ABC's of Behavior
Welcome back! Over the next couple of weeks, we are going to be breaking down and understanding behavior. The goal is to focus our efforts on the WHY and dig deeper into understanding that behaviors (both appropriate and inappropriate) happen for a reason.
Why is this important?! When we fully understand why behaviors happen, then we can better understand how we can change them!
Where should we start?! In Applied Behavior Analysis, the Antecedent, Behavior, and Consequence provide us with the “building blocks” in understanding, analyzing, and changing how someone acts. So the real question is what, exactly, is behavior? “Human behavior is everything people do, including how they move and what they say, think, and feel” (Cooper, Heron, Heward, 2006,p.25). Opening a bag of chips, thinking about how good they will taste, and even reading this sentence are all examples of “behaviors.”
A→ B→ C Three Term Contingency!
Behaviors are affected by changes in environment that occur prior to and immediately after the behavior. Antecedents combined with consequences help us understand what is causing specific behaviors. Look at the table below to help better understand the three term contingency!
A (Antecedent)
The antecedent refers to environment conditions or changes that exist or occur prior to the behavior. What is happening right before the behavior occurs?
B(Behavior)
Behavior is anything observable that a person says or does. It is important that you look at behavior objectively and paint a very clear picture of what we see. What does the behavior look like?
C(Consequence)
A consequence is a change in the environment that follows the behavior. A consequence isn’t to get confused with what we typically think about when we hear “consequence.” What happens immediately following the behavior?
When thinking about why a particular behavior happens, it’s important to start thinking about the antecedents and consequences surrounding the behavior. Next week we will dive into understanding what we do with this information and how understanding the A, B, C model tells us why it’s happening! Stay tuned!
In the meantime, write out your own ABC’s chart using five common examples in your household – keep it handy for next week!
Cooper, J. O., Heron, T. E., & Heward, W. L. (2007). Applied behavior analysis(2nd ed.). Columbus, OH: Merrill Prentice Hall