Effects of familiar versus unfamiliar therapists on responding in the analog functional analysis

The analog functional analysis involves the manipulation of pre-determined antecedent and consequent events and typically is conducted by trained experimenters. Research has evaluated the effects of including a broader range of antecedent variables in the analog. Inclusion of caregivers is one potential antecedent that may alter problem behavior. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of including caregivers in the analog. Four individuals with developmental disabilities and their caregivers served as participants. The differential effects of caregivers and experimenters as therapists were evaluated. For 3 of 4 participants, different patterns of responding were observed when caregivers versus experimenters conducted the functional analysis. Integrity data suggested that skills needed for conducting an analog can be easily acquired. Finally, the effect of participating in the analog on caregiver knowledge of functional relations was examined. All four caregivers demonstrated an increase in knowledge of functional relations following participation in the study