Upgrade to remove ads
Only $35.99/year

ABA Chapters 1

Terms in this set (77)

Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA)
Branch of ABA that is concerned with developing a technology for improving behavior.

Def: The science in which tactics derived from the principles of behavior are applied systematically to improve socially significant behavior and experimentation is used to identify the variables responsible for the improvement in behavior.
Behaviorism
Branch of ABA that is the philosophy of the science of behavior.
Empiricism
The practice of objective observation of the phenomena of interest; Important to ABA because behavior analysts must be able to completely define, systematically observe and accurately and reliably measure occurrences and nonoccurrence of the behavior of interest
Experiment
A carefully conducted comparison of some measure of the phenomenon of interest (the dependent variable) under two or more different conditions in which only one factor at a time (the independent variable) differs from one condition to another
Experimental Analysis of Behavior (EAB)
Branch of ABA that is concerned with basic research
Functional Relationship
A relationship that exists when a well controlled experiment reveals that a specific change in one event (the dependent variable) can reliably be produced by specific manipulations of another event ( the independent variable) and that the change in the dependent variable was unlikely to be the result of other extraneous factors (confounding variable)
Explanatory fiction
Fictitious variable that is another name for the observed behavior that contributes nothing to an understanding of the behavior-circular way of viewing the cause and effect of the situation
Mentalism
An approach to the study of behavior that a mental or inner dimension exists that differs from a behavioral dimension. some phenomena from this dimension can directly cause or mediate behavior
Methodological Behaviorism
a philosophical position that views behavioral events that cannot be publicly observed as outside the realm of science
Parsimony
Requires that all simple logical explanations for the phenomenon under investigation be ruled out, experimentally or conceptually before more complex or abstract explanations are considered
Philosophic Doubt
An attitude of science that says that scientists should continually question the truthfulness of what is regarded as fact
Radical Behaviorism
A thoroughgoing form of behaviorism that attempts to understand all human behavior including private events such as thoughts and feelings in terms of controlling variables in the history of the person (ontogeny) and the species (phylogeny).

Skinner
Replication
Repeating an assignment to get the same results
Science
A systematic approach to the understanding of natural phenomena - as evidenced by description, prediction, and control - that relies on determinism as its fundamental assumption, empiricism as its prime directive, experimentation as its basic strategy, replication as requirement for believability, parsimony as its conservative value, and philosophic doubt as its guiding conscience.
Correlation
Relationship between variables
Dependent Variable
The variable that is investigated to see if it changes by manipulating the independent variable
Independent variable
the variable that is systematically manipulated by the researcher in an experiment to see whether changes in the independent variable produce relaible changes in the dependent variable
Determinism
the attitude of science that the universe is a lawful and orderly place in which all phenomena occur as a result of other events
John B. Watson
Early 1900's stimulus response psychology, said he could take 12 infants and make them whatever he wanted them to do by manipulating conditions of environment.

He argued that the proper subject matter for psychology was not states of mind or mental processes but observable behavior.
Applied (ABA characteristic)
signals ABA's commitment to affect improvement in behavior that enhance and improve peoples lives; behavior must be socially significant
Behavior (ABA characteristic)
behavior selected must be the one that needs improvement; must be measurable, must change subjects behavior not teachers or parents
Analytic (ABA characteristic)
Demonstrates effectiveness/functional relation between manipulated events and a reliable change in some measurable dimension of the targeted behavior
Technological (ABA characteristic)
Operative procedures are identified and described with sufficient detail and clarity so that they can be repeatable
Conceptually Systematic (ABA characteristic)
Procedures for changing behavior and any interpretations of how or why those procedures were effective should be described in terms of the relevant principles from which they were derived
Effective (ABA characteristic)
An effective application of behavioral techniques must improve the behavior under investigation to a practical degree.
Generality
A behavior change has generality if it lasts over time, appears in environments other than the one in which the intervention that initially produced it was implemented, and/or spreads to other behaviors not directly treated by the intervention.

A behavior change that continues after the original treatment procedures withdrawn has generality, and is evident when changes in targeted behavior occur in non-treatment settings or situations as a function of treatment procedures.
Behavior
The activity of living organisms; human behavior includes everything that people do. The technical definition: "that portion of an organism's interaction with its environment that is characterized by detectable displacement in space through time or some part of the organism and that results in a measurable change in at least one aspect of the environment." ( Johnston
Antecedent
Environmental conditions or stimulus changes that exist or occur prior to the behavior of interest.
Consequence
a stimulus change that follows a behavior of interest. Some consequences especially those that are immediate and relevant to current motivational states have significant influence on future behavior; others have little effect.
Conditioned Stimulus (CS)
Neutral stimulus change that elicits respondent behavior only after it has been paired with an unconditioned stimulus (US) or another (CS).
Automaticity of Reinforcement
refers to the fact that behavior is modified by its consequences irrespective of the person's awareness; a person does not have to recognize or verbalize the relation between her behavior and a reinforcing consequence or even know that a consequence have occurred for reinforcement to "work."
Aversive Stimulus
an unpleasant or noxious stimulus; more technically a stimulus change or condition that functions (a) to evoke a behavior that has terminated in the past; (b) as a punisher when presented following behavior, (c) as a reinforcer when withdrawn following behavior.
Behavior Change Tactic
Technologically consistent method for changing behavior derived from one or more principles of behavior; possesses sufficient generality across subjects, settings, and/or behaviors to warrant its codification and dissemination.
Conditioned Punisher
a previously neutral stimulus change that function as a punisher because of prior pairing with one or more other punisher; sometimes called secondary or learned punisher.
Conditioned Reinforcer
Stimulus change that function as a reinforcer based on previous pairings with other reinforcers.
Conditioned Reflex
Learned stimulus-response functional relation consisting of an antecedent stimulus and the response it elicits; each person's repertoire of conditioned reflexes is the product of his or her history of interactions with the environment (ontogeny).
Motivating Operation (MO)
An environmental variable that (a) alters (increases or decreases) the reinforcing or punishing effectiveness of some stimulus, object, or event; and (b) alters the current frequency of all behavior that has been reinforced by that stimulus, object or event.
Negative Reinforcement
A stimulus whose termination (or reduction in intensity) functions as a reinforcement.
Neutral Stimulus (NS)
A stimulus change that does not elicit respondent behavior.
Ontogeny
The history of the development of an individual organism during its lifetime.
Operant Behavior
Behavior that is selected, maintained, and brought under stimulus control as a function of its consequences; each person's repertoire of operant behavior is a product of his history of interactions with the environment.

E.g., skinner-behaviors are influenced by stimulus changes that have followed the behavior in the past.
Operant Conditioning
The basic process by which the operant learning occurs; consequences (stimulus changes immediately following responses) or decreased (punishment) frequency of the same type of behavior under similar motivational and environmental conditions in the future.
Phylogeny
The history of the natural evolution of a species.
Positive Reinforcement
Occurs when a behavior is followed immediately by the presentation of a stimulus that increases the future frequency of the behavior in similar conditions.
Principle of Behavior
A statement describing a functional relation between behavior and one or more of its controlling variables with generality across organisms, species, settings, behaviors, and time (e.g., extinction, positive reinforcement); an empirical generalization inferred from many experiments demonstrating the same functional relation.
Punisher
A stimulus change that decreases the future frequency of behavior that immediately precedes it.
Contingency
Refers to dependent and/or temporal relations between operant behavior controlling variables.
Contingent
Describes reinforcement (or punishment) that is delivered only after the target behavior has occurred.
Deprivation
The state of an organism with respect to how much time has elapsed since it has consumed or contacted a particular type of reinforcer; also refers to the procedure for increasing the effectiveness of a reinforcer.
Discriminated Operant
An operant that occurs more frequently under some antecedent conditions than under others. E.g, SD, Stimulus control)
Discriminative Stimulus
A stimulus in the presence of which responses of some type have been reinforced and in the absence of which the same type of response have occurred and not been reinforced; this history of differential reinforcement is the reason an SD increases the momentary frequency of the behavior.
Environment
The conglomerate of real circumstances in which the organism or reference part of the organism exists; behavior cannot occur in the absence of environment
Extinction
The discontinuing of a reinforcement of a previously reinforced behavior. The primary effect is a decrease in the frequency of the behavior until it reaches a prereinforced level or ultimately ceases to occur.
Habituation
Gradually diminishing response strength due to repeated exposure.
Higher Order Conditioning
Development of a conditioned reflex by pairing of a neutral stimulus (NS) with a conditioned stimulus (CS).
History of Reinforcement
An inclusive term referring in general to all of a person's learning experiences and more specifically to past conditioning with respect to particular response classes or aspects of a person's repertoire.
Punishment
Occurs when stimulus change immediately follows a response and decreases the future frequency of that type of behavior in similar conditions.
Reflex
A stimulus-response relations consisting of an antecedent stimulus and the respondent behavior it elicits (e.g., bright light-pupil contraction).
Reinforcement
Occurs when a stimulus change immediately follows a response and increases the future frequency of that type of behavior in similar conditions.
Reinforcer
a stimulus change that increases the future frequency of behavior that immediately precedes it.
Repertoire
All of the behaviors a person can do; or a set of behaviors relevant to a particular setting or task.
Respondent Behavior
The response component of a reflex; behavior that is elicited, or induced, by antecedent stimuli.

E.g., Pavlov-reflexive behavior can be brought out by stimulus(dogs salivate at bell)
Respondent Conditioning
A stimulus-stimulus pairing procedure in which a neutral stimulus (NS) is presented with an unconditioned stimulus until the neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus that elicits the conditioned response.
Respondent Extinction
The repeated presentation of a conditioned stimulus in the absence of the unconditioned stimulus; the CS gradually loses its ability to elicit the conditioned response until the conditioned reflex no longer appears in the individual's repertoire.
Response
A single instance or occurrence of a specific class or type of behavior
Response Class
A group of responses of varying topography, all of which produce the same effect on the environment.
Satiation
A decrease in the frequency of behavior presumed to be the result of continued contact with or consumption of a reinforcer that has followed the behavior.
Selection by consequences
The fundamental principle underlying operant conditioning; the basic tenet is that all forms of (operant) behavior, from simple to complex, are selected, shaped, and maintained by their consequences during an individual's lifetime;
Stimulus
An energy change that affects an organism through its receptor cells.
Stimulus class
A group of stimuli that share specified common elements along formal (e.g., size, color), temporal (e.g., antecedent or consequent), and/or functional (e.g., discriminative stimulus) dimensions.
Stimulus control
A situation in which the frequency, latency, duration, or amplitude of a behavior is altered by the presence or absence of an antecedent stimulus.
Stimulus-stimulus pairing
A procedure in which two stimuli are presented at the same time, usually repeatedly for a number of trials, which often results in one stimulus acquiring the function of the other stimulus.
Three-term contingency (A-B-C)
The basic unit of analysis in the analysis of operant behavior; encompasses the temporal and possible dependent relations among an antecedent stimulus, behavior, and consequence.
Unconditioned punisher
A stimulus change that decreases the frequency of any behavior that immediately precedes it irrespective of the organism's learning history with the stimulus. Unconditioned punishers are products of the evolutionary development of the species (phylogeny), meaning that all members of a species are more or less susceptible to punishment by the presentation of unconditioned publishers, also called primary or unlearned punishers.
Unconditioned reinforcer
A stimulus change that increases the frequency of any behavior that immediately precedes it irrespective of the organism's learning history with the stimulus. These are the product of the evolutionary development of the species (phylogeny). Also called primary or unlearned reinforcer.
Unconditioned stimulus (US)
The stimulus component of an unconditioned reflex; a stimulus change that elicits respondent behavior without any prior learning.
Reinforcer
a stimulus change that increases the future frequency of behavior that immediately precedes it. E.g., conditioned reinforcer, unconditioned reinforcer.
Sets with similar terms