A Basis for Identifying Stimuli Which Control Behaviors in Natural Settings

PATTERSON, G. R. A Basis for Identifying Stimuli Which Control Behaviors in Natural Settings. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1974, 45, 900-911. Procedures were described for identifying stimuli in the natural environment whose presence was associated with altered probabilities for both the initiation and persistence of noxious responses. Observation data were analyzed from the interactions of a problem child and his family in order to identify networks of stimuli controlling the interaction for each of his 8 noxious responses. Responses initiated by similar parent and sibling behaviors were combined to form a class labeled hostile. The response class served as a dependent variable to search for consequences which significantly altered the probability of the responses persisting. The empirical information about the response class hostile and these maintaining consequences were used to construct probability trees which described extended interactions. The data showed that the context of the interaction itself set constraints on the performance of both the boy and his parents.