Seeing the "Why" Behind the "Who"
Written by Kaylie Smith BCBA, LBA, MS
Have you ever wondered why people do what they do? Or even why you do what you do? People devote their entire lives to this very subject. The reality is, you can’t distill the human mind and its varied motives down to a formula. But those people that have devoted their lives to studying behavior, have discovered ways to better anticipate, mediate and even remedy those behaviors. Though the reason for someone’s actions may be unknown, even to our own actions, I believe all of our actions have a reason.
For the past four years, I have been working with children with autism in the field of applied behavior analysis (ABA). The last two of those years have been as a board certified behavior analyst. I have learned a lot in these four years as I achieved my master’s degree, gained hands-on experience working, and studied to pass my big BCBA exam. And one of the basic concepts that was drilled over and over again (and that I use every day) is the concept of functions of behavior: the “why” behind every person’s behavior. Why does my child cry every time I drive him to school? Why does my friend always tease me when we’re around a group of cute boys? Why do I click my pen and fidget with paper whenever I have them in my hands? In the field of ABA, the functions of behavior are helpful for understanding why a child (or anyone for that matter) is engaging in a certain behavior and, if the behavior is undesirable (tantrumming, aggression, lying, etc.), what direction we need to take to address the behavior and find a more suitable behavior to replace it with. These functions have been invaluable to me as I’ve worked with kids on the autism spectrum and even helped outside of work with understanding myself and loved ones better. So what are these functional behaviors? Surprisingly, there are only four: access, attention, escape, and automatic.
Access. The “function” of access is behaving in a way to gain access to something. It could be an item, a person, a place, etc. A child might cry in a grocery store to gain access to a candy bar. I drive my car to a friend’s house in order to gain access to my friend. I pay for my food at my favorite restaurant in order to gain access to a delicious meal.
Attention. The function of attention is pretty similar to the function of access—in fact, some people lump the two together. With the function of attention, someone behaves a certain way in order to gain the attention of someone else (or access to attention). Sometimes I poke and tickle my husband when I want his attention. Other people simply start a conversation to gain someone’s attention. Kids will do silly things or make the same silly joke over and over again if it gets someone to laugh. The important thing to remember with the function of attention, is that it isn’t called the function of positive attention. It is any attention. There are often times where an individual might act a certain way just to get a reaction. They might think big reactions are funny. Or be so starved for attention from another person that they’ll take any kind they can get.
Escape. On the flip side, we have the function of escape: behaving in a way to get away from something or someone. I go inside my apartment in the winter and turn on the heater in order to escape the cold and snow. A teenager may lie about doing his homework to avoid having to do it. Most people cover their ears when there is a loud and unexpected noise. A wife may stay out later with her friends in order to avoid coming home to the burden of taking care of her seven children.
Automatic. Finally, there is the automatic function. This is the function that is all about the person experiencing the behavior—the idea that we engage in some behaviors because they look, feel, sound, taste or smell good. I eat pizza at any given opportunity because it tastes so good! Some people kick their feet while sitting on a chair or bounce in their seat or rock back and forth. I bet if you think about some of your habits or mannerisms, they would fall into this category. Like I mentioned before, I am a fidgeter. Put anything in my hands for a fair amount of time and I will fidget with it. Guaranteed.
These functions only scratch the surface of understanding behavior. When I’m working, I mostly use the four functions to determine why a child is engaging in certain behaviors (usually undesirable ones) so that I can teach them a more appropriate replacement behavior that will fulfill that function instead. I might teach a child to tap someone on the shoulder to get their attention instead of throwing things on the floor. Or help them learn how to appropriately ask for a break when they are overwhelmed instead of running away and locking themselves in their room.
How can this help with understanding mental health? While this may also apply to helping others and myself to improve outside of work, I’ve also discovered that being aware of these four functions has helped me to better understand and empathize. It’s easy to get frustrated or angry at someone whose actions hurt you or inconvenience you, especially when you don’t know the person well or at all (road rage anyone?). When I become upset due to the actions of another person, I (try to) stop and think, “which function is their behavior fulfilling?” or “what do they think it will fulfill?” This little exercise helps me put myself in the other person’s shoes, along with considering any emotional factors that might be at play (has this person had an abnormally terrible day? Are my actions a reminder of a negative experience they’ve had? Are they under stress or without sleep?). In ABA, these fall into what we call learning histories and setting events. But that’s a topic for another time.
Let me end with the wise words of Marjorie P Hinckley: “There isn’t a person you wouldn’t love if you could read their story.” The more I learn about others, their lives, triumphs, failures, passions, and fears, the more I grow to love and appreciate them. We’re all dealing with something, but hopefully that something doesn’t get in the way of us seeing the “someone.” With the added insight of these functions, whether access, attention, escape, or automatic, I’ve been able to put back together the puzzle of “why” and see the “someone” a little more clearly.