A-B-C, I'm sure even if you are new to the field you have heard of the 3 term contingency. In time and with experience you'll be able to identify the ABC to every scenario. Let's break it down and figure out what each contingency is and why it's important.
A: Antecedent; What happens right before the behavior (exactly 0-30 seconds before the behavior of interest)
B: Behavior; The behavior we are tracking. Check out our post on types of behavior!
C: Consequence; what maintains the behavior, what happens immediately after (0-5 seconds)
I find the best way to learn is from examples and practice!
Scenario #1
You are trying get your spouse to clean the dirty dishes after dinner more often -
- Antecedent: You ask your spouse "Hey can you please wash the dishes?"
- Behavior: Your spouse gets up and starts cleaning the dishes
- Consequence: You provide him high levels of verbal praise
Your spouse really enjoyed the verbal praise and the next time you ask him to clean up, he did it again without any complaints!
Scenario #2
You decided to skip laundry day this week.Your alarm goes off and you are looking for something to wear but realize all your clothes are dirty! You start throwing your clothes on the ground and yelling "Ugh! WHY!!" You end up having to wear your dirty shirt to work. The following week you do not skip laundry day, or the weeks after.
- Antecedent: Time to get ready for work (the clock)
- Behavior: Throwing and yelling
- Consequence: Wearing your dirty clothes
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