SELECT A TARGET BEHAVIOR

The instant step in the behavior changes process is the identification of the target behavior. The
target behavior is the behavior to be change or modified. A target behavior may an excising behavior
that the teacher or parent desires to increase or decrease or nonconcurring behavior; that is, a behavior
that is not observable in the individuals behavior repertoire but one to be developed.
It should be remembered that whenever an individual or a group is singled out for observation and
study for the purpose of initiating a behavior change program, it is inevitable that several individual and
group target behaviors will be identified. All children and adults manifest behaviors that are
unacceptable to some other individuals or groups of individuals under certain condition.
Decisions leading to the selection of a behavior for modification should be governed by the
following considerations among others.

 Type of behavior
 Frequency of the behavior
 Duration of the behavior
 Intensity of the behavior
 Overall number of behaviors needing modification.

The importance of a specific behavior should be determined on the basis of its effect on the child’s
functioning. Schopler, Reichler, and Lansing (1980) suggest the following order of priorities be applied to
changing the behaviors of children with severed development disabilities.
1. Problem that risk the child’s life.
2. Problems that risk the child’s continuing to live with the family.
3. Problems that limit the child’s adaptation to the community outside home and school.

Cooper, Heron, and Heward (1987) suggest these nine factors that should be considered when
establishing target behavior priorities.
1. Determined if the behavior is of danger to the individual or others.
2. Determined if the frequency of the behavior or, in the case of a new behavior, how
opportunities to use the behavior warrant intervention.
3. Determined the duration of the problem or, in the case of a new behavior, how long the
individuals need for the behavior has excised.
4. Determined if the behavior will produce a higher level of reinforcement for the individual
than other behavior under consideration. Generally, behaviors that produce a high level of
reinforcement take priority over behaviors that produce a low level of reinforcement
5. Determined the impact of the behavior on the individual’s skills development and
independence.
6. Determined if learning the behavior will reduce the negative attention that the individual
receives.
 7. Determined if the learning the behavior will increase reinforcement for others in the
individual’s environment.
8. Determine the difficulty (time and energy) to be expended to change the behavior.
9. Determined the cost involved in changing the behavior.

After all of these variables (type, frequency, duration, intensity, and number) have been
considered and a target behavior selected, the teacher must decide the direction of the behavior
changes process. A behavior may increase or decrease as an consequence of an intervention. Table
4.1 presents the behavior change directions and examples of each.

Behavior changes programs then are implemented to increase acceptable behavior or increase
or decrease unacceptable behaviors. Teachers can easily select behaviors they wish to increase or
decrease. In most instances the practitioners takes the child’s manifestation of acceptable behaviors
for granted and does not systematically reward such behaviors. More effort should be made to
prevent unacceptable behaviors from developing, via the systematic rewarding and maintenance of
existing acceptable behaviors.

Two other important characteristics of the target behavior are observability and measurability
(Rusch, Rose, & Greenwood, 1988). The behavior must be readily observable in the environment in
which it occurs. In addition, the behavior must be quantifiable.

Table 4.1

Behavior Change Directions

Direction Examples

Increase Group participation In-set behavior Interaction with peers,

Typing skills, Reading rate, Number skills, Study skills

Verbal outburst, Inattentiveness, Use of four-letter words, Foods

intake, Smoking, Talking during study period, Spelling errors.
Decrease
 Statement describing the target behavior, the precise invention, and the criteria for success or
acceptability of performance should be written or otherwise communicated in objective and specific
terminology. These statements are often referred to as instructional objects. The following objectives
are written so that the target behavior and the intervention can be observed, quantified, and evaluated.

 Decrease the number of times jack interrupts during social studies class.
 Increase the number of pages Susan reads during each 15-minutes study period.
 Decrease the number of times Marion yells during the first hour of the morning.
 Increase the number of times Ken uses the reference books located on the science
table.
 Decrease the amount of time Sharon puts her thumb in mouth during the school day.
 Increase Benjin’s skills in recognizing and naming the letters of the alphabet during
language development class.

Further information on the writing of specific objectives may be found in Mager (1984) and Cooper,
Heron, and Heward (1987).
The following guidelines summarize the process of selecting a target behavior.
1. Select only one individual or group target behavior to change at a time. This requires the
establishment of priorities.
2. Analyze the potential target behavior for its frequency, duration, intensity, and type. The
importance and pertinence of these variables changes with the characteristics of the specific
target behavior under consideration.
3. Consider the direction or course the behavior is to take during the change process. Is the
behavior to be decreased or increased?
4. Determined whether the behavior is measurable in numeric terms.
5. Describe the target behavior in precise, descriptive terminology in all verbal and written
communication.
COLLECTING AND RECORDING BASELINE DATA

Quantitative data collected before the behavior change intervention has been implemented is
referred to as baseline data. The process of collecting preintervention or baseline data is frequently
referred to as function assessment. Functional Assessment is the “identification of accident and
consequent events, temporarily contiguous to the behavior, which occasion and maintain the behavior”.
(Lennox & Miltenberger, 1989). Baseline data provide the foundation on which the behavior change
process is established. These data are also used to determine the effectiveness of the intervention
during the evaluation stop of the behavior changed process.
Functional assessment techniques are applied to gather information about a learner’s
behavioral problem in the environment in which the behavior occurs. This information is then used to
develop one or more hypothesis about the behavior and how it is associated with the environmental
events. An hypothesis is used to develop potentially effective intervention (Foster Johnson & Dunlap,
1993). The hypothesis, being correct, will changed the behavior. If the hypothesis is incorrect, the
behavior will not change and an alternate hypothesis is selected and an associate intervention
implemented.
The components of the behavior management plan using functional assessment are:
1. Conducting a functional assessment
2. Developing an intervention based on the hypothesis derived from the functional assessment
(Foster Johnson & Dunlap, 1993).
The functional assessment includes two steps:
1. Collecting information
2. Developing hypothesis about the behavior. The practitioner must identify and define the target
behavior, identify events and circumstances surrounding the target behavior, and determine the
possible function of the behavior. Next, the practitioner develops and intervention associated
with the function of the behavior. Intervention generally includes teaching the learner
alternative behaviors and modifying circumstances or setting events associated with the
problem behavior (Dadson & Horner. 1993).
There are variety of methods for observing and recording baseline data behavior. According to Lennox
and Miltenberger (1989), there are three categories of methods for collecting functional assessment
data:
1. Behavioral interviews, rating scales, and questionnaires that depend on information from the
individual whose behavior is under consideration or an informant familiar with the individual.
2. Direct observation of the target behavior including its antecedents and consequences.
3. Experimental manipulation of variables in the environment in which the behavior is exhibited.
The efficiency of a particular technique varies with the expertise of the practitioner, the
characteristics of the behavior, and the setting in which the behavior occurs.
To obtain meaningful baseline data, the behavior modifier must engages in two activities:
1. Counting the behavior- means enumerating the number of times, the behavior occurs in a given
period of time.
2. Charting of graphing the behavior- means preparing a visual display of the enumerated
behavior in graphic form.
These two processes are of paramount importance in the behavior change process. When the
number of occurrences or the average duration of the occurrences of a behavior in a temporal
framework are known, the behavior modifier can select an efficient reinforcement schedule before
implementing an intervention.
The recommended method of collecting baseline data is direct observation in the environment in
which the behavior occurs. The beginning behavior modifiers is well advised to obtain observation data
by means of a time sampling technique.
They recommend three strategies that may be applied to conduct a functional analysis:
1. An interview with the individual whose behavior is to be modified or persons who know about
the individual.
2. Direct observation of the target behavior over an extended period of time and in various
settings
3. Manipulation of the settings in which the target behavior may or may not be exhibited.
Observer Reliability:
Successful application of the behavior change process is dependent on the reliability with which
target behaviors are observed or measured. If unreliable measurement procedures are used.
1. Behaviors that change may be recorded as stable
2. Behaviors that are stable maybe recorded as changed (Hall & Houten, 1983).
To increase confidence in their skills as observers, it is recommended that teachers conduct
interobserver reliability checks. To do this, second observer should be done occasionally during both the
baseline and intervention phases of the behavior change process. It is important that the second person
observe the target behavior at the same time, under the same circumstances, and use the same
definition of the behavior as the first observer.
Identifying reinforcers:
A behavior modification intervention is only as effective as its reinforcer. Regardless of the intervention
applied in a behavior change program, if the exhibition of the behavior is not reinforced, the behavior
probably will not change. In a behavior change problem, all factors may be carefully planned and the
intervention precisely implemented, but if the child is not reinforced by the result of his or her behavior,
little probability exist for a permanent behavior change.
 How can the teacher or parent identify potential reinforcers for the child whose behavior is to be
modified? There are several procedures recommended for identifying reinforcers having a high
probability of changing behavior in the desired direction. Among the available procedures are:
1. Preference scales
2. Preference list
3. Interview with the child
4. Interview with the parent or teacher about the child
5. Direct observation
Preference Scales:
Commercially available reinforcement preference scales are designed to assist the practitioner
in eliciting and ranking the child’s preferences. By means of pictures and questions, the teacher or
parents presents the child with a variety of objects and activity, both tangible and social. The child
selects from these potential reinforcers. The teacher of parents systematically guides the child through
the process of selecting, comparing, and ranking the reinforcers. With these materials, however, the
possibility exist that the child will not respond to the selected reinforcers during the behavior change
process.
Preference List:
Preference or reinforcement list, such as the one presented in supplement Two (also at the end
of this chapter), are frequently helpful to the teacher or parent who is having difficulty thinking of
potential reinforcers. The list may be used in a manner similar to the reinforcement preference scale
discussed previously. The disadvantage of the reward list are similar to those of the preference scale.
The preference list’s greatest practical value to the practitioners is that it stimulates
consideration of a broad spectrum of potential reinforcers; new reinforcers can be added to the list as
the teacher or parent becomes aware of them.
Interview with Child:
Interviewing a child to determine what he or she finds reinforcing is frequently productive. The
interview should be structured and the preference list or scale may be used to stimulate discussion. The
child is encourage to express the discuss desires; he or she is asked questions such as “What kinds of
things do you like to do?” “What are your favorite toys?” “What do you like to do more than anything
else?” the child responses will be of great help in attempting to pinpoint those items and activities to be
used as reinforcers. Also, the interviewer has the opportunity to thoroughly explain the behavior change
program and answer the child’s questions.
The use of the interview technique provides the child with an opportunity to learn to select reasonable
and positive reinforcers. Many children initially have difficulty making reasonable selections because of a
lack of experience in decision making. In this situation the interview is in itself a learning experience for
the child. The interview technique can be used with small groups as well as individuals.
The disadvantage of the technique is that it is time-consuming, and its success is dependent on:
1. The child’s or group’s ability to communicate with the interviewing adult
2. The adult’s skill as an interviewer
In the interview situation the ff. steps are should be used as guidelines:
1. Establish rapport with the child or group
2. Explain the purpose of the meeting
3. Define and explain the meaning of individual and or group reinforcers.
4. Elicit suggestions for individuals and or reinforcers.
a. Ask the child or group which rewards could be used as individual reinforcers. Record these
suggestions. If working with a group, ask the individuals which suggested rewards could be
used as group rewards.
b. Give the child or group an opportunity to add to the list of rewards.
c. Request the child or each member of the group choose three rewards and rank them
according to their desirability. If working with a group, determine the group’s ranking of the
rewards. Have the members vote to decide on the reward.
d. Make arrangements for another meeting at which the child or group may choose to add to
or change the reinforcers. It is useful to record the reinforcers suggested by the child or
group on the chalkboard.
Raschke (1981) published a procedure for designing reinforcement surveys that permit a child to
choose personal reinforcers. The procedures is responsive to the needs and interest of the child and
teacher in a specific instructional setting. To develop a survey, the teacher follows four step select
content items, design a survey inventory, administer the inventory and summarize the results.
Steps in the Behavior Changed Process:
Reinforcement assessment open-ended format
1. If I had 10 mins. free time during this class. I would most like to
2. The favorite type of activity that I wish we would do more often in this class is.
3. My favorite seating arrangement in the class is
4. My favorite place to sit in this class is
5. My favorite way to learn new information in this class is
Reinforcement Assessment: Multiple Choice Format
1. The way I best like to learn about something new in this class is
a. Lecture
b. Books
c. Pamphlets
d. Films
e. Tapes
f. Small group works
g. Guest speakers
2. My favorite writing tool to use in this class is
a. Magic markers
b. Felt pens
c. Colored pencils
d. Colored chalk
3. My favorite seating arrangement in this class is
a. Desks in rows
b. Chairs at table
c. Desks randomly scattered
4. The special job I like to help the teacher with the most in thus class is
a. Handling our papers
b. Putting away supplies
c. Decorating a bulletin board
d. Running the filmstrip projector
e. Writing the assignment on the chalkboard
f. Straightening up cupboards and bookcases
Interview with parent or teacher
An interview with a parent or teacher can also be used in an effort to obtain and rank the child’s
reinforcers. Although less desirable than a dialect interview with the child, the parent or teacher
interview can be helpful in determining which reinforcers have been applied successfully and
unsuccessfully by others. It may also be used to determine the range of successful reinforcers within the
child’s response repertoire.
The parent of teacher interview is specially valuable to the behavior management consultant
who is trying to determine the level of understanding and acceptance of behavior change techniques by
the individual who works directly with the child.
Direct observation
The most productive strategy for identifying effective reinforcers is direct observation.
According to an old saying, “if you want to see a person do something well, observe the individual doing
something he or she enjoys”.
Direct observation requires the teacher to observe the child’s self-selected activities in a variety
of situations, such as on the playground in the classroom during structured time and during free time.
In the end, the potency of a reinforcer selected as a result of using any technique can only be
determined by implementation. Many reinforcers, thought to be highly potent, fail to be effective with
some children, where as some reinforcers discovered only on a teacher’s hunch, prove to be most
powerful in changing behavior.
A few additional suggestions for the selection and use of reinforcers may be useful.
1. Except for a few basic items such as food and water, no item or activity can be identified with
certitude as an effective reinforcer before it has been demonstrated to be effective for a specific
child. What is highly reinforcing for one child may not be for another.
2. With over response, even the most powerful reinforcer will lose strength and must be replaced.
The teacher should provide variety of reinforecers, to not only prevent overexposure but also
satisfy the individual and his or her ever-changing preferences. Many teachers provide a “menu
of reinforcer” for their children. On any given the variety of items or activities are available to
satisfy the diverse needs and needs interest of the children. They are permitted to select from
this menu.
3. The task of observing the effects of existing reinforcers and searching for few reinforcers is a
continues process. A good reinforcement system is an ever-changing blend of established and
potential reinforcers.
4. Reinforecers should not be thought of only in items of tangible items. There are many activities
and privileges that are potent reinforcers. Frequently teachers use a tangible reinforcer (with a
social reinforcer) initially during the behavior change program. Later they change the reward
from the tangible reinforcer to a special activity or privilege (always keeping the social
reinforcer). In the final stages of the behavior change process, the social reinforcer used alone
should be adequate.
Phasing Out Reinforcers

As stated previously a goal of the behavior change process is to train an individual to respond to
appropriate and occasional social reinforcers. Consequently it is necessary that the behavior
modification practitioner focus particular attention on phasing out the reinforcers over time. This task is
accomplished primarily by changing from a fixed interval or ratio reinforcement schedule to variable
interval or ratio reinforcerment schedule and by the systematic attenuating or lessening of the average
frequency of reinforcer presentation. It must be remembered that a social reinforcer is always
presented concurrently with a tangible reinforcer, if tangible rewards are used.

Procedures applied to phasing out reinforcers are as follows:

Step 1: Social and tangible reinforcers are presented simultaneous to be individuals on a fixed
reinforcement schedule. This statement assumes that tangible reinforcers are needed initially in the
particular situation. This is not being situation in all cases.

Step 2: Social reinforcers are continued on the fixed schedule, and tangible reinforcers are presented on
a variable schedule. Tangible reinforcers are attenuated over time and finally extinguished. Social
reinforcers are presented simultaneously with tangible reinforcers during this step.

Step 3: Social reinforcers are presented on a variable schedule. They are attenuated over time and are
finally extinguished as a formal behavior change program is terminated.

Reinforcement Area

An area may be set aside in the classroom and home to serve as a reinforcement area. This area
should be selected before a behavior change program is implemented and should contain those items
needed to provide reinforcers. Among the items may be the following:
A table and chairs Games (bingo, checkers, chess, cards)
A rug
Reading material (books, comics, magazines)
Art materials (clay, paint, paper, crayons)
Viewing equipment (television, slide or filmstrip projector)
Listening equipment (record player, tape deck, CD player)
IMPLEMENTING THE INTERVENTION, COLLECTING, AND RECORDING INTERVENTION DATA

Intervention data- involve information collected on the effects of the intervention during the
implementation phase. Equally as important as baseline data, intervention data provide a yardstick for
comparing baseline behavior with new behavior.

Prompting

Some children need assistance during the behavior change process. This assistance may be
manual or verbal and is called “prompting”. Wolery, Ault, and Doyle (1992) define prompts as “any
teacher behaviors that cause students to know how to do behavior correctly”. Prompts may include
such activities as guidelines hand or foot in the completion of a task, moving the child’s head to his or
her attention, taking a child through a task by repeated precise verbal instruction, providing a verbal
model for imitation, and providing printed or three-dimensional materials that structures a task (Schloss,
1986)
According to Martin and Pear (1992), prompts are “supplemental stimuli that control the
desired behavior but that are not a part of the desired final stimulus“. These are various kinds of
prompts that a parent or teacher may wish to apply during the behavior change intervention. These
include : verbal prompts (hints or cues), gestural prompts (motions made without touching the students
to facilitate response), environmental prompts (physically guiding the student to the desired response).
Although prompts of various kind may be a necessary component of the behavior change
intervention initially, they must eventually be eliminated; the child must learn to complete the task
independently, The gradual elimination of prompts is called fading (Panya, 1980). Fading includes the
reduction of the amount and quality of manual guidance, verbal assistance, and printed or three-
dimensional material used to structure an activity. It is important that the practitioner consider the
procedures to be used to fade the prompt before it is implemented.
EVALUATING THE EFFECTS OF INTERVENTION

Once the new behavior has been established at the acceptable level, the practitioner may
question whether the observed changes were a result of the intervention or of an unknown intervening
variable. This query cannot be respond to with exactitude. However, there is a procedure to test the
effectiveness of the intervention. This is the process of reestablishing the baseline in this situation is as
follows; If a behaviors is thought to be maintained at a specific level by an reinforcer, the practitioner
can evaluate the effectiveness of the reinforcer, the practitioner can evaluate the effectiveness of the
reinforcer by withdrawing it.

Reestablishing the baseline is not always an effective means of evaluating the potency of
reinforcer. If a behavior has been firmly habituated into the child’s behavioral repertoire, it will not
respond to extinction.
The use of Baseline 2 in an intervention is at the description of the practitioner. However, once a
teacher or parent has determined that the reinforcer was instrumental in the behavior change program,
it would be a disservice to the child not to reinstate it or not to return to the intervention state.
Mayer and Janney (1989) call for more practical measures of data collecting and thus the
evaluation of the outcome of behavioral interventions in the classroom and school setting. Their “users
friendly” measures include:

a. the student’s schedules of activities, which is evaluate periodically throughout the day.
b. A daily log of a student behavior
c. Incedent reports, and,
d. Alternative skills acquisition and excess behavior records.

These measures of behavior change are suggested by Meyer and Janney because data collection is less
arduous and less intrusive into to outgoing teaching learning process. These same procedures can be
used to supplement the baseline and intervention data collection strategies recommended in this
chapter.

When selecting a target behavior the practitioner should chose only one individual or group
behavior to change at a time. The practitioner should analyze the potential target of behavior in relation
to its frequency, duration, intensity, and type, determined the direction the behavior is to take
(whether it is to increase or decrease); determined whether the behavior is observable and quantifiable;
and finally, describe the behavior in precise, descriptive terminology. Collecting and recording baseline
data allows an analysis of the changes in behavior that occur during the intervention.

Three forms of the children’s Reinforcement Survey Schedule (CRSS) are presented in Chapter
Supplement One. A list of tangible and social reinforcers for application in the classroom and school are
presented in Chapter Supplement Two. Consideration is given to consumable rewards, tangible and
token rewards, games, activities, social rewards, and jobs. Two effective methods of identifying
reinforcers are direct observation and an interview with a child.
PROJECTS

1. Select five potential target behavior and observed them. After observing the behaviors,
discuss their characteristics in terms of frequency, duration, intensity, and type.
2. Collect and record accurate baseline data on two of the behaviors observed.
3. List 25 reinforcers that may be useful in modifying the behavior of children. Classify these as
tangible or social reinforcers. Atleast 12 ogf the 25 reinforcers should be classifiable as social
rewards.
4. Observed a child and develop a list of potential reinforcers for this child. Observed the child
in a variety of situations.
a. As outlined in the text, interview the same child and develop a second list of reinforcers.
b. Interview the child’s parent or teacher and develop a third list of reinforcers.
c. Compare the second and third list of reinforcers. Can differences be noted between the
reinforcers selected by the child and those selected by the child’s teachers and parents?
5. Conceptualize and write a detailed description of an intervention to be applied to one of the
behaviors observed in the project 1.