August 28, 2024

Behavioral Insights into the Four Core Functions

Applied Behavioral Analysis is an evidence-based approach that has been in use since the 1960s to improve the lives of autistic children. You can understand it as a therapy that aims to improve challenging behaviors and encourage positive ones. Studies by Behavioral Intervention for Autism show an 89% success rate of ABA therapy in treating autism spectrum disorder.

But before heading into improving behaviors, it is crucial to understand why certain behavior occurs. The therapist focuses on the “why” behind the behaviors or the function of behaviors, as this is the foundational step for creating effective interventions in ABA therapy.

What Are the Functions of Behavior?

In terms of Applied Behavioral Analysis, functions of behavior refer to understanding the underlying reason behind any particular behavior. You can break any behavior or action into three parts:

Antecedents: Antecedents refer to the factors or events that trigger any behaviors. They can be external, such as a father scolding the child, or internal, such as a child feeling hungry.

Behaviors: In response to the antecedents, a person behaves. An external behavior is what can be seen by any other person, whereas an internal behavior can be thought of as that child.

Consequences: Consequences are the results of behaviors. Repetition in consequences impacts the behaviors.

So, addressing the functions of behavior is crucial to planning and implementing effective strategies that can accelerate the process of ABA therapy. The four main functions of behavior in ABA are:

Attention: These are the behaviors that occur to gain attention from others. This attention can be positive, like words of praise or attention, and negative as well, such as scolding or arguing.

Escape: These are the behaviors that occur to escape or avoid any unwanted situation, task, or demand.

Access to tangibles: These are the behaviors that occur to obtain any specific item or activity.

Sensory stimulation: These are the behaviors that occur due to self-stimulation. A sensory behavior is performed because of how it makes that person feel.

4 Functions of Behavior: A Comprehensive Overview

Attention

Attention-seeking behaviors refer to the behaviors that are performed to seek attention, whether they are negative or positive. Individuals perform such behaviors to capture the attention of someone around them— be it a parent, caretaker, or siblings who acknowledge and respond to them.

These behaviors can be as simple as repeatedly calling or as disruptive as hitting the other person. An ABA therapist understands whether the action is because of seeking attention or not, as it helps them streamline the next step that can reduce such behavior.

Examples:

An infant throws a tantrum when they feel like their parents or caregivers are ignoring him.
A student is calling out in class repeatedly to be noticed by the teacher.
A student intentionally acts silly to gain the attention of his friends.

When the therapist knows that the reason behind that particular action is to seek attention, they teach alternatives or more appropriate ways to seek attention. For example, the therapist may ask the child to raise his hand in class if he wants to be noticed instead of calling out. This will lead to reduced negative behaviors and improved positive behaviors that will develop an environment that is suitable for all.

Escape

Escape behaviors are the ones that occur when a child wants to avoid any situation or doesn’t want to be a part of it. They actually want to avoid something unpleasant, whether it’s a situation, environment, or task.

Understanding why the children want to escape the situation is necessary. The potential reasons can be the lack of motivation to perform that task or the fact that performing that task is too difficult.

Examples:

A child is running from the dining table because of a disliked food.
A child throws tantrums because they don’t want to take a bath.
A student runs away from the therapy session to avoid solving the puzzle.

Once the therapist figures out that the child is behaving in this manner to escape from the task, they can include interventions that motivate the child to perform those tasks. For example, if the ABA therapist finds that the behavior of the child is because he is considering the task difficult, the child can be taught to break the task into steps or politely ask for help.

Access to tangibles

Behaviors that are performed to obtain any object or engage in desired activities are referred to as access to tangibles. A child performs such behaviors because either he/she wants to have an item such as a toy, food, or any other physical object or wants to do any enjoyable activity like visiting the park, swimming, or puzzle-solving. As a result, they perform actions like crying, insisting, and throwing tantrums to gain access to that item or activity.

Examples

A child crying to get a snack.
A child hits the siblings to gain access to the toy that they are using.
A child whining to go outside.

When the therapist identifies that the reason behind the behavior is motivation to get access to any object or activity, they focus on teaching effective communication and coping strategies. For example, instead of hitting the sibling for the toy, the child can be taught to ask for it using gestures, words, or communication devices.

Sensory Stimulation

These are the behaviors that are not performed to seek attention or to escape any situation. Shortly, these are the behaviors that have no relation with any other person, but the child performs them because they provide desired sensory satisfaction.

These actions can be as simple as flapping the hands and as intense as head banging or spinning. The behavior itself is calming the child or giving pleasure to them, which is why they often repeat it.

Example

A child is rocking back and forth because he/she finds it soothing.
A child humming or making sounds as it provides auditory feedback.
A child is flapping the hands to experience visual or tactile stimulation.

Understanding behaviors driven by sensory stimulation is important because, most of the time, they are a coping or self-regulation mechanism for children. However, they don’t need to be changed every time until and unless there is a risk of self-harm or they interfere with learning and social interactions.