Discrepancy in functional analysis results across two settings: implications for intervention design

Functional analyses that were conducted in two settings (playground and classroom) indicated that problem behavior was sensitive to adult attention on the playground and tangible items in the classroom. Attention- and tangible-based interventions were designed based on the results from each of the assessment environments and were compared. The attention-based intervention was more effective on the playground, and the tangible-based intervention was more effective in the classroom. Findings are discussed in regards to the generality of functional analysis results across environments.