What happens in a Problem Analysis Interview? Discuss and explain the four Problem Analysis objectives included in the process.

What happens in a Problem Analysis Interview? Discuss and explain the four Problem Analysis objectives included in the process.

During behavior consultations, we must often engage in Problem Analysis Interviews with teachers, school staff and parents of the area where the problem is occurring. These Problem Analysis Interviews are interviews that you conduct with your client to determine the specific problems that they are experiencing with their behavior. The behavior analyst uses these interviews to obtain concrete data (i.e., information that can be verified by others). This type of information is best if you want to get clear answers and identify exactly what it is about a situation or environment that causes a person’s behavior problems. The four Problem Analysis objectives included in the process include: Describing the problem, collecting data, developing hypotheses and generating solutions.

1. Describing the problem: The first step in the Problem Analysis Interview process consists of describing the problem that is occurring. The individual who is experiencing the problem will discuss why he or she thinks the behavior or actions are producing problems for him or her. Then, you must ask them to describe what a typical problem episode looks like and how long it lasts? You want to make sure that you are taking notes as this client provides you with background information about his or her problem.
2. Collecting data: Once you have a clearly defined problem, then you will want to collect data. You want to make sure that your data is valid and reliable. Therefore, the best way to do this is by asking additional questions of the person experiencing the problem. The questions that you ask should always be open-ended and non-judgmental. This means that you should not make false assumptions about why a problem is occurring on your part. Instead, do not take how someone feels personally. It is always best to ask open-ended questions because the client can easily describe their behavior.
3. Developing hypotheses: Once you have collected your data, then you will want to develop some hypotheses about why the person’s behavior is occurring. This form of hypothesis is based on what you gathered from your client and what you observed. For example, if your client has a tendency to ask out of turn in class and he asks for help with his homework but does not get any support from the teacher, we can say that he lacks self-regulation skills or executive functioning skills or cognitive skills. These skills would help him to regulate his behavior and resist the temptation to act out. In this example, you could test his hypothesis by providing him with strategies and interventions that specifically target those types of skills. The teacher may then see a change in his behavior or interact differently with him in class.
4. Generating solutions: After you have developed your hypotheses about why this person is behaving the way he does, you then want to generate some intervention plans based on the data that you collected from your client and your hypotheses. This means you will want to ask yourself what types of interventions or strategies could be implemented which target specific behaviors. For example, if your client has a problem with asking out of turn in class and he asks for help with his homework but does not get any support from the teacher, you can establish some strategies that he can use. You may want to provide him with more time to complete his work or encourage him to try completing it on his own. Furthermore, you may want to help him develop positive self-talk skills and positive behaviors so that he is not tempted to act out.

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