Spring 2023 ABA

In order to obtain valid interobserver agreement measures, which of the following must be present? 3

-Observers must use the same measurement system -Observers must measure the same events -Observers must be independent

A Changing Criterion Design can be best used to evaluate the effects of treatment on the gradual improvement of which of the following?

A behavior already in the participant's repertoire

Which of the following should be included in any single-case design experiment? 3

A clear experimental question A plan for measuring a dependent variable A graph or table that represents key results

Explain why the behavior of individual subjects is of primary interest in applied behavior analysis.

A focus on individual subiect behavior has enabled behavior analysts to discover and refine effective interventions for a range of socially significant behaviors. The most useful information about a treatment is how individual behavior has changed as a result of the treatment. Information on group performance averages is not as useful for developing individual behavior change interventions.

Describe what is meant by "analysis of behavior" with respect to its applied utility and how this differs from a complete analysis or understanding.

An analysis of behavior involves identifying a relation between an environmental variable (or intervention package) that is reliably associated with control over the behavior-i.e., a functional relation. As such, this variable or intervention package can serve as a reliable treatment. This differs from a complete analysis (or understanding) of the behavior because it doesn't explain all variables that could account for it. Just because you've identified one effective intervention doesn't mean that there aren't others (i.e., other sets of variables that yield the same reliable control).

Write an explicit experimental question - be sure to identify the dependent and independent variables of interest.

An experimental research question should include the population of interest, the independent variable (IV) and the dependent variable (DV). The IV is what is being manipulated; it is your intervention. The DV is what will be measured.

Provide a brief explanation of why applied behavior analysts measure behavior,

Behavior Analysts measure behavior in order to obtain answers to questions about the existence and nature of functional relations between socially significant behavior and environmental variables.

Describe the basic procedures of a brief experimental design.

Brief experimental designs are variants of the ABAB and multielement design types. Using brief experimental designs, a researchers conducts a single session under one set of conditions, conducts another type of session, and then reverses back to the initial condition to determine if a change in behavior is oberved.

Why would a SCD researcher choose to use a combined design?

Combined designs can be used to study more complex behavioral processes than an individual single case design might permit. If one aspect of a combined design fails to show a functional relation another aspect of the design may be used to demonstrate experimental control. Combined designs, because they can be used to demonstrate experimental control in multiple ways, provide stronger demonstrations of functional relations. Additional strengths of combined designs are the ability to demonstrate experimental control in multiple ways and the opportunity to show a functional relation even if one aspect of the design does not show control over responding

A Brief Experimental Design might be appropriate to document which of the following?

Conditions in a functional analysis Effects of an antecedent intervention with different additional components Effects of different forms of prompts before a task

During this analysis you are interested in evaluating the effects of the independent variable on a dependent variable that can only occur once per measurement period, for example the participant either engages in the behavior or does not, therefore your data collection is limited to recording a yes or a no.

Cumulative record

Which of the following types of experimental questions and analyses is only useful to identify the existence of functional relations in behavior analytic literature, and therefore is often used by practicing behavior analysts with clients?

Demonstration

In order to justify the use of permanent product measurement, which of the following rules must be met?

Each occurence of the target behavior must produce the same permanent product. The permanent product can be produced only by the target behavior

To determine whether an immediate change in behavior occurs when a treatment is applied, a behavior analyst should first visually analyze which of the following?

Examine the difference in data points before the condition field change and the first data point in the new condition

Explain how experimental control is demonstrated in a multiple baseline across settings design.

Experimental control is demonstrated if each behavior is changed when and only when the independent variable is applied to the new setting.

Define external validity and describe how the generality of research findings is established in applied behavior analysis.

External validity refers to the degree to which a functional relation found reliable and socially valid in a given experiment will hold under different conditions. The generality of findings in applied behavior analysis research is assessed, established, and specified through replication of experiments, both direct and systematic.

A multielement design should not be used with unstable data.

False

A reversal design is an appropriate element of an experiment investigating the effects of a variable that cannot be withdrawn once it has been introduced (e.g., instruction).

False

Baseline data collection is important because it results in a certain level of needed subjectivity.

False

Conducting a reversal phase in one or more tiers of a multiple baseline design can weaken the demonstration of experimental control.

False

Measurement is the process of applying qualitative labels to events.

False

One advantage of a multiple baseline design is the possibility of co-variation between different behaviors.

False

Single-case experiments in ABA, conducted properly, will always yield a functional relation.

False

Single-subject research designs always involve only a single participant.

False

With a multielement design, a functional relation is demonstrated when the behavior changes abruptly in level and trend at the onset of the treatment conditions.

False

Identify and describe the factors that favor visual analysis of data over tests of statistical significance in applied behavior analysis.

First, applied behavior analysts are concerned with producing socially significant, not statistically significant change. If a problem is solved, you can see that in the data. If the change is so small or unclear that statistical treatment is necessary, the problem has not been solved. Second, visual analysis is well suited for identifying variables that produce strong, large, and reliable results. Visual analysis is less likely to produce Type I errors but increases the commission of Type lI errors. Third, statistical methods remove or cancel out variability in the data. If there is a significant amount of variability, more analysis should be conducted, as the answer to the problem is not yet clear. Fourth, statistical tests require the data to conform to predetermined criteria for analysis. This results in less flexibility in experimental design which is highly valued in applied behavior analysis.

A mean of 80% agreement means the data are accurate.

Fslse

Which of the following are noted as graphing conventions for line graphs used by behavior analysts?

Graphs should be printed in black, not color Graphs should include a vertical axis approximately two-thirds the length of the horizontal axis Graphs should include a concise but complete description of the variables represented in a caption Graphs should include different geometric symbols for each dependent variable when presented on the same axes

Which if the following are arguments against the use of group experimental designs in behavior analytic research?

Group data may not represent the performance of individual participants Group data presented as mean performance mask variability in the data set Group data do not demonstrate behavior-environment relations at the level of the individual participant

When visually analyzing data within a condition, which of the following can be considered as part of the analysis?

How often and the extent to which repeated measures of behavior yield different outcomes The overall direction taken by a data path The value on the vertical axis scale around which a set of behavioral measures converge The quantity of data reported during each condition

Describe the logic and how experimental control would be demonstrated in a reversal design.

If a behavior is occurring at a particular level it is likely to continue at that level unless something changes. If the behavior level changes (i.e., deviates from the baseline level) with the onset of an intervention and this effect is reversed with the offset of the intervention and then changes again with a second onset, then evidence is provided of a functional relation between the intervention and the change in behavior. Not

Describe the logic and how experimental control would be demonstrated in a multielement design.

In a multielement design, the rapid alternation of treatments, along with different SDs under the two (or more) treatment conditions and other counterbalancing measures (e.g., time of day) ensures that any differential responding that occurs under the various conditions will be the result of those conditions. This is made evident by a graphical display of responding under one condition (graphed as one data series) being consistently higher than responding under another condition (graphed as a different data series).

Condition change - or phase change - lines on a line graph in behavior analytic single-case designs can be either solid or dashed lines (according to Cooper et al., 2020). These condition change lines represent changes to what in an experimental design?

Independent variable

The the variable is what you manipulate during an experiment; variable is what you measure.

Independent, Dependent

Which of the following are terms that refer to the measurement of the independent variable within a study in order to provide assurance that the intervention was implemented as designed? 2

Integrity Fidelity

State one reason why it is important tor behavior analysts to maintain direct and continual contact with the behavior under investigation.

It is important for behavior analysts to maintain direct and continual contact with the behavior under investigation because behavior is a dynamic and ongoing process. Changes in the behavior under investigation/targeted for change forms the empirical basis for important decision making, for example, whether to continue with the current procedure, to try a different intervention, or to reinstitute a previous condition.

What are two ways that measurement by permanent product differs from the other procedures for measuring behavior?

Measurement by permanent product measures the impact of a behavior on the environment by examining a durable product that remains after the behavior is finished. It is not a specific procedure but refers to the time that the behavior is measured (i.e., after instead of during). Permanent products can be natural, like completed worksheets, or contrived, like video tape.

If a behavior analyst wanted to examine the effects of a behavioral skills training package on the number of correctly implemented sequences of discrete trials per session for a group of three BCBA trainees, which of the following single-case designs would be most likely to demonstrate experimental control?

Multiple Baseline Across Participants

If a behavior analyst was interested in documenting the effects of two different types of error correction procedure on at least three participants' learning sight words, which of the following single case designs could be used?

Multiple Baseline Design Repeated Acquisitions Design Brief Experimental Design

Rhode et al. (1983) implemented a token reinforcement and self-evaluation intervention to improve the classroom behavior of six participants with behavior disorders in order to help improve a response class of "appropriate classroom behavior" (e.g., following classroom rules, completing teacher-assigned tasks, volunteering relevant responses) and decrease "inappropriate classroom behavior" (e.g., talking out, noncompliance, aggression). The mean and range of the six participants' behavior was compared to peers who did not receive the intervention. This represents which type of social validity evaluation?

Normative comparison

Over the course of a study, observers can sometimes alter the way that they apply a measurement system, leading to measurement error. This phenomenon is called

Observer drift

Compare and contrast observer drift and observer reactivity.

Observer drift usually entails a shift in the observer's interpretation of the definition of the target behavior from that used in training. The drift causes unintended changes in the way data are collected and may produce measurement error. Observer reactivity may also cause measurement errors; however, these errors are the result of the observer's awareness that others are evaluating the data.

The description of Scored-interval IOA in the Cooper et al. text is most similar to which of the following forms of I0A described in the video lecture?

Occurance/Nonoccurance Agreement

Describe two conditions that make a multiple probe design appropriate for evaluating behavior change.

One condition that multiple probe design is effective for is evaluating the effects of instruction on skill sequences in which it is highly unlikely that the participant's performance on later steps of the sequence could improve without instruction or mastery of earlier steps. A second condition is when prolonged baseline measurement may prove reactive, impractical, or too costly.

What are two benefits of measurement for practitioners?

Optimizing effectiveness; verify the legitimacy of practices touted as "evidence-based"; identify treatments based on pseudoscience, fad, fashion, or ideology; be accountable to clients, consumers, employers, and society; or achieve ethical standards.

The systematic comparison of different levels of a single intervention is referred to as a analysis.

Parametic

Explain why it is important to replicate an intervention's effect on the dependent variable.

Replication is necessary to provide convincing evidence that the independent variable reliably controls the dependent variable. With replication, the probability of the behavior change coinciding with the onset and offset of the intervention being the result of another variable is drastically reduced; thus lending credibility to the influence of the independent variable over the dependent variable.

For what variables and when should IOA be obtained and reported in research?

Researchers should obtain and report IOA for all measures of each dependent variable, during each condition of a study.

You are interested in finding out if there is a correlation between your students' missing naptime and the display of afternoon problem behavior.

Scatterplot

Describe three methods for measuring social validity of a behavior change.

Seeking consumer opinion through surveys, questionnaires, performance scales, or interviews; empirically assessing the performance of individuals judged to be highly competent and experimentally manipulating different levels of performance to determine socially valid outcomes; comparing participants' performance to normative standards; using a standardized assessment tool; asking experts to evaluate participant performance; testing participants' new behavior in the natural environment.

Baer, Wolf, and Riley (1987) argue that amnlied behavior analysis must shift its emphasis away from simply demonstrati. ehavior change. What is the more important focus in their opinion?

Shift needs to occur toward a more complete analysis and conceptual understanding of the principles that underlie successful demonstrations of behavior change. The field's concept of analytic has changed. Applied behavior analysis is now considered analytic when it makes convincing demonstrations of behavior change AND when the behavior change methods make systematic and conceptual sense. Both conditions are now expected in order to be truly analytic.

Describe steady state responding and discuss its importance.

Steady state strategy requires repeatedly exposing a participant to a given condition while trying to eliminate or control extraneous influence on the behavior and obtaining a stable pattern of responding before introducing the new condition. Achieving steady state responding is a prerequisite to comparing a subsequent intervention condition. Without first achieving steady state responding, one could not predict the level of future responding absent an intervention; hence, one could not predictor even convincingly demonstrate the impact of the intervention.

State one strength and one limitation of using bar graphs for displaying behavioral data.

Strengths of using bar graphs include: quick and easy comparison of performance across participants or conditions; useful for displaying and comparing discrete sets of data that are not related to one another by a common underlying dimension by which the horizontal axis can be scaled; and provides visual summary of different conditions of an experiment (e.g., baseline/intervention for a group of participants). Limitations of using bar graphs include: does not have distinct data points representing successive response measures through time; and unable to discuss variability or trends in data paths.

Both the A-B-A and B-A-B variations of the A-B-A-B design can be used to demonstrate functional relations, but practitioners might prefer the B-A-B design because it which of the following justifications?

The B-A-B ends with the treatment in place The B-A-B provides a replication of treatment effects

What should be considered when selecting a method for measuring a behavior?

The behavior change goals and expected direction of behavior change, the relative ease of detecting occurrences of the behavior, the environments where and times when the behavior will be measured, and the availability and skills of personnel who will observe and record the behavior

With consent, a teacher shares with you the data for several students. In each case, she shows you baseline data followed by a single intervention condition. She states, "See that in each case performance improved over baseline and this is replicated over several students; therefore, a functional relation is demonstrated." If the data do, in fact, indicate an abrupt and significant improvement relative to baseline, how would you respond to her assertion?

The data suggest a possible relation between the intervention and the change in behavior. However, because there are possibly other changes that coincided with the onset of the intervention, we cannot yet assert a functional relation; to make such a claim would require replications with the same effect in the context of an experimental design.

You are interested in evaluating the effects of a response cost procedure on students' disruptive behaviors. Give an appropriate experimental design for this evaluation.

The dependent variable would be disruptive behavior and the independent variable would be response cost. An A-B-A-B (or reversal) design would be appropriate in this instance.

You are interested in comparing the effects of two distinctly different study session procedures (Procedure X and Procedure Y) on next session quiz scores. Give the independent variable(s), dependent variable(s), and experimental design you would use to evaluate the two procedures.

The dependent variable would be quiz scores and the independent variable would be Procedures X and Y. A multielement design would be appropriate here.

Which of the following are important aspects to be evaluated when assessing the social validity of an intervention?

The social importance of the behavior change goals The social acceptability of the intervention procedures The social importance of the behavior change outcomes

Benefits of using Combined Singe Case Designs include which of the following? 3

They can provide multiple ways of demonstrating functional relations. If one component of the design does not demonstrate experimental control, a different component still can. They allow researchers to ask more refined questions about why a particular intervention has an effect on behavior.

"Reversal" in a reversal design most often refers to reversing the effect of the behavior, not the focus of treatment. Researchers who focus on a reversal of treatment sometimes use the term "withdrawal design."

True

A properly conducted alternating treatments design minimizes the extent to which an experimenter's results are confounded by sequence effects.

True

Measurement is accurate when observed values, the data produced by measuring an event, match the true state, or true values, of the event.

True

The believability of the changing criterion design is enhanced if a previous criterion is reinstated and the participant's behavior reverses to the previous level.

True

The fundamental properties common to all behavioral data include level, trend, and variability.

True

The length of the baseline phases for the different behaviors in a multiple baseline design should differ significantly.

True

You are experimentally evaluating a treatment package that consists of a simultaneous physical rearrangement of the setting, adjusting the temperature of the room, and adjusting the lighting. You have manipulated more than one variable at a time, but that's acceptable as long as your conclusions are limited to the treatment package as a whole.

True

Describe the basic methodology of implementing a multiple baseline design across behaviors.

Two or more different behaviors for one participant are selected and baseline measurement for each behavior is conducted. After steady state responding is obtained in baseline, the independent variable is applied to one behavior while maintaining baseline conditions for the other(s). When steady state or criterion-level performance is reached for the first behavior, the independent variable is applied to the next behavior.

List and describe the three elements of valid measurement in Applied Behavior Analysis.

Valid measurement requires the following elements: measuring socially significant target behaviors directly, measuring a dimensions of the target behavior relevant to the question or concern about the behavior, and ensuring that the data are representative of the behavior's occurrence under conditions and during times that are most relevant to the question or concern about behavior. Validity is compromised when any of these elements are suspect.

Measurement has -. when it yields data directly relevant to the phenomenon measured and to the reasons for measuring it.

Validity

You could seemingly get rid of variability by averaging performance data across learners. What is the shortcoming of doing so?

Variability indicates a lack of control and therefore understanding with respect to the factors that influence the behavior of interest. Behavior analysts attempt to identify the determinants of variability and eliminate or control them.

Describe the difference between whole-interval and partial-interval recording.

Whole-interval recording divides the observation into a series of equal time intervals and at the end of each interval, the target behavior is recorded if it occurred throughout the entire interval. Partial-interval recording divides the observation period into a series of equal time intervals and at the end of each interval the behavior is recorded if it occurred at any point during the interval.

Which of the following are methods of time sampling procedures for single-case design research? 3

Whole-interval sampling Partial-interval sampling Momentary time sampling

Which of the following situations could produce ethical concerns when deciding whether to use an A-B-A-B design to document a functional relation between the intervention and behavior change because returning to baseline could cause harm?

You design an intervention for a student who engages in elopement (i.e., running away from supervision) You design an intervention to reduce SIB

Some advantages of the multielement design over the A-B-A-B design include which of the following? 4

an investigator does not withdraw a seemingly effective treatment in order to demonstrate a functional relation the experimental comparison can be made quickly it minimizes sequences effects by randomizing or counterbalancing the order which treatments are presented Intervention can begin immediately without waiting for steady state baseline responding to be demonstrated

Even though multielelmet designs can be susceptible to multiple treatment interference, a behavior analyst can follow an alternating treatments phase with a phase in which only one treatment is presented in order to

assess that intervention in isolation, which may eliminate concerns of multiple treatment interference

When employing a multiple probe design - sometimes called multi probe multiple baseline - intermittent measures are taken at which of the following times?

at the outset of the experiment each time a phase change occurs in any of the other tiers of the multiple baseline

You completed a study on the effects of peer tutoring acquisition of irregular sight words and would like to summarize the performance of the entire class under baseline and intervention conditions.

bar graph

Single-case design, or within subject, research is the primary experimental strategy of behavior analysts because

behavior is an individual phenomenon

When implementing a multiple baseline across behaviors design, which of the following is important when defining the target behaviors/dependent variables?

behaviors should be functionally independent (i.e., not covary) behaviors should have a reasable likelihood that they will each change when the same independent variable is applied behaviors should be measured concurrently

One reason that a multielement design is preferable to a multiple treatment reversal design (e.g., A-B-C-B-C) when a behavior analyst wants to determine which of two different intervention produces the greatest improvement is that the latter is particularly susceptible to

confounding by sequence effects

You've decided to create a personal behavior management system to increase the number of minutes you exercise each day. You would like to include a graphic feedback device for motivation.

cumulative record

The presence and degree of experimental control in a multielement design is determined by visual inspection of the differences between

data paths representing the different treatments

The name "single-case" or "single-subject" for research designs in behavior analysis is indicative of which of the following characteristics:

each participant serves as her own control within the experiment measures of each participant's behavior during each phase of the experiment provide the primary basis for comparison of effects

You are interested in investigating the effects of a motivational system on a student's appropriate and inappropriate behavior.

equal-interval line graph

In a single-case design research study, the researcher must make a convincing attempt to hold all variables constant and change only the variable.

extraneous, independent

In an A-B-A-B design, steady state responding (ie., a pattern with little variation across observations) is generally considered necessary before an investigator

implements a phase change

Which if the following are threats to reliable measurement? 3

inadequate observer training poorly designed measurement systems unintended influences of the observers

The multiple baseline design is effective for documenting effects of instruction on skills if which of the following are true?

it is unlikely that the target behavior/dependent variable will return to baseline levels two or more participants are provided with the same independent variable

Explain the three basic forms of the multiple baseline design.

multiple baseline across behaviors to evaluate effects of intervention on two or more different behaviors of the same participant; multiple baseline across settings to evaluate effects of intervention on the same behavior of the same participant in two or more different settings; and a multiple baseline across participants design to evaluate the same behavior of two or more different participants.

How many replications of effects are considered to be required in applied behavior analytic research?

one demonstration and two replications

Experimental control is demonstrated in a multiple baseline design by documenting replication of behavior change

only when the independent variable is applied

Which of the following behaviors would be appropriate for event recording? 3

oral responses to questions written responses to math problems praise statements to a child

The "concurrent schedule" or "concurrent chains" design is a variation of the multielement design in which 2

participants choose between two or more concurrently available treatments participants are presented with two or more response options, each associated with a distinctive discriminative stimulus and leads to a different set of procedures

Behavior analysts view behavioral variability in data as representing which of the following:

results of environmental influence possibly related to uncontrolled aspects outside of the experiment

When some aspect of the experimental procedures is changed across multiple iterations of studies on a single intervention, these can be referred to as

systematic replications

The A-B-A-B design is the most straightforward and generally most powerful single-case design for demonstrating functional relations, but in order to use this design the behavior being measured must have which of the following traits? 2

the behavior can be predicted to revert to baseline levels when an intervention is withdrawn the behavior must be operationalized to produce repeated, quantified observations

The features that combine to determine the potential for a Changing Criterion Design to demonstrate experimental Control include which of the following?

the length of phases the magnitude of criterion changes the number of criterion changes

You design an intervention consisting of teacher-delivered reinforcement for interacting with peers for a student whose baseline data revealed very low, almost nonexistent rates of talking and social interaction. An A-B-A-B design could be a poor choice to document the effects of the intervention because of which of the following? 2

the student mav continue to access the reinforcement represented by sodial interaction with peers even when the teacher-delivered reinforcement it withdrawn this intervention essentially teaches a new skill to the student, and once a new skill is learned, it will not necessarily revert to baseline levels just because the

Which of the following are possible reasons that a single-case design study might include multiple dependent variables: 3

to serve as controls for evaluating and replicating effects of the IV as it is applied sequentially to each behavior to assess the effects of the IV on behaviors other than the response class to which it was applied directly to determine whether changes in a person other than the participant might explain observed changes in the participant's behavior