Vanessa frequently complains of getting terrible headaches and so ends up at the nurse's office several times a week. Yet two different physicians have been unable to find a cause for Vanessa's headaches, and Vanessa's parents report that their daughter rarely has headaches at home. Vanessa is falling further and further behind in her schoolwork, so Vanessa's teacher and parents meet with the nurse and school psychologist to brainstorm possible solutions to Vanessa's problem. The school psychologist suggests that the teacher keep track of the occasions when Vanessa complains about a headache. Two weeks later, the teacher reports that all of Vanessa's complaints occur just before a test or difficult assignment. Suddenly the teacher and parents begin to suspect that perhaps Vanessa complains of headaches as a way of getting out of having to do difficult assignments. Here we see the initial steps in a process known as:
A) The use of incompatible behaviors
B) Behavioral momentum
C) Functional analysis
D) Extinction of inappropriate behavior

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The scenario described involves conducting a functional analysis, which is the process of identifying the function or purpose of a behavior (in this case, complaining of headaches) by analyzing the antecedents and consequences of the behavior. This process can help determine whether the behavior is a result of a specific environmental trigger or serves a specific function, such as escaping challenging tasks. Once the function is identified, appropriate interventions can be implemented.

Vanessa Frequently Complains of Getting Terrible Headaches and So Ends