FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS OF INAPPROPRIATE SPEECH IN A PERSON WITH S SCHIZOPHRENIA DIAGNOSIS

Abstract

This study implemented a functional (experimental) analysis to identify the controlling variables of the inapropriate vocalizations in a 27 years old female, diagnosed with schizophrenia. The functional analysis involved the manipulation of environmental events on three conditions: attention condition, alone condition, and control condition, which were conducted according to a multiple-element design. The results of the functional analysis showed that social attention exercised strong control over the frequency of occurrence of inappropriate vocalizations. These results allowed to discuss the usefulness of the concept of motivating operation to functionally analyze the verbal responses of persons with schizophrenia. Keywords: verbal responses, schizophrenia, functional analysis methodology, social attention.