Chapter 2
Clinical functional analysis is a powerful method of empirically identifying the variables that maintain a
problem behavior.
Structuralism focused on breaking down internal and unobservable (to others) mental processes into the
smallest unit possible.
Functionalist approaches emphasized the study of observable behavior rather than invisible internal events,
looking to the environment surrounding the organism to help understand behavior.
A functional analysis focuses on the function or purpose of the behavior rather than the behavior’s topography.
Topography, ‘‘refers to the form or descriptive features of a behavior, independent of the consequences that
follow a behavior’’.
A core foundation of functional analysis is that behavior cannot be understood in isolation. Within this
framework, the unit of analysis is the whole person interacting in and with his particular environment.
The phrase treatment utility of assessment has been used in the literature to ‘‘refer to the degree to which
assessment is shown to contribute to beneficial treatment outcome’’.
The Three-Term Contingency: The relationships between the terms are discussed as antecedents increasing the
probability that a behavior will be emitted and the emitted behavior increasing the probability that a
consequence will be delivered.
- Antecedents: environmental stimuli or events that are consistently present in the context in which the
behavior occurs.
- Behavior: anything an individual does, including private events such as thinking or feeling. Similar to
antecedents, in a functional analysis, behavior is examined in light of how it affects the environment
rather than simply the form or topography of the action. Behaviors that have similar effects on the
environment, or produce similar consequences, are grouped together into what is referred to as a
response class.
- Consequences: changes in the environment that occur after the behavior that alter the probability of
future occurrences of the behavior.
The term reinforcement is defined as an increase in the frequency of behavior as a function of the behavior’s
consequences.
When a behavior is positively reinforced a stimulus or event is introduced to the environment after behavior
occurs. This stimulus or event is a reinforcer if its occurrence following the behavior is associated with an
increase in the probability of the behavior occurring.
When a behavior is negatively reinforced, a stimulus or ongoing event is terminated after the behavior occurs. In
this case, the stimulus or event is a punisher.
The term punishment is defined as a decrease in the frequency of behavior as a function of the behavior’s
consequences.
When a behavior is positively punished, a stimulus or event is introduced to the environment after the behavior
occurs. This stimulus or event is a punisher.
When a behavior is negatively punished, a stimulus or ongoing event is terminated after the behavior occurs.
This stimulus or event is a punisher.
When a behavior no longer produces a consequence, the behavior undergoes the process of extinction. The
process is referred to as breaking the contingency between a behavior and its consequence
Guidelines for conducting a functional analysis:
1. Identify Characteristics of Client Through a Broad Assessment - identify the client’s presenting
problems. Evaluation of the client’s strengths and weaknesses can be completed in this step.
, 2. Identify Characteristics of Client Through a Broad Assessment - Principles of operant and classical
conditioning are applied to determine the function of the client’s behavior.
3. Gather Additional Information and Finalize Conceptual Analysis.
4. Devise an Intervention Based on Step 3 - The newly developed intervention will have as its goal the
modification of existing behavior through some combination of the following:
a) behavioral skills training
b) alteration of the environment so that it no longer supports the client’s problematic behaviors
c) modification of inappropriate or flawed rule statements that affect problematic behavior
5. Implement Treatment and Assess Change.
6. If Outcome Is Unacceptable, Recycle Back to Step 2 or 3.
Two of the main limitations are that the validity and reliability of functional analyses has not been extensively
evaluated.
Chapter 4
Treatment principle: specific mechanisms by which treatment procedures lead to change. Accordingly
exposure therapy is not a mechanism for symptom reduction, but rather, a procedure that is used in CBT to
reduce pathological fear and related emotions.
Exposure procedures are divided in three primary types:
- In vivo (real life) exposure;
- Imaginal exposure;
- Interoceptive exposure.
The length of the exposure, arousal level during the exposure and procedure of the exposure can be varied.
Foa and Kozak developed emotional processing theory (EPT). We use this to organize our understanding of
how exposure is effectively used in cognitive behavioural therapies for anxiety disorders.
Classical conditioning (Pavlov): a previously neutral stimulus (CS) acquires meaning through association with
a significant stimulus (US), which invokes an innate behavioural response (US). When CS begins to produce the
behavioural response in the absence of US → CR.
Mowrer’s two factor model integrated the concept of avoidance learning based on Skinnerian principles of
operant conditioning to explain the maintenance of fear in anxiety disorders (Skinner demonstrated that
organisms learn to modify their behaviour based on the consequences of their actions (negative and positive
reinforcement)).
Thus, according to the two-factor theory, fear is originally learned through classical conditioning and
maintained through operant conditioning. This model implies that therapy must not only promote extinction
through confrontations with feared objects, but also eliminate avoidances that would prohibit extinction from
occurring.
According to Lang’s bioinformational model, the fear network is a program for escaping or avoiding danger
that includes representations of feared stimuli, responses and the meaning of stimuli and responses.
EPT specifies two conditions that are necessary for therapeutic fear reduction to occur:
1. The fear structure must be activated for it to be available for modification.
2. New information that is incompatible with the pathological elements of the fear structure must be
available and incorporated into the pathological memory structure.
→ exposure
In vivo exposure is currently considered the treatment of choice to treat specific phobias. In this kind of fear
there is erroneous information regarding the feared object or situation; this commonly involves an exaggerated
Clinical functional analysis is a powerful method of empirically identifying the variables that maintain a
problem behavior.
Structuralism focused on breaking down internal and unobservable (to others) mental processes into the
smallest unit possible.
Functionalist approaches emphasized the study of observable behavior rather than invisible internal events,
looking to the environment surrounding the organism to help understand behavior.
A functional analysis focuses on the function or purpose of the behavior rather than the behavior’s topography.
Topography, ‘‘refers to the form or descriptive features of a behavior, independent of the consequences that
follow a behavior’’.
A core foundation of functional analysis is that behavior cannot be understood in isolation. Within this
framework, the unit of analysis is the whole person interacting in and with his particular environment.
The phrase treatment utility of assessment has been used in the literature to ‘‘refer to the degree to which
assessment is shown to contribute to beneficial treatment outcome’’.
The Three-Term Contingency: The relationships between the terms are discussed as antecedents increasing the
probability that a behavior will be emitted and the emitted behavior increasing the probability that a
consequence will be delivered.
- Antecedents: environmental stimuli or events that are consistently present in the context in which the
behavior occurs.
- Behavior: anything an individual does, including private events such as thinking or feeling. Similar to
antecedents, in a functional analysis, behavior is examined in light of how it affects the environment
rather than simply the form or topography of the action. Behaviors that have similar effects on the
environment, or produce similar consequences, are grouped together into what is referred to as a
response class.
- Consequences: changes in the environment that occur after the behavior that alter the probability of
future occurrences of the behavior.
The term reinforcement is defined as an increase in the frequency of behavior as a function of the behavior’s
consequences.
When a behavior is positively reinforced a stimulus or event is introduced to the environment after behavior
occurs. This stimulus or event is a reinforcer if its occurrence following the behavior is associated with an
increase in the probability of the behavior occurring.
When a behavior is negatively reinforced, a stimulus or ongoing event is terminated after the behavior occurs. In
this case, the stimulus or event is a punisher.
The term punishment is defined as a decrease in the frequency of behavior as a function of the behavior’s
consequences.
When a behavior is positively punished, a stimulus or event is introduced to the environment after the behavior
occurs. This stimulus or event is a punisher.
When a behavior is negatively punished, a stimulus or ongoing event is terminated after the behavior occurs.
This stimulus or event is a punisher.
When a behavior no longer produces a consequence, the behavior undergoes the process of extinction. The
process is referred to as breaking the contingency between a behavior and its consequence
Guidelines for conducting a functional analysis:
1. Identify Characteristics of Client Through a Broad Assessment - identify the client’s presenting
problems. Evaluation of the client’s strengths and weaknesses can be completed in this step.
, 2. Identify Characteristics of Client Through a Broad Assessment - Principles of operant and classical
conditioning are applied to determine the function of the client’s behavior.
3. Gather Additional Information and Finalize Conceptual Analysis.
4. Devise an Intervention Based on Step 3 - The newly developed intervention will have as its goal the
modification of existing behavior through some combination of the following:
a) behavioral skills training
b) alteration of the environment so that it no longer supports the client’s problematic behaviors
c) modification of inappropriate or flawed rule statements that affect problematic behavior
5. Implement Treatment and Assess Change.
6. If Outcome Is Unacceptable, Recycle Back to Step 2 or 3.
Two of the main limitations are that the validity and reliability of functional analyses has not been extensively
evaluated.
Chapter 4
Treatment principle: specific mechanisms by which treatment procedures lead to change. Accordingly
exposure therapy is not a mechanism for symptom reduction, but rather, a procedure that is used in CBT to
reduce pathological fear and related emotions.
Exposure procedures are divided in three primary types:
- In vivo (real life) exposure;
- Imaginal exposure;
- Interoceptive exposure.
The length of the exposure, arousal level during the exposure and procedure of the exposure can be varied.
Foa and Kozak developed emotional processing theory (EPT). We use this to organize our understanding of
how exposure is effectively used in cognitive behavioural therapies for anxiety disorders.
Classical conditioning (Pavlov): a previously neutral stimulus (CS) acquires meaning through association with
a significant stimulus (US), which invokes an innate behavioural response (US). When CS begins to produce the
behavioural response in the absence of US → CR.
Mowrer’s two factor model integrated the concept of avoidance learning based on Skinnerian principles of
operant conditioning to explain the maintenance of fear in anxiety disorders (Skinner demonstrated that
organisms learn to modify their behaviour based on the consequences of their actions (negative and positive
reinforcement)).
Thus, according to the two-factor theory, fear is originally learned through classical conditioning and
maintained through operant conditioning. This model implies that therapy must not only promote extinction
through confrontations with feared objects, but also eliminate avoidances that would prohibit extinction from
occurring.
According to Lang’s bioinformational model, the fear network is a program for escaping or avoiding danger
that includes representations of feared stimuli, responses and the meaning of stimuli and responses.
EPT specifies two conditions that are necessary for therapeutic fear reduction to occur:
1. The fear structure must be activated for it to be available for modification.
2. New information that is incompatible with the pathological elements of the fear structure must be
available and incorporated into the pathological memory structure.
→ exposure
In vivo exposure is currently considered the treatment of choice to treat specific phobias. In this kind of fear
there is erroneous information regarding the feared object or situation; this commonly involves an exaggerated
