In a functional analysis, what is the name of the condition where the therapist is present but no programmed consequence after problem behavior?

In a functional analysis, what is the name of the condition where the therapist is present but no programmed consequence after problem behavior?

• A. Control condition
• B. Attention condition
• C. Escape condition
• D. Tangible condition

Answer: (A)

In functional analysis, you test how problem behavior changes when you manipulate the consequences that follow it. The condition where the therapist is present but no programmed consequence follows is the control condition. In this setup, the therapist interacts in a neutral way and does not deliver attention, escape, or access to tangibles after the problem behavior. The goal is to establish a baseline and see what the behavior looks like when no social reinforcement is provided. By comparing this baseline to the other conditions—where attention, escape, or tangible access is made contingent on the behavior—you can determine which consequence actually maintains the behavior. If the problem behavior stays low in the control condition, it supports that social reinforcers are driving it in the other conditions. If it remains high in the control condition, it might indicate automatic reinforcement or that the testing setup isn’t capturing the reinforcement function.

In functional analysis, you test how problem behavior changes when you manipulate the consequences that follow it. The condition where the therapist is present but no programmed consequence follows is the control condition. In this setup, the therapist interacts in a neutral way and does not deliver attention, escape, or access to tangibles after the problem behavior. The goal is to establish a baseline and see what the behavior looks like when no social reinforcement is provided. By comparing this baseline to the other conditions—where attention, escape, or tangible access is made contingent on the behavior—you can determine which consequence actually maintains the behavior. If the problem behavior stays low in the control condition, it supports that social reinforcers are driving it in the other conditions. If it remains high in the control condition, it might indicate automatic reinforcement or that the testing setup isn’t capturing the reinforcement function.