Applied behavior analysis
Lonnie is a 5-year-old boy who loves playing with his dog, Scruffy, and his little sister, Tammy. Recently, the young family has endured much upheaval. Lonnie’s dad just left one night while Lonnie was asleep and, about a month later, his mom decided they needed to move closer to Lonnie’s grandparents. Lonnie’s mom recently enrolled him in a new kindergarten. During the family’s transition to their new home, Lonnie and his mom were inseparable. He stayed close to her in case she needed him. He saw his mama cry one night and that made him sad. Since beginning his new school 5 weeks ago, Lonnie has been at the nurse’s office 10 times. The nurse’s records reveal that Lonnie always arrives at the office about 30 minutes after his mom drops him off at school. The nurse phones his mom, and she immediately picks him up and takes him home. His mom has taken him to the doctor, but there seems to be nothing physically wrong. What is the target behavior in the case? Operationally define the target behavior. Identify the antecedent and consequence in this case. Based upon the usual antecedent and consequence, hypothesize the probable function of Lonnie’s target behavior. Using the Behavior Analyst Certification Board’s Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts, Section 2: Responsibility in Practice (Codes 2.08, 2.11, 2.12, 2.13, 2.14, and 2.17), discuss the ethical guidelines governing functional behavior assessments.