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| applied behavioral analysis (ABA) |
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Definition
| the science in which tactics derived from the principles of behavior are applied to improve socially significant behavior and experimentation is used to identify the variables responsible for the improvement of behavior. |
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| the philosophy of a science of behavior; there are various forms of behaviorism. |
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| the assumption that the universe is a lawful and orderly place in which phenomena occur in relation to other events and not in a willy-nilly, accidental fashion. |
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| The objective observation of the phenomena of interest; objective observations are "independent of the individual prejudices, tastes, and private opinions of the scientist.... Results of empirical methods are objective in that they are open to anyone's observation and do not depend on the subjective belief of the individual scientist" (Zuriff, 1985, p.9) |
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| a carefully controlled 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. |
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| experimental analysis of behavior (EAB) |
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Definition
| a natural science approach to the study of behavior as a subject matter in its own right founded by B.F. Skinner; methodological features include rate of response as a basic dependent variable, repeated or continuous measurement of clearly defined response classes, within-subject experimental comparisons instead of group design, visual analysis of graphed data instead of statistical inference, and an emphasis on describing functional relations between behavior and controlling variables in the environment over formal theory testing. |
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| a fictitious or hypothetical variable that often takes the form of another name for the observed phenomenon it claims to explain and contributes nothing to a functional account or understanding of the phenomenon, such as "intelligence" or "cognitive awareness" as explanations for why an organism pushes the lever when the light is on and food is available but does not push the lever when the light is off and no food is available. |
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| a term with two meanings in contemporary behavior analysis literature. In its original and most fundamental usage, functional analysis denotes demonstrations of functional relations between environmental variables and behavior. In the context of determining the purposes (functions) of problem behavior for an individual, functional analysis entails experimentally arranging antecedents and consequences representing those in the person's natural routines so that their separate effects on problem behavior can be observed and measured. |
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| a verbal statement summarizing the results of an experiment (or group of related experiments) that describes the occurrence of the phenomena under study as a function of the operation of one or more specified and controlled variables in the experiment in which a specific change in one event (the dependent variable) can be produced by manipulating another event (the independent variable), and that the change in the dependent variable was unlikely the result of other factors (confounding variables); in behavior analysis expressed ab = f(x1), (x2), c, where b is the behavior and x1, x2, etc., and environmental variables of which the behavior is a function. |
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| a presumed but unobserved process or entity (e.g., Freud's id, ego, and superego) |
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| an approach to explaining behavior that assumes that a mental, or "inner," dimension exists that differs from a behavioral dimension and that phenomena in this dimension either directly cause or at least mediate some forms of behavior, if not all. |
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| 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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| The practice of ruling out simple, logical explanations, experimentally or conceptually, before considering more complex or abstract explanations. |
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| An attitude that the truthfulness and validity of all scientific theory and knowledge should be continually questions. |
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| a philosophical position asserting that the truth value of a statement is determined by how well it promotes effective action; pragmatism is a primary criterion by which behavior analysts judge the value of their findings. |
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| a 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) |
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| (a) Repeating conditions within an experiment to determine the reliability of effects and increase internal validity. (see also baseline logic, prediciton, and verification. (b) Repeating whole experiments to other subjects, settings, and/or behaviors. (See also direct replication, external validity, and systematic replication.) |
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Definition
| A systematic approach to understanding of natural phenomena (as evidenced by description, prediction, and control) that relies on determinism as its fundamental assumption, empiricism as its primary rule, experimentation as its basic strategy, replication as a requirement for believability, parsimony as a value, and philosophic doubt as its guiding conscience. |
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- experiments with cats in puzzle boxes
- findings influenced the growth of behaviorism |
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- Credited with documenting respondent conditioning
- reflexes |
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- "Father of Behaviorism"
-wanted a new direction for the field of psychology
- if you can't observe it, it doesn't exist
- stimulus-response psychology |
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Term
| Baer, Wolf, & Risley (1968) |
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Definition
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| Applied Behavior Analysis - Definition given in lecture |
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Definition
| "Applied behavior analysis is 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 behavior change. |
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- all procedures are clearly described in detail
- sufficient detail to allow for replication
- behavioral terminology helps us achieve this |
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| Conceptually systematic (lecture) |
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- procedures are described with reference to basic principles of behavior
- turns a bag of tricks into a science |
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- clinician significance vs. statistical significance
- changes must be meaningful for the client
- changes must have social validity |
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| a subjective judgement only society is equipped to make |
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| Generality (generalization) |
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Definition
- behavior must appear in new environments, with new people
- it may be desirable for effects to spread to new behaviors |
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