What is Behavior?

What is Behavior?

• Anything a person says or does
• Behavior involves movement and has an impact on the environment
• Is influenced by environmental events
• Can be observed, described, and recorded
• Needs to pass the dead man test (teddy bear test)
• If a dead man or teddy bear can do it, then it IS NOT behavior!!!!

What is labeling?

• What we do when we group several behaviors or internal events (emotions)
• Examples
• He is physically aggressive.
• She acted like she was mad.
• He is non-compliant.
• Dave is acting depressed.
• Jen is frustrated.

More examples of labels

• Jon will hit other people when he feels frustrated or is upset about something.
• Sandy is lazy because she doesn’t do her homework.
• Why is Sandy lazy?  Because she doesn’t do her homework.
•  THIS IS CIRCULAR REASONING-NO END.
• Paul is in a great mood because he is behaving himself.

Why is this a problem?

• You can’t observe it
• For example, How do you observe “frustration”?
• If you can’t observe it, you can’t measure it
• People tend to but their own opinions or biases on lables.
• What frustration means to one person is not the same as the next person. People have different experiences with each label and may interpret them differently.
• Self-report is the only way to measure feelings and internal events

Let’s make a comparison

• Physical Aggression
• Joe is hitting his peers with a closed fist with enough intensity to leave a red mark
• Joe is being physically aggressive
• Which is easier to measure?
• THE FIRST ONE!!!!!

Let’s talk about observable behavior and what Behavior Analysts  mean when say that.

• Described in specific and observable terms
• It can be measured
• Data collection is more accurate
•  People are less likely to include their opinions or interpretations
• Better data collection is likely to give you a better intervention

How would you classify these behavior or label? (Answers at the bottom)

• Smoking
• Attitude
• Naughty
• Punching a mirror
• Being helpful
• Withdrawn
• Screaming
• Yawning
• Kicking
• Non compliance

Now that we have a behavior we can write an Operational Definition!

• An operational definition includes information about the form and intensity of the behavior so that the behavior can be observed and measured
• An operational definition should be clear enough that anyone reading it could demonstrate the behavior after reading the definition
• Topography: what it looks or sounds like
• Intensity:  the physical force involved in the behavior (how hard or how loud)
• Duration: the length of time the response lasts

Answers for behavior or Label-Check your work

• Smoking-Behavior
• Attitude-Label
• Naughty-Label
• Punching a mirror-Behavior
• Being helpful-Label
• Withdrawn-Label
• Screaming-Behavior
• Yawning-Behavior
• Kicking-Behavior
• Non compliance-Label

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Social Skills in Adolescence - ABA Literature Summary