For simplicity’s sake, everything a person does can be filtered down to a three-term contingency: something happened –> so someone did something –> and something else happened that will lead that person either to do that thing again or not.
For example, you see a plate of cookies on the counter. Either you can ask someone for that cookie or you can just grab it. Let’s say you just grab it. Either no one notices and you get to eat the cookie in peace OR your aunt who had spent all day baking the cookies, yells at you and swats you away. If you don’t get noticed, you’re more likely to just grab a cookie next time you see a plate. However, if you went to grab the cookie and got yelled at, you’re probably less likely to grab for cookies next time. But rewind for a second, what if you had just asked someone for a cookie and they said “yes”? Then you’d be eating a warm chocolate chip cookie with a smile and without guilt.
The three-term contingency in Applied Behavior Analysis can explain all of those scenarios: antecedent –> behavior –> consequence.
- Antecedent: signals the availability of the consequence (seeing the plate of cookies means there’s a possibility of eating a cookie)
- Behavior: the behavior engaged in (asking for a cookie or grabbing for one)
- Consequence: determines whether a behavior will increase or decrease in the future (getting to eat the cookie will increase the behavior while getting yelled at shooed away will decrease the likelihood of grabbing for a cookie next time)
In the given scenario, as a parent, you would probably prefer that your child asks you for the cookie before reaching for one. In other posts, I’ll discuss how you can make sure that your son or daughter will choose the “appropriate” behavior instead of just grabbing for cookies on the counter.
The ABCs are a core component of determining the behavior plan for an individual. Behavior analysts will often collect “ABC data” to determine why someone is engaging in a particular behavior. By having these data recorded, we can analyze what typically occurs right before (the antecedent) and right after (the consequence) a behavior and work to change those variables to change the behavior.
An ABC data sheet can either be narrative or a checklist. A narrative data sheet typically has three columns (one each of the Antecedent, Behavior, and Consequence) with blank boxes to write in the required information. This method of collecting ABC data is helpful because you can write as much detail as necessary to hone in on the particular pieces of information that may be important. However, writing down all of those details is also time-consuming and, if the child engages in a behavior frequently, it may take too much time to write all of that down before the next occurrence of the behavior. That’s where an ABC checklist comes in handy. A checklist will have general antecedents, behaviors, and consequences for each column that can simply be checked off and then analyzed later. Some examples of general antecedents can be: demand placed, attention removed, a transition to a new
After determining the ABCs and why a behavior is happening, a behavior analyst can create a behavior plan that will promote progress and reduce the likelihood of increasing other challenging behaviors.