Causes of Emily's Separation Anxiety Disorder - Case Study Example

? Ethics for Behavior Analyst of Ethics for Behavior Analyst Casesstudy one: Emily After commencing her grade one education, Emily suffered from separation anxiety disorder. The disorder negatively changed her desire to go to school. Emily’s condition worsened over time to the level of screaming and banging her head involuntarily. In addition, Emily has refused to sleep in her own bedroom and preferred to sleep with her parents. Her teacher has also reported poor participation in class activities. Research Question What Is the Main Causes of Emily’s Separation Anxiety Disorder and What Measures Are Relevant in Addressing the Problem? Target Behavior The target behavior in Emily’s case is the negative attitude towards the school environment. Separation anxiety can be referred to as health reaction toward separation among children. In most cases, this problem interferes with the child’s normal activities such as learning, sleep, friendship, and interaction activities. According to Freud’s behavioral theory, the initial situation of anxiety that emerges as a result of separation from the mother leads to innate fear in a child (Cooper, Heron and Heward, 2007, 1987). The persistent of the problem beyond expectation may result to severe problem which can affect future development of a child. Therefore, immediate action is exceptionally decisive in addressing the problem before it result to permanent complication. Inadvertent reinforcement strategy that may have contributed to Emily school refusal and why Some of the inadvertent reinforcement strategy leading to Emily refusal to go to school may include stressful situation in school, the change in climate and over-protection by parents. On the other hand, Emily parents may be over-protecting Emily in her early development thus leading to manifestation of parent own anxiety to Emily behavior. Changing from home environment to school environment could also be the cause of separation anxiety disorder. Hypothesis Regarding To What Intervention Will Result The core aim of this intervention is to identify the main cause of the problem affecting Emily and develop measures that will address the problem. Modification program The most appropriate method to use in rectifying Emily problem is market economy modification program. The rationale behind choosing this method is based on the tender age of Emily as well as the advanced condition of her disorder. Emily requires motivation to change her behavior. In my program, I will advise Emily parents and teachers to give Emily tokens every time she accepts to go to school. This will helps Emily to develop positive attitude toward school and teachers. The token, in this case must be material things such as sweets and chips. The main behaviors that this program intends to change entail negative attitude toward school environment and sleep. The main reason which is accelerating Emily problem is the fear of being away from her parents. At the initial developmental stage, it is clear that Emily was overprotected by her parents to the extent that she feared being separated from them. The new environment in school therefore distressed her thus leading to the development of separation anxiety disorder. After implementing the program as per planned, the program is expected to help Emily develop positive attitude toward school, reduce fears of staying away from her parent and develop positive attitude towards new environment. Ways by which Proposed Plan Will Be Monitored and Outcomes Analyzed The plan will be monitored by a system of recording data. Before the intervention begins, baseline data will be collected on Emily behavioral status. The data will be collected and recorded in reference to Emily behavioral changes throughout the intervention. The information collected will be used to access Emily behavioral progress at the end of the program. The change in Emily attitudes toward school environment will mark the success of the program. In the situation where the program does not achieve its intended outcome, I will propose the inclusion of a medical officer in addressing Emily disorder. The medical practitioner will helps in accessing the medical condition of the complication. Anticipated Results At the end of the program, the anticipated result will be the reduction and if possible elimination of separation anxiety disorder symptoms in Emily’s behavior. Emily is expected to develop positive attitude toward school and develop confidence in sleeping in her own bedroom. To maintain the improvement, Emily parents should continue with appreciating changes in Emily behaviors by giving tokens How Has Scientific Method Guided This Experiment? To start with, the experiment is based on a scientific hypothesis. The methodology used in solving the problem is also scientific. Data in the experiment is also collected and analyzed in a scientific method. Case study 2: Mr. Smith Mr. Smith has a small factory which manufactures custom figure skates. Smith has employed thirty employees. In the last few years, Smith has experienced increased absenteeism rate among his employees. The absenteeism has negatively affected the operations in the industry. Smith has employed several ways in the attempt to reduce absenteeism including offering breakfast. Research Question What are the most appropriate measures to consider in improving Smith employees’ motivation and morale in workplace? Target Behavior The target behavior in these cases is lack of moral and motivation in work place. Lack of morale in workplace can be brought about by poor enumeration, limited motivation, poor leadership style, lack of learning opportunity and lack of challenges in workplace. According to Herzberg’s theory, the factors that lead to job satisfaction are relatively different from factors that lead to job motivation. Additionally, motivators are aimed at fostering employees’ performance but not job satisfaction (Cooper, Heron and Heward, 2007, 1987). These behaviors require immediate action as it may result to poor performance in the organization, reduction in the company profit as well as increased employees’ turnover. Reasons why Mr. Smith Pervious Intervention Was Not Successful In his previous intervention, Smith did not consult employees to understand their problem. On the other hand, Smith misinterpretation between job satisfaction and job motivation can be another core cause for failure of the plan. Smith employees require measures that will satisfy them in workplace but not measure that will exclusively motivate them. Hypothesis Employees have a significant role in the performance and success of any organization. On the other hand, employees need to be satisfied in their job. Motivation and job satisfaction are the core factors which help in eradicating absenteeism and high employee turnover in any organization. The main aim of the intervention is to identify the cause of increased employees’ absenteeism in Smith Company and the best measures to address the problem. Modification Program The most effective modification program in this case is positive reinforcement. The positive reinforcement program aims at rewarding employees who portray an outstanding performance and those who embrace workplace philosophy. The rationale which has motivated the choice of this method is the increased absenteeism in workplace which is brought about by reduced motivation and morale among employees. In the program, employees will be consulted to understand their needs and dissatisfaction. On the other hand, reward will be given in a transparent manner where every employee is adequately consulted in the process of searching for the outstanding performer. The behavior that the program is anticipating to change is low motivation and morale which are responsible for the increased absenteeism among employees. According to the hypothesis, the main reason which is leading to high absenteeism is lack of motivation and morale among employees in their workplace. The environmental contingencies that is maintaining the absenteeism behavior is lack of adequate interaction between employees and employer. The result expected at the end of program is reduction of absenteeism in Smith Company. Monitoring and Evaluation of the Plan The plan will be evaluated through keeping the data on the changes in the rate of absenteeism in the company. There will be frequent interviews to examine the employee attitude towards the changes in the organization. To rate the plan as successful, the program is expected to reduce the level of absenteeism in the company. Employees should also appear motivated towards their work. In the situation where the plan does not succeed, the program should be advanced by offering training to both employees and the management. Anticipated Results After the intervention, the absenteeism level is expected to reduce significantly. To maintain the reduced absenteeism level in the company, the management should ensure consistence in the program of motivating employees. The company should also consider employing interaction and consultation initiatives in decision making process. In the situation where Mr. Smith is incompetent in motivating employees, he should consider delegating the work to other employees. What Are The Value/Risks/Strategies Of Using Same Person As Their Own Experimental Control? Using same person as the own experimental control enables the researcher to detect appropriate changes in the intervention. The risk associated with the plan entails the fear of manipulation by the prevailing experimental situation. The strategy used in using same person as the own experimental control is to access the immediate and long term changes that might occur in and after an experiment References Cooper, J., Heron, T., and Heward, W. (2007). Applied Behavior Analysis. (2nd Ed).Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc. Read More