All of us have witnessed problem behavior in a variety of settings. Many people are familiar with this situation in the checkout line at the grocery store!
A four-year-old child walks to the checkout line with her mother and asks, "Mommy, can I have some candy?" Mom, says, "No, it is almost dinner time." The child proceeds to scream, cry, and kick for several minutes. Mom then gives in and buys her the candy. The little girl quits crying and happily eats the candy.
Using the A-B-C's of Behavior you learned in this week's Web Resources, analyze this situation and discuss what you hypothesize is happening. Thoroughly explain your reasoning in order to defend your answer.
You need to specifically discuss:
What is the antecedent (A) of the behavior?
Address any "setting" events affected the antecedent, and if so how.
What is the behavior (B) under study in objective, measureable terms?
What is the consequence (C) that is maintaining the behavior?
What is your hypothesized function of the behavior (e.g., what is the child trying to GET or ESCAPE from)? Support your hypothesis.
When responding to classmates, be sure to give specific feedback as to why you either agree or disagree with your classmate's analysis of the situation.