What is a functional assessment of behavior? Describe the A-B-C model of behavioral assessment? A functional assessment of behavior also referred to as a behavioral analysis is the process by which behavior therapists examine the present environmental events maintaining problem behaviors in an attempt to assist clients in changing their behaviors through changing the environmental events associated with the problem behaviors. A functional assessment is conducted by behavior therapists as a means of identifying the maintaining conditions of problem behaviors through systematically gathering information about situational antecedents (A), the dimensions of the problem behavior (B) and the consequences (C) of the problem (Corey, 2013). …show more content…
The A-B-C model of behavior is used by therapists to obtain a more profound understanding on what problem behaviors are maintained by. Antecedent events are events or activities responsible for prompting or eliciting a certain behavior while B is used to refer to the observed behavior. Consequences on the other hand, are denoted by C and are events that sustain behaviors through decreasing or increasing its occurrence. A typical case in point is that of a child who goes to the grocery store requests a candy from mom where mom says ‘no’ (A) and the child starts a tantrum (B). Mom eventually buys the child the candy (C) and the tantrum behavior stops. Thus tantrum behavior will more likely occur at the grocery store in the future as a result of mom buying the candy and reinforcing the occurrence of that specific behavior. In gathering information based on the A-B-C model of behaviors, behavior therapists are able to procure information on the functions the problem behaviors are serving and what they are maintained …show more content…
The fundamental concept governing Cognitive Behavior therapy is that thoughts and feelings play an integral role in the behavior of humans which inevitably reinforces their faulty beliefs. Consequently, these faulty beliefs may impede effective daily functioning of individuals’ lives and may inadvertently affect their relationships with others. As such, Cognitive behavior therapists seek to combat these destructive thoughts and beliefs exhibited by individuals through having a general focus on the following goals with their clients. Cognitive behavior therapists focus on: undermining clients’ faulty assumptions; increasing clients’ awareness of their negative automatic thoughts; replacing clients’ irrational beliefs with rational ones; and on assisting clients to seek out their rigid beliefs in an attempt to minimize