Feedback in Therapy

[Page 741]Feedback is a widely used term to refer to the response an individual receives after performing a specific action. The use of feedback dates back to the notable 20th-century psychologist B. F. Skinner and his focus on the functional analysis of behavior. Skinner’s functional analysis examines events in the environment and the response that follows. The initial event is referred to as the antecedent event, followed by the response of the individual, which is then followed up by the consequent event, or the feedback. Across multiple fields, this approach is commonly referred to as the ABC (antecedent, behavior, consequence) approach. Skinner’s original purpose of providing feedback was to increase the number of responses from an individual; however, in Speech–Language pathology, feedback is used to ...