Describing antecedent-behavior-consequence relations using conditional probabilities and the general operant contingency space: A preliminary investigation

Antecedent-Behavior-Consequence (A-B-C) recordings are often used in school settings as part of a functional assessment. A number of limitations are associated with A-B-C recordings, and a novel approach for describing data from A-B-C recordings is to compute conditional probabilities that can be graphed in the general operant contingency space to establish degree of contingency. This research brief represents a preliminary investigation of the utility of computing conditional probabilities and using the general operant contingency space to examine the degree of contingency between events and behavior. Limitations, implications, and future research directions are discussed.