The present study investigated the behavior of a chronic schizophrenic using the principles of behavior analysis. The participant was female, age 57, single and has had multiple hospitalizations since the age of 18. The types of problematic behavior that received intervention were: eye contact, self isolation in the yard, participation in the events of the institution, and others. To control the effect of the intervention procedures the ABAB reversal design followed by a follow-up was used. The experiment started with the baseline of phase I. In intervention phases I and II positive reinforcement, modeling and extinction procedures were used. The results indicated that the procedures of behavior analysis were effective to control the problematic-behavior displayed by the participant.
schizophrenia; functional analysis; behavior intervention
