MODULE 1, UNIT 3

BEHAVIORAL ASSESSMENT

A major impetus for behavior therapy was disenchantment with the medical model of psychopathology
that views problem behaviors as the result of an underlying illness or pathology. Behaviorists assert that
both 'disordered' and 'non-disordered’ behavior can be explained using a common set of principles
describing classical and operant conditioning. Behaviorists believe that behaviors are best understood in
terms of their function.

Two symptoms may differ in form, while being similar in function. For example, Jacobson (1992)
describes topographically diverse behaviors such as walking away or keeping busy that all function to
create distance between a client and his partner. Conversely, topographically similar behaviors may serve
different functions. For example, tantrums may serve to elicit attention from adults or may be an
indication that the present task is too demanding. Behavior therapists try to understand not only the form
but also the function of problem behaviors within the client's environment.

DEFINITION OF BEHAVIORAL ASSESSMENT

Behavioral assessment refers to assessing and measuring various constituents of a behavior that are
indicative of why a certain behavior occurs and what causes that behavior. These would include overt
behaviors, feelings, and cognitions and their controlling variables that could be both from within the
individual and outside of the individual. Behavioral assessment focuses on what a person does rather than
on what a person has or is. It is also said that behavioral assessment is more an exploratory activity which
tries to find out the range of procedures used to understand children, adults, groups etc. This definition
emphasises a hypothesis-testing problem-solving model of assessment, the goal of which is to identify
appropriate intervention strategies in order to remediate specified behavior problems.

The history of behavioral assessment cannot be separated from behaviorism as a paradigm of scientific
psychology and its clinical application. Thus, behavioral assessment began when complex human
behaviors were first considered as a subject for scientific study (e.g., Staats 1963, Bandura 1969). Since
the 1960s, four main phases have been identified.

As for the nature of behavioral assessment, it may be stated that its main goal has been behavioral change.
Therefore, all conceptual and methodological features emerge from the attempt to define and measure a
particular behavioral problem and its causal or controlling conditions and design the best treatment. The
following five traits could be considered the essence of behavioral assessment: functional analysis, triple
response modes and multi-causality, idiographism, multimethodism, and the experimental method.
The Theoretical Model Underlying the Application of Behavioral Assessment Procedures

The theoretical underpinnings of the above concept of behavioral assessment stem from the interaction
between the person’s previous learning and the external and organismic environments within which the
person functions. The setting in which the behavior occurs is of primary importance. The biological
makeup and physiological functioning help the individuals to adapt and respond to the environment.
Evaluating behavior requires assessment of the person, the setting, and the interaction between the two.
Setting in this context refers to the environmental circumstances that might be influencing the occurrence
and nonoccurrence of the behavior. Environmental circumstances in turn refer to those environmental
events preceding the behavior, both immediately and distally, and those following the behavior.

Common Characteristics and Assumptions of Behavioral Assessment Methods

While there is a wide variety of techniques available for carrying out behavioral assessment, they have
certain features in common.

1) They all focus on behavior both overt and covert behaviors are measured or evaluated as they occur in
specific situations. Behaviors are observed at a specific time and in a limited location The variables and
concepts with descriptions of behavior are taken up objectively, as assessment requires objective
information, which is more useful than inferences or subjective interpretations.

2) All behavioral assessment methods believe in Quantification Behavior is quantified so as to allow for
reliable comparisons across time and persons and to allow for communication between persons. This
leads to greater objectivity of information.

3) All the behavioral assessment methods use trained, impartial observers are trained in the use of the
various measurement techniques of behavioral assessment, recording of the same and collecting
information in an objective manner. Observers are expected to achieve a specified standard of consistency
in their collecting data, recording the information and interpreting the data.

4) All of them use empirically validated measures. It is important to have consistency in the measurement
across situations. The measures should be empirically validated.

5) All of them recognize errors and try to counteract the errors or minimise errors to the extent possible
using statistical methods. All assessment involves differing degrees of error causing unreliability of the
results. Hence it is important to minimize the errors and this is generally carried out through statistical
techniques.

6) All of these believe that the behavior concerned occurs due to stimuli from the environment.
Assessment is directed toward discovering the situational influences on behavior. The emphasis is on
public events and direct observation of behavior in the natural environment, with behavior being recorded
at the time of its occurrence whenever possible.

7) All these assessment techniques depend not on one but multiple sources of information. In addition to
the behavioral assessment, a wide-range of assessment strategies are used, including behavioral
interviews, checklists, rating scales, standardised instruments, self-reports, self-monitoring forms, and
observations, as no single test or source could give adequate information as to why a behavior occurs.

8) All the behavioral assessment techniques ultimately place high emphasis on intervention. The primary
purpose of assessment is not to categorise or label a person but to obtain information that will assist in
developing effective intervention. The emphasis on intervention results in the application of the
behavioral assessment model to the particular person, situation etc.

9) All the behavioral assessment techniques use continuous assessment. Assessment is continuous
throughout baseline, intervention, and follow up phases. The effectiveness of intervention strategies is
continuously evaluated.

10) Each of these behavioral assessment techniques emphasises on empirically based decision making
process. Decisions about specific assessment strategies and interventions are based on empirical data
available on the individual concerned from the person’s self and the environment in which the person
lives.

11) Most of these behavioral assessment techniques focus on individual person rather than groups.
Assessment focuses on the individual person rather than comparisons to a norm group. There is a
recognition of individual differences in behavior and its determinants, leading to idiosyncratic assessment
and intervention.

12) High emphasis is placed on individual differences. Individual differences among persons are not
absolute. Differences must be seen in relative terms, with consideration given to situational and cultural
differences. It must be kept in mind that a certain behavior considered normal in one setting may be
considered abnormal in another setting.

13) All behavioral assessment techniques not only look for causes contributing to the problem but also try
to solve the problem concerned, once the cause is known. The purpose of behavioral assessment is
problem solving, and hence identification of causes is extremely important so as to devise intervention
strategies to overcome the problem.

14) All the behavioral assessment techniques focus on developing adaptive behavior in the individual.
The focus of behavioral assessment is on developing adaptive, positive, or desirable behavior rather than
on control and reduction of undesirable behaviors. Hence behavioral interventions should be designed and
implemented with the benefit of the particular person concerned in mind.

Advantages and Limitations of Behavioral Assessment

Advantages

• Behavioral assessment provides objective data for deciding specific instructional content and strategies
for intervention.

• Behavioral assessment leads directly to the formulation of intervention strategies.

• Behavioral assessment can be undertaken in the setting in which the concerned behavior occurs or in
simulated conditions resembling the natural setting.

• Behavioral assessment is tailored to the unique characteristics of the referred person and the targeted
environment.

• The continuity of behavioral assessment facilitates determining the progress Behavioral Assessment and
evaluation of outcomes.

• Behavioral assessment has such variety of techniques that these help in multifaceted assessment.

• Most behavioral assessment techniques can be implemented by anyone with sufficient training and do
not require advanced degrees.

Limitations of behavioral assessment

• Much of behavioral assessment methodology is not standardised.

• Differing levels of specification of the concerned behaviors may result in inconsistent data.

• Narrow definitions of behavior may result in less consistency in behavioral observation.

• Behavioral assessment methodology may appear rather easy to apply.

However if the psychologist or behaviorist is not trained in the techniques, the assessment will be
defective and consequently the intervention will be ineffective.

Reliability and Validity Issues in Behavioral Assessment

Reliability in behavioral assessment, refers to agreement between observers viewing the same behavior at
the same time (inter rater reliability), or a single observer observing the same behavioral sequence on
different occasions. On the other hand validity in behavioral assessment refers to data obtained from one
measure (e.g., classroom observation) being predictive of behavior obtained through other measures (e.g.,
classroom achievement scores or teacher ratings) in different settings, under different conditions, at
different times, or by different observers. Multifaceted assessment is the rule in behavioral assessment,
and each of the assessment procedures utilised should provide equivalent data (convergent validity).
Another important consideration with respect to validity in behavioral assessment is the extent to which
information gathered through a multifaceted assessment leads to beneficial treatment outcomes (treatment
validity).
Types of Behavioral Assessment

Behavioral assessment can be of different types and some of which are given below:

Direct assessment: Here the recording of a behavior is done as it occurs in the situation.

Analogue assessment: This involves measuring of behavior under simulated conditions as at times the
behavior may not occur in a natural situation.(e.g. role play)

Indirect Assessment: Here the behavior is not observed but inferred through retrospective analysis.

Idiographic assessment: This describes the behavioral characteristics of the individual concerned. For
example let us say a child with a disorder called Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Here the
assessment is disorder focused.

Contextual assessment: The stimuli in the environment that cause the behavior are in focus in this
method of assessment.

The main tool of behavioral assessment is functional analysis. Behavioral problems were to be defined
through the triple response mode— motor, cognitive, physiological— and diverse potential causes—
multicausality— were to be accepted.

For example, a person’s depression should be defined through cognitive (feelings of loneliness, attention
and concentration problems), physiological (sleep disturbance) and motor (low rate of social behaviors
and physical activity) behaviors.

This problem can be explained functionally by several conditions of the subject, such as a reinforcement
system deficit, inadequate motivational system (personal condition), or a dysfunction in biological
conditions—and usually by the interaction of all of these factors. Since behavioral problems should be
described through the triple response mode, that is through motor, cognitive, physiological modes, other
methods of assessment than observation of overt behavior and other informants (than the subject) should
be considered.

In other words, multi-methodism is one of the most important characteristics of behavioral assessment.
Behavioral assessment provides the basis for behavioral change, and behavioral change requires
treatment, and treatment demands experimental manipulations and evaluation This is why, throughout the
history of behavioral assessment, the experimental method has been a constant among its basic
characteristics.

Process of Behavioral Change: Assessment, Treatment, and Evaluation

One of the most important features of behavioral assessment is its role in behavior modification or
behavioral change. In order to change the behavior, the first step is to make an assessment as to why a
behavior occurs as it is. Once assessment is made, the cause becomes known and one can formulate the
treatment intervention and evaluate as to whether the intervention brought about the desired change.
Behavioral assessment has several challenges to face, it is presently applicable only in the clinical field. It
has to be made applicable to other fields also. Behavioral assessment needs measurement instruments and
improved measurement devices.

Assessment involves a process of decision-making that is well known in terms of the operations
undertaken. Nevertheless, this process is not prescriptive. We might expect that in future standards or
guidelines for the assessment process will be developed and supported by scientific associations. Not only
disorders should be assessed but we must have assessment instruments that could measure normal
behavior and propose successful living.

PARAMETERS OF ASSESSMENT

Behavioral assessment emphasizes repeated measurement, quantification, multi-method and multimodal

assessment, and assessment of behavior as it occurs naturally. Although assessment of behavior on just
one occasion may provide an estimate of its current state, it does not provide information regarding
changes in behavioral patterns over time, or the phase of the behavior.

WHAT ARE ASSESSED?

– frequency of behavior

The term ―frequency‖ in applied behavior analysis and behavior measurement generally
refers to cycles per unit time, or a count (usually of behavior) divided by the time during
which it occurred.

– duration of behavior (sum of duration/total time)

Duration recording documents how long a someone engages in a specified behavior. This
type of data collection is appropriate for behaviors that have a distinct beginning and
ending or for those that occur at very high rates (e.g., tantrumming, being out of seat, not
completing a task).

– intensity of behavior

How intense is the behavior as it is occurring. On a scale from 0-10, how difficult,
overwhelming, or all-encompassing is the behavior.

– increase and decrease (stimulus control, S-R)

Stimulus control is a term used to describe situations in which a behavior is triggered by

the presence or absence of some stimulus.

– latency of behavior (time between S and R)

Latency recording measures the amount of time that lapses between an antecedent (e.g.,
teacher's directive) and when a person begins to perform a specified behavior. This type
 of data collection is appropriate for behaviors that follow a command or directive, or a
distinct stimulus.

– quality of behavior (e.g., good, average, poor)

Strategies of assessment

o continuous recording (every instance)

o Interval recording (each 5 min in an hour)
o time sampling recording (e.g., first 10 min in an hour)
o combined interval time sampling (first 10 min of every hour from 7pm – 10 pm)
o momentary observation period (at a single point in time)

Methods of observation

o event (number) recording

o duration (time) recording
o latency (gap between S and R) recording
o interval sampling & real-time sampling

Sampling interval is the distance or time between which measurements are taken, or data is
recorded. In research terms, also referred to as 'nth selection', this is when we select every nth
participant (sampling unit) in the list; this sampling interval produces a random selection from
throughout the total population.

Real-time sampling is the only way to capture fast, single-shot, transient signals with a digital
oscilloscope. Real-time sampling is ideal for signals whose frequency range is less than half the
oscilloscope’s maximum sample rate. Here, the oscilloscope can acquire more than enough points
in one ―sweep‖ of the waveform to construct an accurate picture. Real-time sampling presents the
greatest challenge for digital oscilloscopes because of the sample rate needed to accurately
digitize high-frequency transient events. These events occur only once, and must be sampled in
the same time frame that they occur. If the sample rate isn’t fast enough, high-frequency
components can ―fold down‖ into a lower frequency, causing aliasing in the display. In addition,
real-time sampling is further complicated by the high-speed memory required to store the
waveform once it is digitized.

Goals of Assessment

The initial goals of assessment are to identify and construct a case formulation of the client's difficulties
that will guide the clinician and patient towards potentially effective interventions. For the behavior
therapist, this involves identifying problem behaviors, stimuli that are present when the target behaviors
occur, along with associated consequences, and organism variables including learning history and
physiological variables. The results of this functional analysis are used to design a behavioral intervention
that is tailored to the individual client and conceptually linked to basic learning principles.

Behavioral Assessment and Traditional Assessment

Behavioral assessment is one of a variety of assessment traditions such as projective testing,

neuropsychological assessment, and objective testing. Behavioral assessment distinguishes itself by being
a set of specific techniques as well as a way of thinking about behavior disorders and how these disorders
can be changed. One of its core assumptions is that behavior can be most effectively understood by
focusing on preceding events and resulting consequences. Out of this core assumption has come a
surprisingly diverse number of assessment methods. including behavioral interviewing, several strategies
of behavioral observation, measurement of relevant cognitions, psycho physiological assessment, and a
variety of self-report inventories.

Behavioral assessment can be most clearly defined by contrasting it with traditional assessment. One of
the most important comparisons is the emphasis that behavioral assessment places on situational
determinants of behavior. This emphasis means that behavioral assessment is concerned with a full
understanding of the relevant antecedents and consequences of behavior. In contrast, traditional
assessment is often perceived as more likely to view behavior as the result of enduring, underlying traits.
It is this underlying difference in conceptions of causation that explains most of the other contrasts
between the two traditions. An extension of this conceptual difference is that behavioral assessment gives
beyond the attempt to understand the contextual or situational features of behavior and more importantly,
concerns itself with ways to change these behaviors. There is a close connection between assessment
itself and its implications for treatment. Thus, behavioral assessment is more direct, utilitarian, and
functional.

The perceived limitations of traditional assessment were a major factor in stimulating the development of
behavioral assessment. Specifically, traditional assessment was considered to focus too extensively on
abstract, unobservable phenomena that were distant from the actual world of the client. In addition,
behaviorists felt that traditional clinical psychology had stagnated because its interventions were not
sufficiently powerful and too much emphasis was placed on verbal therapy.

A further contrast between behavioral and traditional assessment is that behavioral assessment is
concerned with clearly observable aspects in the way a person interacts with his or her environment. A
typical behavioral assessment might include specific measures of behavior (overt and covert), antecedents
(internal and external), conditions surrounding behaviors, and consequences. This knowledge can then be
used to specify methods for changing relevant behaviors. Although some behavioral assessors might take
selected personality traits into account, these traits would be considered relevant only if they had direct
implications for therapy. For example, certain personality styles interact with the extent and type of
depressive cognitions, and the existence of a personality disorder typically predicts therapeutic outcome.
This focus on the person and his or her unique situation is quite different from psychodynamic,
biochemical, genetic or normative trait models.