Term
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Definition
| A statement of the experimental question in an objective manner that can be tested. |
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Term
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Definition
| A presumed but unobserved entity that cannot be manipulated in an experiment. |
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Term
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Definition
| (False Negative) Suggesting no change when a change actually occurred. |
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Term
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Definition
| (False Positive) Suggesting a change when no change actually occurred. |
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Term
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Definition
| Referring to an individual rather than a group |
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Term
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Definition
| A learner's previous condition with respect to a particular response class or aspects of the repertoire. |
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Term
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Definition
| A procedure that prevents the subject from detecting the presence or absence of the active treatment variable. |
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Term
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Definition
| A thoroughgoing form of behaviorism that maintains that all of an individual's behavior (including private events such as thoughts and feelings) can be explained in terms of controlling variables in the history of the organism and the species. |
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Term
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Definition
| A procedure that prevents both the subject and the observer from detecting the presence or absence of the active treatment variable. |
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Term
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Definition
| Any experiment designed to identify the active elements of a treatment condition, the relative contributions of different variables in a treatment package, and/or the necessary and sufficient components of an intervention. |
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Term
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Definition
| A fictitious variable, often simply another name for the observed behavior, that contributes nothing to the understanding of the variables responsible for developing and maintaining a behavior. |
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Term
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Definition
| A measuring procedure that divides an observation period into intervals and records whether the target behavior is occurring at the moment each interval ends. |
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Term
| Methodological Behaviorism |
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Definition
| A philosophical position that views behavioral events that cannot be publicly observed as outside the realm of science. |
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Term
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Definition
| (Differential Reinforcement of Other Behavior), Reinforcement is provided contingent on the absence of the target behavior during set intervals or at particular moments. |
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Term
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Definition
| Purposeful variation of one or more aspects of a previous experiment to assess/improve external validity. |
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Term
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Definition
| A measurement procedure that divides an observation period into intervals and records whether the behavior occurs for the entire length of the interval. |
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Term
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Definition
| The length of time that a behavior occurs. |
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Term
| Automaticity of Reinforcement |
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Definition
| Behavior is modified by its consequences regardless of the organism's awareness of the contingencies. |
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Term
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Definition
| An undesirable situation in which the presentation of the treatment variable to differ in the later stages of an experiment from the presentation at the outset. |
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Term
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Definition
| Repeating exactly the conditions of an earlier experiment to improve/assess repeatability and internal validity. |
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Term
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Definition
| To define the target behaviors in concrete objective terms so that any observer familiar with the operational definition will agree on the presence/absence of the behavior. |
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Term
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Definition
| A group of stimuli that share a specified common element along formal, temporal, or functional dimensions. |
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Term
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Definition
| A form of exclusion time-out where, contingent on the occurrence of the problem behavior, the learner is made to leave the classroom and enter the hallway for a specified period of time. |
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Term
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Definition
| Differential Reinforcement of successive approximations to a desired behavior. |
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Term
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Definition
| Randomly varying functionally irrelevant stimuli within and across teaching sessions to improve setting/situation generalization. |
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Term
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Definition
| (Differential Reinforcement of Incompatible Behaviors) Reinforcement is provided for responses topographically incompatible with the problem behavior and withheld for instances of the problem behavior. |
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Term
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Definition
| (Differential Reinforcement of Alternative Behavior) Reinforcement is provided for behaviors that serve as functional alternatives to the problem behavior and withheld for instances of the problem behavior. |
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Term
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Definition
| (Dependent Variable) The variable in an experiment measured by the researcher to determine if it changes reliably in response to manipulations of the independent variable. |
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Term
| Independent Group Contingency |
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Definition
| A contingency in which reinforcement for each member of the group is dependent upon that member meeting a performance criterion in effect for all members of the group. |
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Term
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Definition
| A time-out procedure in which, contingent on the occurrence of a problem behavior, the learner loses access to reinforcement for a specified period of time, but is never fully removed from the time-in setting. |
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Term
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Definition
| The opportunity to engage in behaviors that occur at a high frequency during free operant conditions can serve as reinforcement for behaviors that occur at a low frequency during free operant conditions. |
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Term
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Definition
| A stimulus whose presentation increases the future frequency of the behavior it immediately follows. |
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Term
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Definition
| A stimulus whose termination increases the future frequency of the behavior it immediately follows. |
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Term
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Definition
| A stimulus whose presentation decreases the future frequency of the behavior it immediately follows. |
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Term
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Definition
| A stimulus whose termination decreases the future frequency of the behavior it immediately follows. |
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Term
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Definition
| A colored band worn on the child's wrist that becomes discriminative for access to reinforcement. |
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Term
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Definition
| A stimulus in the presence of which responses of some type have occurred in the past and been reinforced, and in whose absence the same type of response has occurred and not been reinforced. |
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Term
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Definition
| A stimulus in whose presence a response has occurred in the past and not been reinforced. |
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Term
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Definition
| A mutually-agreed upon document between parties that specifies a contingent relationship between the completion of specified behaviors and access to specified reinforcers. |
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Term
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Definition
| (Differential Reinforcement of High Rates) Reinforcement is provided when responding occurs at above a criterion rate. |
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Term
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Definition
| (Differential Reinforcement of Low Rates) Reinforcement is provided when responding occurs below a criterion rate. |
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Term
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Definition
| (Differential Reinforcement of Diminishing Rates) Reinforcement is provided contingent on the occurrence of behavior below a criterion rate; this criterion decreases across sessions. |
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Term
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Definition
| An observation period is divided into intervals. Reinforcement is provided for each interval during which responding occurs below a criterion rate. |
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Term
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Definition
| Reinforcement is provided when reinforcement is below a criterion rate specified for the full session. |
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Term
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Definition
| The point in time when a response occurs with respect to the onset of the antecedent stimulus. |
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Term
| Topography-Based Definition |
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Definition
| Identifies target behaviors based upon their shape or form. |
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Term
| Function-Based Definition |
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Definition
| Identifies target behaviors based upon their effect on the environment. |
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Term
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Definition
| An increase in the momentary value of a stimulus as a reinforcer due to an extended length of time since the organism's last contact with or consumption of the stimulus. |
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Term
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Definition
| A decrease in the momentary value of a stimulus as reinforcement due to the organism's recent contact with or consumption of the stimulus. |
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Term
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Definition
| A dimension of ABA that requires that the target behavior is the dependent variable, not other characteristics related to the behavior. |
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Term
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Definition
| Has occurred when a stimulus is presented following the occurrence of the behavior, and the behavior occurs at a higher frequency in the future. |
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Term
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Definition
| Has occurred when a stimulus is terminated/postponed following the occurrence of a behavior, and the behavior occurs at a higher frequency in the future. |
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Term
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Definition
| Has occurred when a stimulus is presented following the occurrence of a behavior, and the behavior occurs at a lower frequency in the future. |
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Term
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Definition
| Has occurred when a stimulus is removed/terminated following the occurrence of a behavior and the behavior occurs at a lower frequency in the future. |
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Term
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Definition
| A complex form of stimulus control requiring generalization within a stimulus class and discrimination between stimulus classes. |
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Term
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Definition
| A ratio of the number of times a behavior occurs per unit of time. |
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Term
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Definition
| A ratio of the number of times a behavior occurs per unit of time. |
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Term
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Definition
| The number of times a behavior occurs. |
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Term
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
| The shape or form of the behavior. |
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Term
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Definition
| The number of exposures needed before the behavior is performed to criterion. |
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Term
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Definition
| A ratio representing the number of occurrences out of 100 opportunities. |
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Term
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Definition
| Has occurred when a stimulus change follows a response and the frequency of the response decreases in the future. |
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Term
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Definition
| Has occurred when a stimulus change follows a response and the frequency of the response increases in the future. |
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Term
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Definition
| A stimulus change which decreases the future frequency of the behavior it immediately follows. |
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Term
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Definition
| A stimulus change which increases the future frequency of the behavior it immediately follows. |
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Term
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Definition
| Reinforcement is provided for responses separated by a criterion IRT. |
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Term
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Definition
| (Inter-response Time) The point in time when a response occurs with respect to the previous instance of the response. |
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Term
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Definition
| A contingency in which reinforcement for all members of the group is dependent upon the performance of one, some, or all members of the group. |
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Term
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Definition
| A series of responses in which each response produces a stimulus change that serves as both a conditioned reinforcer for that response and as an SD for the next response in the chain. |
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Term
| Multiple Exemplar Training |
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Definition
| Instruction in which the learner receives practice with a variety of stimulus conditions, response variations, and response topographies to ensure the acquisition of desired stimulus control response forms. |
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Term
| Unconditioned Negative Reinforcer |
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Definition
| Stimulus whose removal strengthens behavior in the absence of prior learning. |
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Term
| Unconditioned Positive Reinforcer |
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Definition
| Stimulus whose presentation strengthens behavior in the absence of prior learning. |
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Term
| Unconditioned Negative Punisher |
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Definition
| Stimulus whose removal functions as punishment in the absence of prior learning. |
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Term
| Unconditioned Positive Punisher |
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Definition
| Stimulus whose presentation functions as punishment in the absence of prior learning. |
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Term
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Definition
| A previously neutral stimulus which gains the ability to serve as a reinforcer through stimulus-stimulus pairing with a variety of conditioned and unconditioned reinforcers. |
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Term
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Definition
| A previously neutral stimulus which has gained the ability to serve as a punisher through stimulus-stimulus pairing with conditioned and unconditioned punishers. |
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Term
| Generalized Conditioned Reinforcer |
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Definition
| A previously neutral stimulus which gains the ability to serve as reinforcement under a wide range of MOs through stimulus-stimulus pairing with a variety of conditioned and unconditioned reinforcers. |
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Term
| Generalized Conditioned Punisher |
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Definition
| A previously neutral stimulus which gains the ability to serve as a punisher under a wide range of MOs through stimulus-stimulus pairing with a variety of conditioned and unconditioned punishers. |
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Term
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Definition
| A variation of momentary time sampling used to measure the behavior of groups. |
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Term
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Definition
| Contingent on the occurrence of the problem behavior the learner is removed from the time-in setting for a specified period of time. |
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Term
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Definition
| A stimulus-response pairing consisting of an antecedent stimulus and the response it elicits. |
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Term
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Definition
| Any single instance of a behavior. |
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Term
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Definition
| Removal of a specified number of reinforcers contingent on the occurence of a problem behavior. |
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Term
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Definition
| Following the abrupt increase in the number of responses required for reinforcement, the learner exhibits aggression, avoidance behaviors, or unpredictable pauses in responding. |
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Term
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Definition
| Contingent on the occurrence of the problem behavior, the learner loses access to reinforcement for a specified period of time. |
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Term
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Definition
| The frequency, duration, latency, or magnitude of a behavior is altered by the presence/absence of a stimulus. |
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Term
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Definition
| the extent to which a treatment variable is delivered exactly as planned and no other variables are presented inadvertently along with the planned treatment. |
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Term
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Definition
| A technique for measuring behavior by recording whether it is occurring at or during specific moments in time. |
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Term
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Definition
| The portion of an organism's interaction with the environment characterized by detectable displacement in space, through time, of some part of the organism and a measurable change in some aspect of the environment. |
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Term
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Definition
| The extent to which a learner continues to exhibit the target behavior once some or all of the intervention responsible for the original appearance of the behavior in the learner's repertoire has been terminated. |
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Term
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Definition
| A technique for teaching behavior chains in which the trainer initially performs all behaviors in the sequence except the final step which is completed by the learner. Gradually the trainer stops earlier and earlier until the learner completes the entire sequence independently. |
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Term
| Differential Reinforcement |
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Definition
| Reinforcement is provided for behaviors which share a specified common dimension or quality, and withheld for behaviors which do not share that quality. |
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Term
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Definition
| Contingent on the occurrence of the problem behavior, the learner is made to perform effortful behavior that is not directly related to the problem behavior. |
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Term
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Definition
| Contingent on the occurrence of the problem behavior, the learner is relocated in the time-in setting such that access to reinforcement is lost but view of ongoing activity is maintained. |
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Term
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Definition
| (Intermittent Schedule) reinforcement is provided for some, but not all instances of a behavior |
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Term
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Definition
| An attitude of science requiring continual questioning of that which is regarded as fact. |
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Term
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Definition
| A dimension of ABA requiring the demonstration of a functional relation. |
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Term
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Definition
| A method for measuring behavior by recording the number of instances of the behavior. |
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Term
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Definition
| Behaviors do not produce the removal of an aversive stimulus, extinguishing behaviors maintained by negative reinforcement. |
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Term
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Definition
| A systematic process for identifying and selecting teaching examples that represent the full range of stimulus conditions and response requirements in the generalization setting. |
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Term
| Stimulus-stimulus pairing |
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Definition
| repeatedly presenting two stimuli simultaneously, until one takes on the function properties of the other. |
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Term
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Definition
| Contingent on the occurrence of the problem behavior, the learner is made to engage in effortful behavior that is directly related to the problem behavior a specified number of times. |
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Term
| Positive Practice Overcorrection |
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Definition
| Contingent on the occurence of the problem behavior, the learner is made to perform the correct form of the response, or a response topographically incompatible with the problem behavior, a specified number of times. |
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Term
| Restitutional Overcorrection |
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Definition
| Contingent on the occurrence of the problem behavior, the learner is required to repair the damage caused by the problem behavior, and leave the environment in a substantially improved condition. |
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Term
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Definition
| The extent to which the learner emits untrained responses which are functionally equivalent to the trained target response. |
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Term
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Definition
| A dimension of ABA requiring that interventions be based in principles of behavior. |
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Term
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Definition
| A decrease in responding to repeated presentations of the same stimuli. |
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Term
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Definition
| The extent to which a learner's behavior maximized contact with reinforcement and minimizes contact with punishment. |
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Term
| Programming Common Stimuli |
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Definition
| Making the instructional setting resemble the generalization setting to improve setting/situation generalization. |
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Term
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Definition
| An approach to studying behavior that assumes the existence of a mental or inner dimension that differs from the behavioral dimension, and that phenomenon in this dimension cause or at least mediate some forms of behavior if not all. |
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Term
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Definition
| An attitude of science requiring objective observation of the phenomena of interest. |
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Term
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Definition
| When a well-controlled experiment reveals reliable changes in the dependent variable are the result of systematic manipulations of the independent variable and not the result of uncontrolled or unplanned variables. |
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Term
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Definition
| An attitude of science requiring that simple and concrete explanations must be ruled out before abstract or complex explanations can be considered. |
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Term
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Definition
| An attitude of science that maintains that the universe is lawful and orderly, and that events are the products of other events that are amenable to scientific investigation. |
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Term
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Definition
| Ceasing to pair the unconditioned stimuli with the conditioned stimuli, until the conditioned stimulus fails to elicit the conditioned response. |
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Term
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Definition
| When the learner begins to exhibit the response, the therapist physically intervenes to prevent the response from being completed. |
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Term
| Indiscriminable Contingency |
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Definition
| A contingency where it is difficult for the learner to determine if the next response will produce reinforcement. |
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Term
| Partial-Interval Recording |
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Definition
| A measurement procedure where the observation period is divided into intervals and the observer records whether the response occurs at any point during each interval. |
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Term
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Definition
| (Variable Interval Schedule) Reinforcement is delivered following the first correct response after the elapse of an interval of variable length. |
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Term
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Definition
| (Fixed Interval Schedule) Reinforcement is delivered following the first correct response after the elapse of an interval of fixed length. |
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Term
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Definition
| (Variable Ratio Schedule) Reinforcement is delivered following a varying number of responses. |
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Term
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Definition
| (Fixed Ratio Schedule) Reinforcement is delivered following a fixed number of responses. |
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Term
| Contrived Mediating Stimulus |
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Definition
| A stimulus that has gained functionality for the target behavior in the instructional setting is used to prompt or assist in the performance of the target behavior in the generalization setting. |
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Term
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Definition
| A systematic approach to achieving understanding of phenomena evidenced by prediction, description, and control. |
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Term
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Definition
| The comparison of some measure of the phenomenon of interest under two or more conditions where only one factor at a time varies from one condition to the next. |
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Term
| Applied Behavior Analysis |
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Definition
| A science in which tactics derived from principles of behavior are systematically applied to improve socially significant behaviors and experimentation is used to identify the variables responsible for behavior change. |
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Term
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Definition
| The extent to which the treatment variable is administered exactly as planned and no other unplanned variables are delivered along with the planned treatment. |
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Term
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Definition
| A behavior which occurs more frequently under some antecedent conditions than under others. |
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Term
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Definition
| Any behavior which is controlled by a physical movement that serves as the model, has formal similiarity with the model, and occurs immediately following the model. An imitative event is a new behavior emitted following a novel antecedent event. |
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Term
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Definition
| A systematic procedure for breaking down a complex sequence or series of behaviors into smaller teachable units. |
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Term
| Setting/Situation Generalization |
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Definition
| The extent to which the learner emits the target behavior in settings or stimulus situations that differ from the instructional setting. |
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Term
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Definition
| Reinforcement is available for a limited time following the elapse of a fixed or variable interval. |
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Term
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Definition
| A response-reinforcement relation that does not depend on the presentation of consequences by other people. |
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Term
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Definition
| A dimension of ABA requiring that behavior change spreads to new behaviors, environments, or beyond the length of the intervention. |
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Term
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Definition
| A graph that depicts the cumulative frequency of the behavior on the y-axis such that a steeper slope represents a greater rate of response. |
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Term
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Definition
| Following the occurrence of a problem behavior, ceasing to provide social reinforcement for a specified period of time. |
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Term
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Definition
| A technique for teaching behavioral sequences where the learner is first taught to perform the first step in the chain to criterion, and is gradually taught to perform each step in its natural sequence. |
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Term
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Definition
| A variation on forward chaining where the learner receives instruction on each step in the chain during each training session. |
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Term
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Definition
| The philosophy of the study of behavior. |
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Term
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Definition
| A group of responses sharing a common function. |
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Term
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Definition
| A tangible item, activity, or privilege that serves as a reinforcer and can be purchased with tokens. |
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Term
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Definition
| (Continuous Reinforcement Schedule) All instances of the target behavior are reinforced. |
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Term
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Definition
| A cessation in responding following the delivery of reinforcement. |
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Term
| Measurement by Permanent Product |
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Definition
| Measuring a behavior after it has occurred by examining its effect upon the environment. |
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Term
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Definition
| Consequences result in an increased or decreased frequency of behavior under similar environmental or motivational conditions in the future. |
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Term
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Definition
| An energy change that reaches an organism through its receptor cells. |
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Term
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Definition
| Repeating conditions within an experiment to improve internal validity and reliability or repeating whole experiments to improve external validity. |
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Term
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Definition
| Ceasing to provide the maintaining reinforcer for a behavior, decreasing the frequency of the behavior to pre-reinforcement rates. |
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Term
| Interdependent Group Contingency |
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Definition
| A contingency in which reinforcement for all members of the group is dependent upon each member of the group meeting a performance criteria in effect for all members of the group. |
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Term
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Definition
| Contingent on the occurrence of the problem behavior, the learner is relocated within the classroom so that access to reinforcement is lost and view of ongoing activity is blocked by a partition, wall, or cubicle. |
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Term
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Definition
| (Experimental Analysis of Behavior) A natural science approach to the study of behavior founded by B.F. Skinner. |
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Term
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Definition
| (Independent Variable) The variable in an experiment manipulated by the researcher to determine if these manipulations produce reliable changes in the dependent variable. |
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Term
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Definition
| A stimulus whose termination functions as reinforcement. |
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Term
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Definition
| A dimension of ABA requiring socially significant changes in behavior. |
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Term
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Definition
| Temporarily alters the momentary value of a stimulus as reinforcement or punishment. |
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Term
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Definition
| A temporary increase in the target behavior following the onset of extinction procedures. |
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Term
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Definition
| A dimension of ABA requiring intervention to target socially significant behavior. |
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Term
| Dependent Group Contingency |
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Definition
| A contingency in which reinforcement for all members of the group depends upon one or some members meeting a specified performance criterion. |
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Term
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Definition
| Behavior whose frequency is altered by its consequences. |
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Term
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Definition
| A dimension of ABA requiring objective descriptions of procedures and behaviors allowing for replication. |
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Term
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Definition
| An increase in behaviors previously diminished by extinction, even though the behavior no longer produces reinforcement. |
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Term
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Definition
| Masking or blocking the sensory consequences of a behavior to reduce behaviors maintained by automatic reinforcement. |
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Term
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Definition
| Pairing an unconditioned stimulus with a neutral stimulus until the neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus which elicits the conditioned response. |
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