Published Online: 30 JAN 2010
Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.
Corsini Encyclopedia of Psychology
How to Cite
O'Donohue, W. T. and Loverich, T. P. 2010. Functional Analysis. Corsini Encyclopedia of Psychology. 1–2.
- Published Online: 30 JAN 2010
Functional analysis is a strategy for the assessment and treatment of mental health problems (or preferably “behavioral problems”) with origins in radical behaviorism, and particularly behavior therapy. It is generally viewed as an assessment and treatment strategy within the larger realm of behavioral assessment and behavior therapy. More specifically, functional analysis is a set of procedures that attempts to identify important environmental variables that develop and maintain behavior. The clinical goal of functional analysis is to effectively identify targets of intervention that are alterable, in order that appropriate treatments may be rapidly implemented and evaluated.