Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis logoLink to Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis
. 1997 Summer;30(2):313–326. doi: 10.1901/jaba.1997.30-313

Toward the development of structured criteria for interpretation of functional analysis data.

L P Hagopian 1, W W Fisher 1, R H Thompson 1, J Owen-DeSchryver 1, B A Iwata 1, D P Wacker 1
PMCID: PMC1284048  PMID: 9210309

Abstract

Using functional analysis results to prescribe treatments is the preferred method for developing behavioral interventions. Little is known, however, about the reliability and validity of visual inspection for the interpretation of functional analysis data. The purpose of this investigation was to develop a set of structured criteria for visual inspection of multielement functional analyses that, when applied correctly, would increase interrater agreement and agreement with interpretations reached by expert consensus. In Study 1, 3 predoctoral interns interpreted functional analysis graphs, and interrater agreement was low (M = .46). In Study 2, 64 functional analysis graphs were interpreted by a panel of experts, and then a set of structured criteria were developed that yielded interpretive results similar to those of the panel (exact agreement = .94). In Study 3, the 3 predoctoral interns from Study 1 were trained to use the structured criteria, and the mean interrater agreement coefficient increased to .81. The results suggest that (a) the interpretation of functional analysis data may be less reliable than is generally assumed, (b) decision-making rules used by experts in the interpretation of functional analysis data can be operationalized, and (c) individuals can be trained to apply these rules accurately to increase interrater agreement. Potential uses of the criteria are discussed.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (199.0 KB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Baer D. M. "Perhaps it would be better not to know everything.". J Appl Behav Anal. 1977 Spring;10(1):167–172. doi: 10.1901/jaba.1977.10-167. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Bowman L. G., Fisher W. W., Thompson R. H., Piazza C. C. On the relation of mands and the function of destructive behavior. J Appl Behav Anal. 1997 Summer;30(2):251–265. doi: 10.1901/jaba.1997.30-251. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Cooper L. J., Wacker D. P., Sasso G. M., Reimers T. M., Donn L. K. Using parents as therapists to evaluate appropriate behavior of their children: application to a tertiary diagnostic clinic. J Appl Behav Anal. 1990 Fall;23(3):285–296. doi: 10.1901/jaba.1990.23-285. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Deprospero A., Cohen S. Inconsistent visual analyses of intrasubject data. J Appl Behav Anal. 1979 Winter;12(4):573–579. doi: 10.1901/jaba.1979.12-573. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Fisher W., Piazza C., Cataldo M., Harrell R., Jefferson G., Conner R. Functional communication training with and without extinction and punishment. J Appl Behav Anal. 1993 Spring;26(1):23–36. doi: 10.1901/jaba.1993.26-23. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Iwata B. A., Dorsey M. F., Slifer K. J., Bauman K. E., Richman G. S. Toward a functional analysis of self-injury. J Appl Behav Anal. 1994 Summer;27(2):197–209. doi: 10.1901/jaba.1994.27-197. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Iwata B. A., Duncan B. A., Zarcone J. R., Lerman D. C., Shore B. A. A sequential, test-control methodology for conducting functional analyses of self-injurious behavior. Behav Modif. 1994 Jul;18(3):289–306. doi: 10.1177/01454455940183003. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Iwata B. A., Pace G. M., Cowdery G. E., Miltenberger R. G. What makes extinction work: an analysis of procedural form and function. J Appl Behav Anal. 1994 Spring;27(1):131–144. doi: 10.1901/jaba.1994.27-131. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Iwata B. A., Pace G. M., Kalsher M. J., Cowdery G. E., Cataldo M. F. Experimental analysis and extinction of self-injurious escape behavior. J Appl Behav Anal. 1990 Spring;23(1):11–27. doi: 10.1901/jaba.1990.23-11. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Jones R. R., Vaught R. S., Weinrott M. Time-series analysis in operant research. J Appl Behav Anal. 1977 Spring;10(1):151–166. doi: 10.1901/jaba.1977.10-151. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Jones R. R., Weinrott M. R., Vaught R. S. Effects of serial dependency on the agreement between visual and statistical inference. J Appl Behav Anal. 1978 Summer;11(2):277–283. doi: 10.1901/jaba.1978.11-277. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Matyas T. A., Greenwood K. M. Visual analysis of single-case time series: Effects of variability, serial dependence, and magnitude of intervention effects. J Appl Behav Anal. 1990 Fall;23(3):341–351. doi: 10.1901/jaba.1990.23-341. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Michael J. Statistical inference for individual organism research: mixed blessing or curse? J Appl Behav Anal. 1974 Winter;7(4):647–653. doi: 10.1901/jaba.1974.7-647. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Neef N. A. Editor's note. J Appl Behav Anal. 1994 Summer;27(2):196–196. doi: 10.1901/jaba.1994.27-196. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Ottenbacher K. J. Visual inspection of single-subject data: an empirical analysis. Ment Retard. 1990 Oct;28(5):283–290. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Vollmer T. R., Marcus B. A., Ringdahl J. E., Roane H. S. Progressing from brief assessments to extended experimental analyses in the evaluation of aberrant behavior. J Appl Behav Anal. 1995 Winter;28(4):561–576. doi: 10.1901/jaba.1995.28-561. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis are provided here courtesy of Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior

RESOURCES