Functional Analyses of Dangerous Behavior: Ethical Considerations

Behavior analytic practitioners report an almost exclusive reliance on indirect and descriptive methods for assessing challenging behavior and cite safety as one reason why they do not conduct functional analyses (Ellingson et al., 1999; Oliver et al., 2015; Roscoe et al., 2015). Since the publication of the traditional functional analysis (Iwata et al., 1982/1994), several methodological changes have been recommended in the interest of safety (see Hanley, 2012 and Iwata & Dozier, 2008). This presentation will focus on practical functional assessments (PFAs), first described by Hanley et al. (2014). PFAs provide practitioners with a safe and ethical option when tasked with assessing dangerous behavior. Synthesis of establishing operations and reinforcers (Hanley et al., 2014); open contingency classes that include non-dangerous, co-occurring topographies of behavior (Warner et al., 2019); and slow progression of establishing operations (Ward et al., 2021; Whelan et al., 2021) are critical components that will be discussed.