Response Class Theory

Response Classes and Covariation

A response class is a set of different behaviors in which all of the behaviors are maintained by the same consequence. Members of a response class are predicted to change in the same way as consequences associated with individual members of that response class change. Thus, procedures that affect a single member of a response class should produce collateral effects on other members of the response class. Response classes are defined in terms of common antecedent or consequent stimulus relations (function). For example, we might refer to the many ways a person gains attention (e.g., smiling, waving, talking out, joking, wearing specific clothing) in terms of the antecedents (familiar people, being ignored) and consequences (returning a greeting, giving a compliment) that maintain the behavior. When these behaviors are identified as each being maintained by the same consequence, they are a response class.

Severe behaviors typically have been defined in terms of the danger, damage, and inconvenience they impose on others. As researchers and clinicians have become more aware of the possible communicative function or “intent” of problem behaviors, a shift has occurred toward the classification of behavior in terms of the consequences (function) the behavior produces for the person rather than of the impact the behavior has on the teacher. Although researchers and teachers continue to classify behavior as “destructive,” “selfinjurious,” or “aggressive,” there is increasing reference to the role these behaviors serve to “obtain attention,” “avoid unpleasant situations,” “escape disapproval,” “maintain self-stimulation,” and so forth.

The emphasis on behavioral functions supports research and the common observation that a person seldom performs a single problem behavior. Research suggests that, in many cases, these different behaviors are not independent responses but members of a response class, with each member of the response class maintained by the same consequence. For example, a student may at first raise her hand to get the teacher's attention, and when that does not work, she will escalate to talking loudly or disrupting another student. Response class theory and research suggest that intervention should be focused on affecting the entire response class, not only the individual behaviors that are judged as problems. This recommendation differs from intervention models, which emphasize sequential treatment of the most dangerous behaviors first. For example, a punishment program might be developed for low-frequency severe head hitting, but moving toward the teacher (both of these behaviors being members of the response class “obtain attention”) would be considered a low priority and ignored.

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