ABA Exam CoachLessons · F. Behavior Assessment
F.5 · Descriptive assessments
What if you could watch problem behavior exactly where it happens and catch the clues around it? That's a descriptive assessment. Today we'll cover how to design one well, and also what it can't tell you.
Key takeaway
In a descriptive assessment, you observe and record antecedents and consequences as they naturally happen. You don't program any consequences. Because the data are correlational, they suggest a hypothesis about function but don't demonstrate one. Always compare the conditional probability with the background (unconditional) probability before you trust a pattern.
In a descriptive assessment, you observe and record antecedents and consequences as they naturally happen. You don't program any consequences. Because the data are correlational, they suggest a hypothesis about function but don't demonstrate one. Always compare the conditional probability with the background (unconditional) probability before you trust a pattern.
Members get the full lesson video, notes and a 5-question test
The video walks through the idea, worked examples, the trap people fall into and an exam-style question. The notes and the checkpoint come with it, and your results feed your Where to focus plan.