Why Study Behavior? Lessons learned from Doris Ann

Dr. Val Farmer-DouganDept. Of Psychology (and Bio)

Illinois State University

Incidental Teaching

• Teaching method used to increase social/verbal behaviors in children, adolescents and adults with developmental disabilities (Farmer-Dougan, 1994; Hart and Risley, 1968, 1974, 1975).

• Focuses on accurately identifying reinforcers and increasing generalization and maintenance through use of naturalistic teaching

• Captures a “teaching moment”

Can Incidental Teaching elicit generalized behavior?

• 6 adult men with mental retardation and autism

• In a group home for young men with severe behavioral problems

• Problem behavior: Inappropriate behavior at meal times– Grabbed food – Shoved food in mouth– No social interactions

Method

• 3 Pairs: higher functioning with lower functioning man– Three most verbal paired with 3 least verbal– Used lunch preparation as training time– Dinnertime was used as generalization probes

• Lunch prep task:– More verbal person given all items used in food prep– When other client reached for item, was taught to withdraw

item and prompt for “nice asking”– If the low verbal client “asked nicely”, got the item

• By signing• By single word• By sentence

Method

• Several steps:– Baseline– Training of Peer Tutors– Peer training– Withdrawal of incidental teaching– Reinstatement of incidental teaching– An ABCAC design– Generalization probes at dinner

Why important?

• Showed that peer delivered incidental teaching could be easily implemented and highly adaptable– Focus on naturally occurring stimuli rather artificial

situations and stimuli

• Highly appropriate for community-based programming– Provided instruction in the context of natural, family-like

activities

• Was more effective means of assessing what was reinforcing to the clients than traditional methods or even Premack.

Theoretical and Applied Implications:

• Incidental teaching allows immediate imposition of constrained baselines with little to no requirement for baseline assessment– immediate assessment of behavior– accurate– highly adaptable

Can also use for Animal Behavior

• Zoos: animal management, care and enrichment

• Animal Shelters: behavior testing, identification and remediation of behavior problems

• Even Pet owner consulting

CAN BE EFFECTIVE FOR ANIMALS, TOO!

Functional Analysis of Aggression in a

Lemur: Teaching her NOT to bite!

Functional Analysis: Determine the Function of a (bad) Behavior

• Developed the Captive Animal Functional Analysis Checklist (CAFAC)– This helps determine what is maintaining the

behavior (reinforcing it)

• Examines several categories of contingencies– Social reinforcement: attention from other animals or humans– Escape from humans, other animals– Social Dominance versus Submission– Self-stimulation (automatic reinforcement)

FACA showed:• Whacko’s aggression

maintained by:

– Social reinforcement• Contact and interaction• Protected the food bowl

– Social dominance• Dominant over two

males in enclosure• Aggressive to male

zookeeper

Replacement Behaviors

• Taught the lemur alternative responses:

• Sit on her station• Show her paw

• Punished biting/ aggression

• water spray

Special Needs Dogs

• Shelter dogs– Shelters are like prisons: devoid of positive stimuli

and full of negative stimuli– Dogs develop behavior problems such as

• Fear• Avoidance of humans• Poor social skills to humans and other dogs• Separation anxiety and related issues

• Special needs dogs– Deaf dogs– Blind dogs– Amputee dogs– Deaf and blind dogs

Differences in Deaf vs. Hearing dogs?

Differences in Deaf vs. Hearing dogs?Play Behavior

Play Pair Condition

Same Different

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an T

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l Pla

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Leap On

Play Pair Condition

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Bark

Play Pair Condition

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king

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deaf Col 1 vs hearing bark

Other Nonplay Behavior

Play Pair Condition

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deaf hearing

But they are just as trainable!

• Here two videos from our lab…….– First is Moe: He is a 3 year old deaf, low

vision Australian Shepherd– https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10101979072684500&s

et=o.203546726499632&type=2&theater

– Second is Keller: He is a 3 year old deaf/blind Australian Shepherd.

– https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10101979080713410&set=o.203546726499632&type=2&theater

Training Service Dogs• Service dogs perform tasks for people with disabilities

• We work with Heartland Service dogs in Mokena Illinois

• At ISU we train service dogs for– Hearing– Physical disabilities– Autism– PTSD or Anxiety

• We incur all costs of raising and training the dogs

• Dog is placed FOR FREE with person with disability

SIT

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WHICH HAND

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WALLY

ZOOMBA

MOE

Sometimes we learn more from the client than we teach

• Goal of behavior analysis is to “listen” to what the behavior is telling us.

• Can’t have preconceived notions, but rather must be good observers.

• This is very important when dealing with unusual cases

• Here is the story of Doris Ann…….

•At 30 yrs old referred to a state special Inpatient Behavior Center because of her violent and aggressive behavior.

•She would •Hit her head (notice the wound at her hair line)

•Bite and pinch others causing severe wounds.

•Bite and scratch herself, •including pulling off her own skin on her arms and legs.

•Scream incessantly

This is Doris Ann

My team’s job:

• Doris Ann arrived in a helmet, arm and leg restraints and on a high dose of sedatives.

• Our job was to – get her out of restraints – off the medication – remediate the aggressive behavior using behavioral

analysis techniques.

• Conducted a functional analysis on the behavior– Collected data in 5 minute bins– Examined the data for patterns: what was reinforcing the

behavior? What was setting off the behavior?

Functional Analysis indicated that:

• Aggression in 2 situations– self aggression– Demands by staff to follow a direction

• Self aggression occurred 30-60 min. after meal/snack– banging head; Scratching at stomach, legs,

bottom– Screamed loudly during these episodes

• Form of post-meal aggression– Much more intense – continued when we tried to interrupt

What is YOUR diagnosis:

• What is maintaining the self aggression?

• What is maintaining the aggression to others?

Diagnosis• Pain was driving her inappropriate behavior

– she had developed around her own twin: fetus in fetu– extra intestines, lobes of her liver, prolapsed colon,

lactose intolerance

• Solution:– Surgery to correct congenital defects– Change in diet– Teach an appropriate behavior to signal pain– Teach social and vocational skills so she could be an

active member of society

• Outcome: – Moved into a group home– Worked at a sheltered workshop and earned a paycheck– Self injurious behaviors diminished to almost nothing

Lessons from Doris Ann

• Behavior talks and tells you the story.

• You must be willing and able to listen!!

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