Scenario

You are an experienced BCBA who is consulting at a startup ABA company. The owner is working to put policies and procedures in place. The first policy to go into place is an attendance policy. The staff are calling out at least once per week, on average, and they are missing 4-5 days of work each month resulting in client cancellations. The owner feels that 4-6 unscheduled absences per year would be acceptable. The owner sent out a survey and followed the FBA process to determine the function of the absenteeism. He hypothesizes the function of behavior is escape/avoidance. The owner has asked for your help rolling out a shaping procedure for staff attendance.

• Determine a starting behavior, the terminal behavior, and at least two successive approximations between them.
• Provide an operational definition for the terminal behavior.
• Explain how the shaping procedure would be implemented. What behaviors would be reinforced and placed on extinction throughout the shaping process?
• Consider the hypothesized function of behavior. What is a desired alternative behavior? What are some reinforcers you might suggest to reinforce the successive approximations and the terminal behavior? (Hint: Consider the size of the reinforcer should match the proximity to the terminal behavior.)

References

25 Essential Skills and Strategies for the Professional Behavior Analyst: Expert Tips for Maximizing Consulting Effectiveness (Bailey & Burch, 2010)

Cooper, J. O., Heron, T. E., & Heward, W. L. (2019). Applied Behavior Analysis (3rd ed.). Pearson Education (US). https://purdueuniversityglobal.vitalsource.com/books/9780134798769

Jon S. Bailey, & Mary R. Burch. (2022). Ethics for Behavior Analysts. Routledge.