Contingencies of reinforcement involve, in part, relations between behavior
and subsequent environmental events. In this study we observed 11 individu
als with developmental disabilities and severe behavior problems while they
interacted with their primary care providers in simulated environments (ho
spital therapy rooms). We compared the probability of obtaining attention,
escape from instructional demands, or access to materials following instanc
es of problem behavior with the background probability of those events. How
ever, the focus of our analysis was the evaluation of comparative probabili
ties ("contingency values") in the context of relevant establishing operati
ons such as diverted attention, instructional demands, and restricted acces
s to materials. Results showed that the method was useful in identifying re
lations between behavior and subsequent environmental events. Implications
for linking descriptive and functional analyses are discussed, and difficul
ties in identifying naturally occurring contingencies are considered.