are interested in the same target behavior exhibited by multiple subjects o When you have targeted more than on behavior of the same subject o When you are measuring a subject’s behavior across two or more settings  When treatment is implemented at different times, we say that treatment is staggered over time Alternating-Treatments Design  Alternating-Treatments Design (ATD): Differs from the research designs just reviewed in that baseline and treatment conditions (or two treatment conditions) are conducted in rapid succession and compared with each other  In the A-B, A-B-A-B, or multiple baselines design, a treatment phase occurs after a baseline phase has been implemented for a period of time; that is, baseline and treatment occur sequentially o A baseline or treatment phase is conducted until a number of data points are collected and there is no trend in the data  A trend means the data are increasing or decreasing across a phase  In the ATD, two conditions (baseline and treatment or two different treatments) occur during alternating days or sessions o Therefore, two conditions can be compared within the same time period o This is valuable because any extraneous variable could not be the cause of any differences between conditions  We would say that there is separation in the data when then the data are consistently higher in one conditions than the other Changing-Criterion Design  Changing-Criterion Design: Typically includes a baseline and a treatment phase  What makes a changing-criterion design different from an A-B design is that, within the treatment phase, sequential performance criteria are specified; that is, successive goal levels for the target behavior specify how much the target behavior should change during treatment  The effectiveness of treatment is determined by whether the subject’s behavior changes to meet the changing performance criteria – that is, does the subject’s behavior change each time the goal level changes Chapter Summary  The six essential features of a complete behavior modification graph are the y-axis and x-axis, labels for the axis, units for the axis, data points, phase lines, and phase labels  To graph behavioral data, you plot the data points on the graph to reflect the level of the behavior on the vertical axis (y-axis) and the unit of time on the horizontal axis (x-axis)  The different dimensions of behavior you can show on the graph include the frequency, duration, intensity, and latency of the behavior o A graph may also show the percentage of intervals of the behavior derived from interval recording or time sample recording or the percentage of the opportunities in which the behavior occurred (i.e. percentage correct)

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A functional relationship between the treatment (independent variable) and the target behavior (dependent variable) exists when the treatment causes the behavior to change o A functional relationship or experimental control is demonstrated when a target behavior changes the implementation of treatment and the treatment procedure is repeated or replicated one or more times and the behavior changes each time The different search designs you can use in behavior modification research include the following: o The A-B design shows baseline and treatment for the behavior of one subject; it is not a true research design o The A-B-A-B design shows two baseline and treatment phases repeated for the behavior of one subject o A multiple-baseline design presents baseline and treatment phases for one of the following options: multiple behaviors of one subject, one behavior of multiple subjects, or one behavior of one subject across multiple settings  In each type of multiple-baseline design, treatment is staggered across behaviors, subjects, or settings o The alternating-treatments design presents data from two (or more) experimental conditions that are rapidly alternated (baseline and treatment or two treatments) o In changing-criterion design, a baseline phase is followed by a treatment phase in which sequential performance criteria are specified All research designs, except the A-B design, control for the influence of extraneous variables, so that the effectiveness of a treatment can be evaluated

Key Terms  A-B Design: A research design consisting of a baseline and a treatment phase; not a true experimental design because the treatment condition is not replicated; mostly used to document behavior change in clinical practice  A-B-A-B Reversal Design: A research design consisting of a baseline and treatment phase followed by withdrawal of treatment (the second baseline) and a second implementation of the treatment  Abscissa: The horizontal axis (x-axis) on a graph; shows units of time  Alternating-Treatments Design (ATD): A research design in which baseline and treatment conditions (or two treatment conditions) are conducted in rapid succession, typically on alternating days or sessions; baseline and treatment phases can be compared with each other within the same time period  Baseline: The condition or phase in which no treatment is implemented  Changing-Criterion Design: A research design in which a number of different criterion (goal) levels are set for the behavior during the treatment phase; when the behavior increases or decreases to the criterion level each time that the criterion changes, a functional relationship is established between the treatment and the target behavior  Dependent Variable: Refers to the target behavior that is measured and that changes when the independent variable is introduced  Functional Relationship: A relationship between a behavior and an environmental event(s) in which the occurrence of the behavior is controlled by the occurrence of the environmental event; a functional relationship is demonstrated in a search design by manipulating the environmental event and showing that the behavior changes if and only if the environment event occurs  Graph: A visual representation of the occurrence of behavior over time  Independent Variable: In the experiment, the independent variable is the environmental event that is manipulated to influence the dependent variable  Multiple-Baseline-Across-Behaviors Design: A research design in which there is a baseline and a treatment phase for two or more behaviors of the same person; the implementation of treatment is staggered across time for each of the behaviors; the same treatment is implemented for each behavior  Multiple-Baseline-Across-Settings Design: A research design in which there is a baseline and treatment phase for the same behavior of the same subject in two or more different settings; treatment is staggered across time in each of the settings; the same treatment is used in each of the settings; the same treatment is used in each setting  Multiple-Baseline-Across-Subjects Design: A research design in which there is a baseline and treatment phase for two or more people exhibiting the same target behavior; the implementation of the treatment is staggered across time for each subject; the same treatment is used with each subject  Ordinate: The vertical axis (y-axis) on a graph; shows the level of the behavior  Research Design: In behavior modification, s research design specifies the timing of the baseline and treatment phases for one or more people in an attempt to demonstrate a functional relationship between the treatment and the behavior

Practice Test 1. Why are graphs used in behavior modification to evaluate behavior change?

2.

What two variables are illustrated in a behavior modification graph?

3.

What is the y-axis? What is the x-axis?

4.

What is labeled on the y-axis? On the x-axis?

5.

What is a phase?

6.

Why are data points not connected across phase lines?

7.

Draw a hypothetical graph that illustrates the six essential components of a behavior modification graph; label all six components.

8.

What will you label the y-axis of a graph based on interval recording?

9.

What is an A-B design? What do A and B refer to?

10. What is an A-B-A-B reversal design? Draw a hypothetical A-B-A-B graph. Be sure all six components are included.

11. What is a multiple-baseline design? Identify three types of multiple-baseline designs. Draw a hypothetical graph of a multiple-baseline-across-subjects design. Be sure all six components are included.

12. What is an extraneous variable? How does an A-B-A-B design help you rule out extraneous variables as the cause of behavior change?

13. What does it mean to say that treatment is staggered in a multiple-baseline design?

14. What is an alternating-treatments design (ATD)?

15. How do you judge the effectiveness of treatment in an ATD?

16. Describe the changing-criterion design.

17. How do you determine that treatment is effective in a changing-criterion design?

18. What is a functional relationship? How do you determine that a functional relationship exists between a target behavior and a treatment procedure?...