A functional analysis is designed to identify the function of a behavior targeted for…

A functional analysis is designed to identify the function of a behavior targeted for reduction by comparing responding in a condition in which the hypothesized maintaining variable is delivered contingent on the occurrence of the target behavior (test condition) and a condition in which the hypothesized maintaining variable is delivered noncontingently (control condition). In Iwata et al. (1982/1994), you read about three standard test conditions (i.e., contingent attention, contingent escape, and alone) and one control condition (i.e., noncontingent escape and attention). In your primary discussion board post this week, identify another variable that could be responsible for the maintenance of a behavior targeted for reduction and describe how you would design test and control conditions to determine if the variable was maintaining the target behavior. Discuss any barriers that likely would be encountered while conducting the functional analysis of that behavior and describe how you would overcome them.
References
Iwata, B. A., Dorsey, M. F., Slifer, K. J., Bauman, K. E., & Richman, G. S. (1994). Toward a functional analysis of self-injury.
Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 27
, 197-209. (Reprinted from
Analysis and Intervention in Developmental Disabilities, 1982, 2,
3-20).