Functional Analysis & Behavioral Plan

One target behavior I identified through observation that week was stepping back when Nikki lunged at me in attack mode. Niki was presenting a test by lunging before his attack. By stepping back, I was reinforcing his dominance over me. He would then press on to attack, which served as a reinforcement of my fear of him. It was a cyclic process that was progressively worsening. At the point that I started my behavioral analysis, I was stepping back from his lunges 100% of the time.

My objective then became to not step back when Niki lunged at me, during feeding time and socialization interactions, at least three times a week for three weeks. In order to be successful at this, I had to find alternative responses to stepping back from Niki. The alternative responses I chose were to not step back, to allow him to jump out if he was so inclined, and to use my hands to block his attack without hurting him.

In order to choose these alternative responses, I needed several items to build my confidence. One was a set of gloves that went up to mid-forearm that his beak wouldn’t be able to penetrate. In combination with the stick I already used to move him around from place to place, the gloves would help my confidence level. I also wore full clothing (including shoes) so once Niki was on the ground, I wouldn’t step back again.

Next I identified reinforcers for my new behavior. I knew my strongest reinforcers would be covert based on my functional analysis. I chose praise and feedback as my reinforcers. I knew I had to praise myself when I managed to not step back with Niki. But I also asked my boyfriend to assist me in this manner by praising me as well. I also asked him to provide positive feedback by letting me know when I was doing something right in handling Niki.

I noticed a pattern in my negative thoughts during the week of observation. I realized then that incorporating thought stopping, coping statements, and reinterpretive statements into my plan were necessary. I decided when I was experiencing those negative thoughts, I would immediately say or think “Stop, Monica!” and then I would use “You can do this,” in place of the negative thought. I also chose a reinterpretative statement regarding Niki. One of my most prominent negative thoughts during the observation was “This bird hates me!” I chose to use “Niki is behaving this way because it is what he learned,” as my statement instead of the previous negative thought.

The method I chose to collect my data was once again direct assessment, as was the case for my functional analysis. I chose to record the frequency in which I did not step back and also the magnitude of my fear during that time. I would log the number of times Niki lunged and the number of times I stepped back as a result. Since I had set my interactions with Niki at three times a day (morning feeding time and socialization time where he was moved back and forth between his cage and his perch), I had three possible opportunities to use my reinforcers and learn my new behavior. I would use these metrics to base my success on whether I met my goals.

Note: This is a three part series from my applied behavioral analysis class. I completed a behavioral change project where I performed a behavioral analysis, identified a target behavior to change, created and implemented a behavior modification plan, and reported on it in a 5 page essay. These are my stories.

History of Behavior

I recently welcomed two rescue birds into my home. Amazon parrots are beautiful, amazing creatures. Wild birds of this nature are the third most popular pet in the United States. Unfortunately, more than 80 % of these birds end up abused, neglected, and eventually abandoned by their owners. Many of these birds end up with behavioral problems.

Wild birds are pack animals and naturally establish a pecking order in their flock. This is true in their human’s home as well. Birds seek a sense of security from their flock, and strong leadership will ensure survival of the flock and of the individual birds. After an initial adjustment period, this flocking instinct and pecking order became evident in my home.

The two birds who joined my household are a blue-fronted Amazon named Niki, and a spectacled Amazon named Gilligan. Niki had suffered abuse from previous homes. The previous owner did not physical hurt Niki, but she also did not provide the structure and boundaries that Niki needed to feel safe. As a result, he came to be the dominant bird and was physically aggressive towards people, especially women.

Niki established his dominance over me two weeks after coming to the house. At first, this involved a lot of what is known as cage-dancing –intimidating behavior that included wing-spreading, bobbing up and down, and moving frantically around when I was near. He then began lunging at me when I would get close. It progressed to biting whenever I would attempt to touch him or feed him. The culmination of his establishing dominance over me was a direct attack to my face that resulted in a large bite and a black eye.

At this point, I was terrified of this bird. My reaction to this final event was to cease all interaction with this bird. I no longer attempted to connect with this bird or try to bond with him. I stayed a good distance away from him so as to avoid contact. It was then I decided to use the techniques I’d been learning in this class to help me with this problem.

I knew I needed to overcome my fear, and I knew it had to start with my behavior first. I decided to develop a behavioral plan that would assist me in this goal. The functional analysis of my behavior with Niki coincided with a week my boyfriend would be out of town. I resolved to socialize the birds every night and write my observations of our interactions. The results of my observations provided insight into my behavior as well as the Niki’s behavior.