PBL Participant Toolbook

ABC Analysis
Context
Kerry is at her desk contemplating a performance issue related to
Craig, one of her team members. She’s been hearing from Craig’s
performers and peers that he’s been unavailable lately. The
information hasn’t been brought up to her formally—rather,
informal conversations with a number of people have led her to
paint a mental picture of the current situation. Craig has cancelled
a number of team meetings. He even cancelled a lunchtime forum
with a large group of employees two weeks ago. When he hasn’t
cancelled team meetings, he’s arrived late. Furthermore, he’s been
scheduling more travel lately, so he’s simply out of the office. Kerry
isn’t sure if the information is accurate, but it seems that Craig is
making himself unavailable.

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Kerry isn’t sure why Craig is behaving in this way, and she isn’t sure

ABC Analysis
what to do next. Where should she start?

Description
An ABC Analysis is a snapshot of behavior and its surrounding
environment. An ABC Analysis is used for two main reasons:

• To understand why behaviors do or do not occur

• To identify strategies for encouraging desired behaviors and

discouraging undesired behaviors

For example, Kerry can use an ABC Analysis to clarify why Craig is
avoiding meetings and scheduling more travel. Based on that
information, she can develop some ideas for working with Craig.

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Key Concepts
ANTECEDENTS
Characteristics:
• Events that prompt
or cue behavior
• Have 20% impact
on behavior
• Have short-term
effects if not paired
with consequences
• Are overused
compared to
positive or negative
consequences
Examples:
• Training
• Personal beliefs
• Job aids
• Equipment
• Individual abilities
• Behavior of others
2 T-shirts
• What happened in
the past
ABC Analysis
BEHAVIOR CONSEQUENCES
• Things people Characteristics:
say or do • Events that follow
• Pinpoints behavior
correlated with • Increase, maintain, or
business results decrease behavior
• Have 80% influence
on whether behavior
occurs again
• Positive reinforcement
is most powerful
Examples:
• Positive and
constructive feedback
(from others and from
self)
• Tangible
consequences, like
money, awards, mugs,
• Work-process

• Request to do consequences (events

something that make it easier to
get the work done)
• Organizational events,
like pay raises,
promotions, etc.

Process
Follow these steps for conducting an ABC Analysis:

1. First, pinpoint a behavior for analysis.

2. Then, identify the environmental events that come before

the behavior—the antecedents. Antecedents prompt
behavior.

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3. Next, identify the events that follow the behavior—the

consequences. Consequences influence whether or not a
behavior is likely to occur in the future.

4. Analyze the likely impact of the consequences based on the

following factors:

■ Positive or Negative (P/N)

■ Immediate or Future (I/F)

■ Certain or Uncertain (C/U)

5. Identify the consequences that have the strongest influence

on behavior:

■ Positive, immediate, and certain consequences (PICs)

strongly encourage behavior to occur again.
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■ Negative, immediate, and certain consequences (NICs)

ABC Analysis
strongly discourage behavior from occurring again.

6. Finally, identify how to change antecedents and

consequences to encourage desired behaviors and
discourage undesired behaviors.

How to Pinpoint a Behavior for Analysis

Use the Pinpointing tool to identify a behavior for analysis. Be sure

the behavior meets the following criteria:

• The behavior meets the criteria of the NORMS of Objectivity

(more on page 17).

• The person performing the behavior can control whether or

not the behavior occurs.

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• The behavior is stated actively. In other words, it describes

what an individual is doing, rather than what an individual is
not doing.

How to Identify Antecedents

When identifying antecedents, ask yourself the following questions:

• What happens immediately before the behavior?

• Are there any signs, policies, or objectives that clearly

communicate expected or desired behavior?

• Does the desired behavior require any particular tools,

schedules, equipment, or materials? Are these present or
lacking?

• What specific conditions or circumstances seem to set off the

behavior? Positive or negative role models? Time of day? Team
4 meetings?
ABC Analysis

• What past practices might affect desired and undesired

behaviors?

• What personal beliefs does the performer have about the

behavior?

How to Identify Consequences

When identifying consequences, ask yourself the following

questions:

• Does the performer like to perform the behavior?

■ If yes, there are probably natural consequences built into

the behavior that contain many PICs for that person.

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■ If no, it’s probably difficult to perform the behavior, so

many NICs are built in.

• Does the performer have access to information about how well

he or she is performing?

“Positive ■ If yes, the person is probably able to provide himself or

herself with feedback.
reinforcement not
only improves ■ If no, the person probably cannot provide himself or
herself with feedback.
performance, it is
• Does the performer receive feedback—positive or
also necessary to
constructive—from others?
maintain good
• Are organizational systems linked to performance? Is
performance.” performance reflected on the person’s performance appraisal?
Is performance linked to pay raises? Promotions? Formal
—R.W. Reber and recognition? Etc.? 5

ABC Analysis
G. Van Gelder,
How to Analyze the Impact of the Consequences
Behavioral Insights for Consequences can be analyzed according to the following criteria:
Supervision
• Positive or Negative. Would the performer describe the
consequence as positive or negative?

• Immediate or Future. Does the consequence occur

immediately following the behavior or is there a delay (i.e., it
occurs in the future)?

• Certain or Uncertain. Is the occurrence of the consequence

certain or uncertain?

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How to Identify the Consequences That Have the

Strongest Influence on Behavior

The impact of consequences on behavior is very predictable. If you

understand the likely impact of consequences (based on step #4),
you will be in a good position to predict whether or not behavior “We learned that
will occur.
recognition is
• Positive, immediate, and certain (PICs) strongly encourage desirable and
behaviors to occur again. When people receive PICs, they are
more likely to perform the behaviors. necessary. We
believe it is
• Negative, immediate, and certain (NICs) strongly discourage
behaviors from occurring again. When people receive NICs, important for us to
they are likely to avoid those behaviors. answer the
How to Change the Influences on Behavior question, ‘What’s in
When you want to influence behavior, you can focus on a couple of it for me?’”
6 things:
—Gene Sklarow, Director of
ABC Analysis

• First, you can change antecedents. For example, you can

provide additional instructions, training, job aids, prompts, Quality Assurance,
goals, etc.
Lavelle Aircraft Company

■ You should change antecedents when the person does

not know how to perform the desired behavior to your
required level.

• Second, you can change consequences.

• You should change consequences when the person knows how

to perform the behavior but isn’t motivated to do so.

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• If you want to encourage desired behaviors, you should try to

shift the balance so that the performer receives more PICs than
NICs.

• Remember to focus on providing PICs that are easy and

inexpensive. The two best kinds of PICs are:

■ Social feedback and recognition on a regular basis

■ Making the work more user-friendly

• If you want to discourage undesired behaviors, you can either:

■ Remove PICs that currently support the undesired

behavior (like paying attention to someone who tells bad
jokes during a meeting to get laughs)

■ Provide constructive feedback to the person about his or

her behavior. Be sure to help the person understand 7
what behavior is desired in its place

ABC Analysis

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Example: Craig
ANTECEDENTS BEHAVIOR CONSEQUENCES P/N I/F C/U
• Craig is • Craig cancelled • Craig does not P I C
uncomfortable two of the last have to face
during team five team uncomfortable
meetings because meetings interactions with
people ask him • Craig arrived at people whose
questions he can’t least 10 questions he can’t
answer minutes late to answer
• Craig grows three of the last • Craig does not P I C
frustrated during five team have to participate
team meetings meetings in team meetings
because people • Craig schedules where he grows
spend very little travel such that frustrated
time focusing on he is out of the
business issues office about
two of every
five working
days
To Change Behavior: Desired Changes To Change
• Conversation with to Behavior: Behavior:
Kerry about • Craig arrives on • Craig feels more P I C
current time and comfortable
performance and participates in because he has
how it impacts the all regularly strategies for
team’s scheduled managing the
8 effectiveness team meetings uncomfortable
• Conversation with situations
ABC Analysis

Kerry about some • Kerry regularly P F C

strategies to asks how Craig is
manage the doing and
meetings to focus provides feedback
people on on his
business performance and
• Reviewing Daily its impact on the
Communication team
Strategies tool to • Craig’s team is less
P I U
identify strategies frustrated and
for handling focuses on
questions in the business
group • The team’s P F U
business targets
are positively
impacted

Impact: If Kerry does nothing in this situation, it’s likely that Craig
will continue to avoid meetings because doing so results in PIC
consequences. However, by identifying the desired behavior and
some antecedents and consequences, she can work with Craig to
make participating in meetings more positive.

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