Experimental Functional Analyses (FAs) are one of the most foundational practices in contemporary behavior analysis. It emerged as a more conceptual exercise, but has since come to specifically describe a practice for experimentally evaluating the conditions that give rise to and maintain the occurence of certaing (usually challenging) behavior patterns. Over the next few weeks, we'll unpack the history and science of FAs as well as some of the arguments, criticisms, and controversies therein. Tell us your thoughts and experiences with FAs! Recommendations - Abraham: The Bear (Season 5; https://www.disneyplus.com/explore/articles/the-bear-season-5) - Shane: Fiddlehead - Baby, I’ll Change (https://open.spotify.com/album/1mWHUOXoulUP3q8ReXTAkM?si=WpihrG5CTWKPByLCi6WkyQ) Holidays (7/29/2026): - Anniversary of the Army Chaplain Corps - Cheese Sacrifice Purchase Day - International Tiger Day - National Lasagna Day - National Lipstick Day - Rain Day - Hepatitis Awareness Week Links and References:  - https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1901/jaba.1994.27-197?sid=nlm%3Apubmed - https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1901/jaba.1985.18-111?sid=nlm%3Apubmed - https://scubed.io/blog/aba-data-collection-methods-explained-frequency-duration-and-interval-recording - https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1901/jaba.1999.32-175  - https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/jaba.7  - https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1901/jaba.2011.44-51  - https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1901/jaba.2008.41-97  - https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/07263869500035621 

Background: Conventional methods of functional assessment include subjective self- or informant report, which may be biased by personal characteristics, cognitive abilities, and lack of standardization (eg, influence of idiosyncratic task demands). Traditional performance-based assessments offer some advantages over self- or informant reports but are time-consuming to administer and score. Objective: This study aims to evaluate the validity and reliability of the Virtual Kitchen Challenge—Version 2 (VKC-2), an objective, standardized, and highly efficient alternative to current functional assessments for older adults across the spectrum of cognitive aging, from preclinical to mild dementia. Methods: A total of 236 community-dwelling, diverse older adults completed a comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation to classify cognitive status as healthy, mild cognitive impairment, or mild dementia, after adjustment for demographic variables (age, education, sex, and estimated IQ). Participants completed 2 everyday tasks (breakfast and lunch) in a virtual kitchen (VKC-2) using a touchscreen interface to select objects and sequence steps. Automated scoring reflected completion time and performance efficiency (eg, number of screen interactions, percentage of time spent off-screen, interactions with distractor objects). Participants also completed the VKC-2 tasks using real objects (Real Kitchen). All participants and informants for 219 participants completed questionnaires regarding everyday function. A subsample of participants (n=143) performed the VKC-2 again in a second session, 4-6 weeks after the baseline, for retest analyses. Analyses evaluated construct and convergent validity, as well as retest and internal reliability, of VKC-2 automated scores. Results: A principal component analysis showed that the primary VKC-2 automated scores captured a single dimension and could be combined into a composite score reflecting task efficiency. Construct validity was supported by analyses of covariance results showing that participants with healthy cognition obtained significantly better VKC-2 scores than participants with cognitive impairment (all Ps