BCBA Exam Cooper definitions, BCBA

stimulus

"An energy change that affects an organinsm through its receptor cells." / Specific aspects of the environment that can be differentiated from each other / Any condition, event, or change in the environment.

Exact count per interval

# of intervals with 100% agreement __________________________ Number of intervals X 100

AO for reinforcement

1) abates bx 2) abolishes effectiveness of the consequence as a reinforcer

EO for punishment

1) abates bx 2) establishes effectiveness of the consequence as a punisher

EO for reinforcement

1) evokes bx 2) establishes effectiveness of the consequence as a reinforcer

self-control

1. A person's ability to "delay gratification" by emitting a response that will produce a larger delayed reward over a response that produces a smaller but immediate reward. 2. A person's behaving in a certain way so as to change a subsequent behavior.

Trials to criterion steps

1. Determine what one trial will be 2. Decide how to report (number of trials or number of block trials) 3. Record count as the measure 4. Present data

replication

1. Repeating conditions within an experiment to determine the reliability of effects and increase internal validity; 2. Repeating whole experiments to determine the generality of findings of previous experiments to other subjects, settings, and/or behaviors.

unpairing

1. The occurrence alone of a stimulus that acquired its function by being paired with an already effective stimulus; 2. the occurrence of the stimulus in the absence as well as in the presence of the effective stimulus. Both undo the result of the pairing.

experimental control

1. The outcome of an experiment that demonstrates convincingly a functional relation, as it is achieved when a predictable change in behavior can be reliably produced by manipulating a specific aspect of the environment. 2. The extent to which a researcher maintains precise control of the independent variable by presenting it, withdrawing it, and/or varying its value, and also by eliminating or holding constant all confounding and extraneous variables.

AO for punishment

2) evokes bx 2) abolishes effectiveness of the consequence as a punisher

IOA should be collected and scored for a minimum of _____ of observations

33%

IOA should be at or above

80%

How often to monitor

80% agreement for most plans At least once per week

variable-momentary DRO (VM-DRO)

A DRO procedure in which reinforcement is available at specific moments of time, which are separated by variable amounts of time in random sequence, and delivered if the problem behavior is not occurring at those times.

fixed-momentary DRO (FM-DRO)

A DRO procedure in which reinforcement is available at specific moments of time, which are seperated by a fixed amount of time, and delivered contingent on the problem not occurring at those moments.

fixed-interval DRO (FI-DRO)

A DRO procedure in which reinforcement is available at the end of intervals of fixed duration and delivered contingent on the absence of the problem behavior during each interval.

variable-interval DRO (VI-DRO)

A DRO procedure in which reinforcement is available at the end of intervals of variable duration and delivered contingent on the absence of the problem behavior during the interval.

antecedent intervention

A behavior change strategy that manipulates contingency-independent antecedent stimuli.

spontaneous recovery

A behavioral effect associated with extinction in which the behavior suddenly begins to occur after its frequency has decreased to its prereinforced level or stopped entirely.

experiment

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.

Stimulus

A change in the environment which can affect behavior

Topographical response class

A collection of two or more responses which share a common form

group contingency

A contingency in which reinforcement for all members of a group is dependent on the behavior of 1. a person within the group; 2. a select group of members within the larger group; or 3. each member of the group meeting a performance criterion.

dependent group contingency / hero procedure

A contingency in which reinforcement for all members of a group is dependent on the behavior of one member of the group or the behavior of a select group of members within the larger group.

discriminated avoidance

A contingency in which responding in the presence of a signal prevents the onset of a stimulus from which escape is a reinforcer.

behavior chain with a limited hold

A contingency that specifies a time interval by which a behavior chain must be completed for reinforcement to be delivered.

Scatterplot

A data collection form for problem behavior and the intervals of time behavior occurred It provides a graphic display of data in a grid format It is used to identify patterns of responding in natural settings

descending baseline

A data path that shows a decreasing trend in the response measure over time.

ascending baseline

A data path that shows an increasing trend in the response measure over time.

habituation

A decrease in responsiveness to repeated presentations of a stimulus; most often used to describe a reduction of respondent behaviors as a function of repeated presentation of the eliciting stimulus over a short span of time; some researchers suggest that the concept also applies to within-session changes in operant behavior.

Abative effect

A decrease in the current frequency of behavior that has been reinforced by the stimulus that is increased in reinforcing effectiveness by the same motivating operation

abative effect

A decrease in the current frequency of behavior that has been reinforced by the stimulus that is increased in reinforcing effectiveness by the same motivating operation.

Contingency

A dependency between events

transitivity

A derived (i.e untrained) stimulus-stimulus relation that emerges as a product of training two other stimulus-stimulus relations. (e.g. If A=B and B=C, then A=C).

cumulative recorder

A device that automatically draws cumulative records (graphs) that show the rate of reponse in real time; each time a response is emitted, a pen moves upward across paper that continuously moves at a constant speed.

Conditional discrimination

A discrimination in which reinforcing a response is contingent (conditional) on another stimulus

Essential for living

A functional assessment and curriculum

stimulus class

A group of stimuli that share specified common elements along formal, temporal, and/or functional dimensions.

conditioned reflex

A 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.

Checklists

A list of activities in sequential order that need to be completed

Split middle line of progress

A mathematical way to calculate trend

true value

A measure accepted as a quantitative description of the true state of some dimensional quantity of an event as it exists in nature.

interresponse time (IRT)

A measure of temporal locus; defined as the elapsed time between two successive responses.

duration

A measure of the total extent of time in which a behavior occurs.

observed value

A measure produced by an observation and measurement system; serve as the data that the researcher and others will interpret to form conclusions about an investigation.

self-evaluation / self-assessment

A procedure in which a person compares his performance of a target behavior with a predetermined goal or standard

Dimensional quantities

A quantifiable aspect of property

negative punishment / Type II punishment

A response behavior is followed immediately by the removal of a stimulus (or a decrease in the intensity of the stimulus), that decreases the future frequency of similar responses under similar conditions.

Signaled avoidance

A response terminates a warning stimulus

Conditioned response

A response which is elicited by a conditioned stimulus due to prior learning

Unconditioned response

A response which is elicited by an unconditioned stimulus without prior learning

Limited hold

A restriction placed on an interval schedule requiring that the response occur within a specified time limit following the interval to be eligible for reinforcement

Rule-governance

A rule specifies a contingency It may evoke or abate behavior without the behaver having to directly experience the contingency

schedule of reinforcement

A rule specifying the environmental arrangements and response requirements for reinforcement; a description of a contingency of reinforcement.

fixed ratio (FR)

A schedule of reinforcement requiring a fixed number of responses for reinforcement.

continous reinforcement (CRF)

A schedule of reinforcement that provides reinforcement for each occurrence of the target behavior.

variable interval (VI)

A schedule of reinforcement that provides reinforcement for the first correct response following the elapse of variable durations of time occurring in a random or unpredictable order.

massed practice

A self-directed behavior change technique in which the person forces himself to perform an undesired behavior repeatedly, which sometimes decreases the future frequency of behavior.

Behavior chain

A sequence of responses in which each response produces a stimulus change that functions as conditioned reinforcement for that response and as a discriminative stimulus for the next response in the chain

behavior chain

A sequence of responses in which each response produces a stimulus change that functions as conditioned reinforcement for that response and as a discriminative stimulus for the next response in the chain; reinforcement for the last response in a chain maintains the reinforcing effectiveness of the stimulus changes produced by all previous responses in the chain.

Data path

A series of straight lines connecting successive data points within a phase or condition It represents the relationship between the IV and the DV

antecedent stimulus class

A set of stimuli that share a common relationship and evoke the same operant behavior, or elicit the same respondent behavior.

Conditioned reflex

A simple relation between a specific conditioned stimulus and a conditioned involuntary response

Temporal locus

A single response occurs in time

irreversibility

A situation that occurs when the level of responding observed in a previous phase cannot be reproduced even though the experimental conditions are the same as they were during the earlier phase.

trials-to-criterion

A special form of event recording; a measure of the number of responses or practice opportunities needed for a person to achieve a preestablished level of accuracy or proficiency.

principle of behavior

A statedment describing a functional relation between behavior and one or more of its controlling variables with generality across organisms, species, settings, behaviors, and time; an empirical generalization inferred from many experiments demonstrating the same functional relation.

Behaviorally-stated instructional objectives

A statement of actions a student should perform after completing one or more instructional components

Conditioned stimulus

A stimulus which elicits a conditioned response due to prior learning; that is, due to ontogenic provenance

Organizational behavior management (OBM)

A sub-discipline of ABA, which is the application of the science of behavior Guided by the single theory of human behavior and has historically emphasized identification and modification of the environmental variables that affect directly observable or verifiable employee performance

token economy

A system whereby participants earn generalized conditioned reinforcers as an immediate consequence for specific behaviors; participants accumulate tokens and exchange them for items and activities from a menu of backup reinforcers.

visual analysis

A systematic approach for interpreting the results of behavioral research and treatment programs that entails visual inspection of graphed data for variability, level, and trend within and between experimental conditions.

Visual data analysis

A systematic form of data examination, characterized by visual inspection of graphical displays of those data

Fading

A technique used to gradually transfer stimulus control from supplementary antecedent stimuli (prompts) to naturally occurring EO's and/or discriminative stimuli

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 and the species.

A-B-A design

A three-phase experimental design consisting of an initial baseline phase until steady state responding (or counter-therapeutic trend) is obtained, an intervention phase in which the treatment condition is implemented until the behavior has changed and steady state responding is obtained, and a return to baseline conditions by withdrawing the independent variable to see whether responding "reverses" to levels observed in the initial baseline phase.

B-A-B design

A three-phase experimental design that begins with the treatment condition. After steady state responding has been obtained during the initial treatment phase, the treatment variable is withdrawn to see whether responding changes in the absence of the independent variable. The treatment variable is then reintroduced in an attempt to recapture the level of responding obtained during the first treatment phase.

Behavior Skills Training

A training package that utilizes instructions, modeling, rehearsal, and feedback in order to teach a new skill

cumulative record

A type of graph on which the cumulative number of responses emitted is represented on the vertical axis; the steeper the slope of the data path, the greater the response rate.

reflexivity

A type of stimulus-to-stimulus relation in which the learner, without any prior training or reinforcement for doing so, selects a comparison stimulus that is the same as the sample stimulus. (e.g. A=A)

celeration time period

A unit of time in which celeration is plotted on a Standard Celeration Chart.

Reflexive CAO

Abolishes its own termination as an effective form of negative reinforcement or punishment

Surrogate CAO

Acquire the properties of an AO through contingent pairing with UAOs in much the same way that stimuli become S's through pairing

Surrogate CEO

Acquire the properties of an EO through contingent pairing with UEOs in much the same way that stimuli become S's through pairing

Errorless learning

Acquiring particular discriminations by means of instruction designed to prevent errors

Stages of learning

Acquisition stage Fluency stage Application stage

trial-by-trial IOA

An IOA index for discrete trial data based on comparing the observers' count on a trial-by-trial, or item-by-item, basis; yeilds a more conservative and meaningful index of IOA for discrete trial data than does total count IOA.

mean duration-per-occurrence IOA

An IOA index for duration per occurrence data; also a more conservative and usually more meaningful assessment of IOA for total duration data calculated for a given session or measurement period by computing the average percentage of agreement of the duration reported by two observers for each occurrence of the target behavior.

Effective

An accountable discipline in which changes in procedure are data-based

Behavior altering effect

An alteration in the current frequency of behavior that has been reinforced by the stimulus that is altered in effectiveness by the same motivating operation

behavior-altering effect

An alteration in the current frequency of behavior that has been reinforced by the stimulus that is altered in effectiveness by the same motivating operation.

Value-altering effect

An alteration in the reinforcing effectiveness of a stimulus, object, or event as a result of a motivating operation

value-altering effect

An alteration in the reinforcing effectiveness of a stimulus, object, or event as a result of a motivating operation.

parametric design

An experiment designed to discover the differential effects of a range of values of an independent variable.

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.

Evocative effect

An increase in the momentary frequency of behavior

Reversal design

An intervention is applied to the target behavior after a baseline phase

arbitrary stimulus class

Antecedent stimuli that evoke the same response but do not resemble each other in physical form or share a relational aspect such as a bigger or under.

Motivating operations

Antecedent stimuli that may temporarily increase or decrease the value of a reinforcer and evoke behavior that has resulted in that reinforcer previously

Discriminative stimulus

Antecedent stimulus correlated with the availability of reinforcement. Stimulus that should, after teaching, evoke the correct or an appropriate response

Variables effecting performance

Antecedents Equipment and processes Knowledge and skills Consequnces

Discrete trial teaching

Antecedents are presented; teacher waits for the learner to respond, learner responds, and teacher provides consequence contingent on the learner's response

contrived mediating stimulus

Any stimulus made functional for the target behavior in the instructional setting that later prompts or aids the learner in performing the target behavior in a generalization setting.

observer drift

Any unintended change in the way an observer uses a measurement system over the course of an investigation that results in measurement error; often entails a shift in the observer's interpretation of the original definitions of the target behavior subsequent to being trained.

audience

Anyone who functions as a discriminative stimulus evoking verbal behavior. Different ones may control different verbal behavior about the same topic because of a differential reinforcement history.

Seven Dimensions of ABA

Applied Behavioral Analytic Technological Conceptually systematic Effective Generality

Applied Behavior Analysis

Applied research that applies the basic principles derived from EAB to solve problems of social significance

AARR

Arbitrarily applicable relational responding

normalization

As a philosophy and principle, the belief that people with disabilities should, to the maximum extent possible, be physically and socially integrated into the mainstream of society regardless of the degree or type of disability. As an approach to intervention, the use of progressively more typical settings and procedures "to establish and/or maintain personal behaviors which are as culturally normal as possible."

Advantage of random selection within group contingencies

As it is uncertain who will be selected as the person to be evaluated, all members may work harder and try to meet the criterion

Radical behaviorism

B.F. Skinner's philosophy of the science of human behavior. Most influential type of behaviorism for guiding the science and practice of behavior analysis

Withdrawal design

Baseline is followed by a treatment condition

A-B design

Baseline phase followed by a treatment phase Effect is demonstrated when behavior changes from one phase to the next

The challenge of behavior analysis in education

Be clear about what is taught Teach first things first Stop making all students advance at the same rate Program the subject matter Reconsider ABA instructional technology Determine how to cause more durable and extensive behavior change Develop methods that teachers can and will actually use

Prompts may be given

Before a response begins to occur or during a response cycle to aid the performance of the behavior

Identifying quality

Begin by asking managers and employees, "What makes someone good at X?" Engage in narrative recording while interviewing management and staff members Look for recurring themes, especially between managers and employees

Contingency-shaped behavior

Behavior acquired via immediate reinforcement contingencies

Leads to outcomes

Behavior and behavior change

Generality

Behavior changes achieved should maintain, transfer to other settings and situations, and spread to other behaviors

Rule-governed behavior

Behavior controlled by a verbal description of a contingency

Automaticity

Behavior is modified by its consequences irrespective of the person's awareness

Operant Behavior

Behavior that has an effect on the environment and is primarily under the control of its consequences

operant behavior

Behavior that is selected, maintained, and brought under stimulus control as a function of its consequences; each person's repertoire is a product of his history of interactions with the environment.

adjunctive behavior/schedule-induced behavior

Behavior that occurs as a collateral effect of a schedule of periodic reinforcement for other behavior; time-filling or interim activities that are induced by schedules of reinforcement during times when reinforcement is unlikely to be delivered.

Escape

Behavior that terminates an aversive stimulus

Verbal behavior

Behavior whose reinforcement is mediated by a listener

verbal behavior

Behavior whose reinforcement is mediated by a listener; includes both vocal behavior and nonvocal behavior. Encompassess the subject matter usually treated as language and topics such as thinking, grammar, compostion, and understanding.

Pivotal behavior

Behavior, that once learned, produces corresponding modification or covariations in other adaptive untrained behaviors

escape extinction

Behaviors maintained with negative reinforcement are placed on escape extinction when those behaviors are not followed by termination of the aversive stimulus; emitting the target behavior does not enable the person to escape the aversive situation.

Simultaneous discrimination training

Both the Sd and Sdelta stimulus conditions are presented to the learner at the same time

Phase labels

Brief labels, placed at the top of the chart, and identify each separate major phase of treatment

Beginning of Interview

Build rapport Informally observe: Behavior Environment Appearance of persons

Simultaneous conditioning procedure

CS and US occur at the same time: usually not effective

Job aides

Can be used when formal training is not warranted

Indiscriminable group contingency

Can be used with independent, dependent, or interdependent group contingencies Members cannot predict which group members, target behaviors, settings, and/or times on which the reward will be contingent Can be a powerful strategy for promoting generalization and maintenance

Response cards

Cards, signs, or items that are held up simultaneously by all students to display their response to a question, item, or problem presented by the teacher

Determinants of behavior

Causes of behavior; probabilistic

Procedures for teaching response chains

Chaining Modeling Instructions (oral/written) Behavioral skills training

Functional relation

Change in an IV produces orderly and predictable change in a DV

Celeration

Change in one of the other dimensional quantities of behavior over time

Functional relation

Changes in an antecedent or consequent stimulus class consistently alter a dimension of a response class

Guidelines for implementing group contingencies

Choose powerful rewards Determine the behavior to be strengthened or weakened Set appropriate performance criteria Combine with other procedures when appropriate Select the most appropriate group contingency Monitor individual and group performance

How to create instructions

Choose the skill you want to teach Create a task analysis of the skill Turn those steps into a checklist

Elements of the ABA approach in education

Clearly specified and behaviorally-stated instructional objectives Well-designed curricular materials Assessment of learner's entry skills Ongoing frequent direct measurement of skills Focus on mastery Highly structured Fast-paced Systematic use of positive and corrective feedback Supported by empirical research Extensively field-tested and revised based on data Considered how realistic the procedures are for classroom practice

Type II error

Concluding that the IV has not produced a change in the DV when in fact it has

Type I error

Concluding that the IV has produced a change in the DV when in fact the relation does not exist

S^p-

Conditioned negative punishment

S^r-

Conditioned negative reinforcement

S^p+

Conditioned positive punishment

S^r+

Conditioned positive reinforcement

Topography

Configuration, form, or shape of a response

Continuous (FR1) schedules

Consequence delivered after every response. Typically used to build or strengthen a skill

Variable schedules

Consequence delivered after some number of responses, time or interval. Typically used to maintain behavior over time

Artificial consequences and schedules

Consequent stimuli or schedules of presentation that may result in the learner making the correct or an appropriate response more frequently

Select tokens

Consider: client characteristics, safety of the token, difficulty to bootleg, durability, cost, and ease of delivery

Behavioral Interviews

Consist of questions to ask within pre-selected topics

Environmental context

Consist of the situation (set of circumstances) in which behavior occurs at any given time

Multiple schedule

Consists of two or more alternating schedules, each associated with a different stimulus

Concurrent schedules

Consists of two or more schedules operating simultaneously but independently of each other, each for a different response

self-contract

Contingency contract that a person makes with himself, incorporating a self-selected task and reward as well as personal monitoring of task completions and self-delivery of the reward.

Philosophical doubt

Continually question the truthfulness of what is regarded as fact

Repeat steps 3-5 until proficiency is reached

Continue the process until the trainee can perform the skill without corrective feedback Consider more stringent mastery criteria

Skills to teach self-rules

Coordination Comparative Temporal Causal relational framing Perspective-taking

Kinds of relational frames

Coordination Opposition Distinction Comparison Hierarchical relations Deictic relations Temporal relations

Ways to conduct rehearsal/feedback

Correct the error, instruct the model and have the trainee rehearse step correctly At the end of a sequence, provide correction on which steps were incorrect and then instruct, model, and have trainee rehearse sequence Correct at error or at end without rehearsal of the sequence

Omnibus terms

Cover various functions of stimuli; used to categorize stimuli that have multiple functions

Field testing

Covertly record when tokens would have been delivered

Develop a tool

Create a data sheet Designate space for identifying information List the key components for successful implementation and make room to note Have a space to take notes

Increase monitoring if

Data is being collected on a vital skill/dangerous problem behavior New plan Problems are noticed

variable baseline

Data points that do not consistently fall within a narrow range of values and do not suggest any clear trend.

stable baseline

Data that show no evidence of an upward or downward trend; all of the measures fall within a relatively small range of values.

Conceptual analysis

Deals with philosophical and theoretical issues

topography-based definition

Defines instances of the targeted response class by the shape or form of the behavior.

Demonstrate how to perform the skills

Demonstrate the skill(s) while the employee watches Demonstrate the skills in the natural environment when possible It is critical to have a competent trainer in steps 3-5

Cumulative record

Developed by Skinner as the primary means of data collection and analysis in EAB laboratory research

secondary conditioning / higher order conditioning

Development of a condtitioned reflex by pairing of a neutral stimulus (NS) with a conditioned stimulus (CS).

Differential outcomes procedure

Different reinforcers are provided in a discrimination task each of which is correlated with a given stimulus

Basic features of FA

Direct observation Measurement of behavior under test and control conditions

Phase change lines

Document phase changes Placed at a point along the X-axis indicating the point in time when the phase change occurred For a clear visual separation between the data charted before the phase change, and the data collected after the phase change

Characteristics of good constructive feedback

Done in private Soon after the behavior Describe the desired performance Talk specifically about behavior, nothing else Use "I statements" Deliver when calm

Continuous reinforcement

Each and every single response that is emitted is reinforced; that is, reinforcement occurs each and every single time the behavior occurs; used to establish or strengthen behavior

Echoic training

Echoic response is presented and successive approximations are reinforced

Types of duplic

Echoics (vocal imitation, repeating) Copying a text Mimetics (motor imitation)

reactivity

Effects of an observation and measurement procedure on the behavior being measured. It is most likely when measurement procedures are obtrusive, especially if the person being observed is aware of the observer's presence and purpose.

Natural science

Empirical phenomena; direct observation and measurement of phenomena or its permanent products

Graphic displays used in ABA

Equal interval line graph Cumulative records Bar graph Semi logarithmic graphs

Mediate generalization

Establish a response as part of the new learning that is likely to be used with other problems as well Language is the most common mediator

Contextual cues

Establish what relations exists between stimuli

Reflexive CEO

Establishes its own termination as an effective form of negative reinforcement or punishment

Probes

Evaluate whether treatment effects are evident before treatment occurs

Dimensional quantities of continuous response measures

Event Latency Duration IRT

Pairwise

Fairly common More efficient than reversal One test condition alternated with control May assist in discriminability of conditions

Multiple probe technique

First baseline is continuous, but subsequent baseline data collection I'd conducted on an intermittent basis relative to the first baseline

Training diversely

Focused training yields focused effects Diverse training yields diverse effects Use sufficient stimulus exemplars Vary dimensions of antecedents Make contingencies indiscriminable

Precision teaching

Focuses on learner's performances as a means to assess interventions as the frequency of responses are tracked and charted on a standardized chart

Pliance

Following rules because of socially-mediated reinforcement for rule-following

Tracking

Following rules due to a history of correspondence between the rule and the contingencies actually encountered

Direct Instruction

Follows a logical analysis of concepts and procedures as it presents examples and non-examples in an instructional sequence that fosters rapid concept learning

Active student responding (ASR)

Frequency of detectable responses that a student emits during ongoing instruction

FCT

Functional communication training

Cfunc

Functional context

Effects of stimulus fading on problem behavior

Functions as an abolishing operation and abates problem behavior Evokes appropriate behavior

Reinforcement should be used to

Get behavior going Strengthen a dimension of an already acquired skill Keep behavior going (maintenance)

Provide a written description

Gives a permanent reference Do not provide additional information outside of what has to be implemented Consider a checklist

Interventions used in PM

Goal setting Feedback Job aids Token systems Lottery systems

Programming for generalization

Gradual approximate the antecedent stimulus conditions of the target environment by fading in natural distractors within the training environment Select antecedent stimuli for the training environments that can be altered to gradually approximate the stimuli in the target environment Gradually change the nature of the consequent stimulus conditions from contrived to natural reinforcers and punishing stimuli

Group average: Advantage

Group members may continue to work hard to meet criterion even when they see peers failing to meet the criterion

Consider using group contingencies when

Group of persons share certain problem Unrealistic to set up individual programs Difficult to identify the person responsible for XX behavior Singling out one person to reward may cause problems with peers

Reasons for writing behaviorally-stated instructional objectives

Guide the instructional content and tasks Communicate to students on what they will be evaluated Specify the standards for evaluating ongoing and terminal performance

Graduated guidance

Hand-over-hand assistance and the combined use of physical prompting and fading, resulting in a systematic gradual reduction in the intensity or intrusiveness of the physical prompt

Copying a text

Has point-to-point correspondence and formal similarity to the written verbal stimulus

Observe trainee practice the skill

Have the staff perform all aspects of the new skill in the natural environment If not possible, consider role-playing The trainer must observe the trainee as s/he demonstrates the skill The trainer notes correct implementation and any mistakes

Reasons for selecting target behavior

Helps individual achieve outcomes Behavior deficit makes the person too dependent on others

Reasons for selecting target behavior

Helps individual achieve outcomes, behavior deficit makes the person too dependent on others, behavior is harmful, dangerous or illegal, behavior is controlled by meds or restraints, behavior excludes individual from social situations, behavior interferes with independent functioning

Dependent group contingency is also known as

Hero procedure Consequence sharing

Variable ratio

High steady rates

Stimulus fading

Highlighting a physical dimension (e.g., color, size, position) of a stimulus to increase the likelihood of a correct response

Task clarifications

Highly detailed set of instructions of what is expected

Back-up reinforcers as MOs

Highly preferred back-up reinforcers function as an establishing operation for positive reinforcement They increase the effectiveness of tokens as reinforcement Non-preferred back-up reinforcers function as an abolishing operation

Threats to internal validity

History Maturation Testing Instrumentation Diffusion of treatment Regression towards the mean Selection bias Attrition

Timeliness

How long something takes to complete

Quantity

How much of something

Social science

Hypothetical constructs outside of the natural realm; indirect observation and measurement

Identifying pinpoints

Identify the biggest opportunity Select a few behaviors that will have the greatest impact Don't overwhelm with pinpoints

Use the echoic-to-tact transfer procedure

If the learner repeats single words clearly and reliably

Fluency-building

Improves retention Fluent component skills often result in the rapid acquisition of composite skills

Prompts are used

In skill acquisition programs To evoke a low-probability behavior To evoke a chain of behavior by prompting the first step (response priming) To prompt behaviors incompatible with an inappropriate behavior

Three general ways to conduct preference assessments

Indirect (informant-based) Naturalistic, direct observation Reinforcer sampling (empirical)

Types of functional assessments

Indirect assessment (verbal report) Descriptive assessment (naturalistic observation) Functional analysis (experimental manipulation)

What to teach staff

Industry specific-mandated information Data collection and behavior plan implementation ABA basics Population information

Preliminary Indirect Assessment

Interviews and rating scales

Programmed instruction

Involves the presentation of small frames of information, which requires a discriminated response

Cumulative recorder

It is primarily used in EAB Each response moves the ink stylus one unit (click) along its track When it reaches the end of the track, it resets to zero and begins moving again, one click at a time Paper moves under the stylus at a steady rate

Variable interval

Low to moderate steady rates of responding

Parameters of reinforcement

Magnitude Quantity Duration

Condition labels

Mark changes occurring within a phase

celeration trend line

Measured as a factor by which rate multiplies or divides across the celeration time periods.

Minimizing validity threats

Measurement Stability Immediacy Replication

Explanatory fictions

Mentalistic explanations Teleological explanations

Common uses of line graphs

Most commonly used format for charting ABA data Used to evaluate treatment effectiveness Used in functional analyses

Multiple control

Multiple tests conditions can be elevated relative to the control

Characterizations of AARR

Mutual entailment Combinatorial mutual entailment Transformation of stimulus functions

Pinpoints

Observable Measurable Reliable

Reversal design

One condition ran at a time Less common because of amount of time required

The law of effect

Organisms learn through the consequences of their actions

Tact training

Pair MO with nonverbal prompts and echoic stimulus

Mand training

Present nonverbal stimulus with echoic prompt

The role of behavior analysis in education

Principles of learning The operant as the basic unit Interactive not passive Measurement and evaluation of educational outcomes Developed and validated an effective technology of instructional design and instructional delivery

Why data collection doesn't sustain

Problematic definitions Unclear roles Insufficient materials Insufficient training Complexity of intervention Failure to generalize Competing contingencies Staff dissatisfaction

Performance monitoring

Procedural integrity (IV integrity) Monitoring effectiveness of behavior plan (DV integrity)

Ways to self-manage

Providing prompts Performing the initial steps of a behavior chain Removing necessary items Restricting stimulus conditions

Types of social science

Psychology, sociology, political science

Simplest type of operant contingency

R-S (Response-Stimulus)

Instruction training

Read instructions to a trainee Present instructions verbally Print out and hand instructions for trainee to read

Event recording

Record time observation began Count the responses Record time observation ended Divide: count/unit of time Report as rate per unit of time

Event recording of restricted operants

Record time observation began Record each antecedent Record each response Record time observation ended Report as (response/antecedents)/unit of time

contingency

Refers to dependent and/or temporal relations between operant behavior and its controlling variables.

A=A

Reflexivity

Augmenting

Rules that change the function of a consequence

Types of contingencies

S-S contingencies (pairing) R-S contingencies S-R-S contingencies (or the 3-term contingency)

The echoic-to-mand transfer procedure

Say the word Wait for the learner to repeat the words Provide the requested item or activity

Topography-based response forms

Saying words, forming gestures or signs, writing words, making distinctive sounds

Fixed interval

Scalloped responding

FI schedules

Scalloped; produce a pause in responding immediately after reinforcement which is followed by a gradual increase in the rate of responding, with the highest rates at the time closest to reinforcement

Descriptive Assessment Procedures

Scatterplot analysis Narrative recording ABC data collection Data collection of target behavior under different contexts/conditions

Prior to Interview

Select instrument Decide who to interview Decide where and when Make an appointment

Setting goals

Set the goal and mark it on the graph Obtain employee input for the goal Consider sub-goals if significant improvement is required

Contracts are not used for

Skill acquisition

Contextually meaningful

Socially valid

Pattern of behavior produced on variable schedules

Steady responding

Mentalisms

Summary labels of behavior (such as traits, states, attitudes, diagnostic categories) and other hypothetical constructs are used to explain behavior

B=A

Symmetry

Experimentation

Systematic manipulation of an independent variable

Functional Analysis

Systematic manipulations of environmental events and observation of target behavior in a controlled setting

Reinforcer Sampling

Systematic preference assessment

Necessary elements of a contract

Task Signatures Reward Data Collection

Antecedent interventions

Task clarifications Checklists Conduct a task analysis of a job duty Place the tasks in order of occurrence

Generative instructions

Teaching procedures which lead to adduction

Fundamental properties

Temporal locus Temporal extent Repeatability

Procedural integrity

The IVs are implemented as dictated by the research or treatment plan

postreinforcement pause

The absence of responding for a period of time following reinforcement; an effect commonly produced by fixed interval (FI) and fixed ratio (FR) schedules of reinforcement.

behavior

The activity of living organisms; includes everything that people do. A technical definition: "that portion of an organism's interaction with its environment that is characterized by detectable displacement in space through time of some part of the organism and that results in a measurable change in at least one aspect of the environment.

celeration

The change in rate of responding over time; based on count per unit of time (rate); expressed as a factor by which responding is accelerating or decelerating (multiplying or dividing); displayed with a trend line on a Standard Celeration Chart.

Generalization across participants

The changes in behavior of untreated persons as a function of the treatment contingencies that are applied to the client

environment

The conglomerate of real circumstances in which the organism or referenced part of the organism exists; behavior cannot occur in the absence of the environment.

DRH-IRT schedules

The contingency for reinforcement is governed by the time elapsed between successive responses (as opposed to responses per unit of time)

response cost

The contingent loss of reinforcers producing a decrease of the frequency of behavior

time-out from positive reinforcement

The contingent withdrawl of the opportuntiy to earn positive reinforcement or the loss of access to positive reinforcers for a specified time; a form of negative punishment

Shaping

The differential reinforcement of successive approximations to a target behavior

Factors to consider when selecting a response measure

The dimensional quantity of interest. The estimated rate of the behavior. Whether to measure responses or episodes

Trend lines

The direction and degree of trend in a series of graphically displayed data points can be visually represented with a straight line drawn through the data

multiple treatment interference

The effects of one treatment on a subject's behavior being confounding by the influence of another treatment administered in the same study.

Natural selection

The environment selects which variations survive and are passed on

Topography a based verbal behavior

The listener discriminates what the speaker is "saying" based on the topography of the verbal behavior

Trend

The overall direction taken by the data path through a set of data points

counting time

The period of time in which a count of the number of responses emitted was recorded.

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 a procedure for increasing the effectiveness of a reinforcer (e.g. withholding a person's access to a reinforcer for a specified period of time prior to a session.)

conditioned stimulus (CS)

The stimulus component of a conditioned reflex; a formerly neutral stimulus change that elicits respondent behavior only after it has been paired with an unconditioned stimulus (US) or another CS.

Environment

The total constellation of stimuli and conditions which can affect behavior

Mentalistic explanations

These explain behavior by referring to hypothetical constructs from a dimension that is inferred to be inside the organism

Criteria for terminating

They don't need your services Client is not benefitting Client is harmed by your service The environment is unsafe

Operant selection

This process of behavioral variability, selection by consequences, and behavioral reproduction occurs throughout the organism's lifetime

Adaptive behavior

Those skills or abilities that enable the individual to meet standards of personal independence and responsibility that would be expected of his or her age and social group

Elicit

To strongly, consistently, and reliably evoke

Mean count per interval

Total agreement in each interval __________________________ Number of intervals X 100

The two main methods of IOA

Total count Percent agreement

Available time

Total number of school days and hours

Concurrent schedules

Two or more schedules operating simultaneously but independently of each other, each for a different response

S^P-

Unconditioned negative punishment

S^R-

Unconditioned negative reinforcement

S^P+

Unconditioned positive punishment

Intraverbal training

Use MO's to facilitate stimulus control

Stimulus shape transformations

Use an initial stimulus shape that will prompt a correct response

Use indiscriminable contingencies

Use variable reinforcement schedules Delay reinforcement Hide

Incorrect use of monitoring data

Used primarily for punishment, typically delayed punishment

Intermittent reinforcement

Used to sustain/maintain intervention effects Used after stable responding has been achieved Can use a variable schedule to systematically fade reinforcement from continuous to intermittent

Continuous reinforcement

Used to teach new skills Use until the data show stable responding for several days

Modeling (procedure)

Uses an individual's imitative repertoire to train new behaviors or to evoke desirable behaviors occurring at a rate which is too low

Type of response prompts

Verbal Modeling Physical

Influences on the number of learn units

Wait time Response latency Feedback delay Intertrial interval

Transferring stimulus control from one operant to another

When a response form occurs reliably as one specific operant, gradually introduce the antecedent and consequence conditions of a new operant and fade the conditions of the original operant until this same response form occurs as the new operant

Develop procedures

When to deliver tokens When to exchange tokens Plan for what happens when criteria are not met Data collection system

Combinatorial entailment

When two mutually entailed relations combine

experimental question / research question

A statement of what the researcher seeks to learn by conducting the experiment; may be presented in question form and is most often found in a published account as a statement of the experiment's purpose. All aspects of an experiment's design should follow from it.

unconditioned punisher

A stimulus change that decreases the frequency of any behavior that immediately preceeds it irrespective of the organism's learning history with the stimulus.

punisher

A stimulus change that decreases the future frequency of behavior that immediately precedes it.

neutral stimulus (NS)

A stimulus change that does not elicit respondent behavior.

consequence

A stimulus change that follows a behavior of interest. Some, especially those that are immediate and relevant to current motivational states, have significant influence on future behavior; others have little effect.

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.

reinforcer

A stimulus change that increases the future frequency of behavior that immediately precedes it.

generalized conditioned punisher

A stimulus change that, as a result of having been paired with many other punishers, functions as punishment under most conditions because it is free from the control of motivating conditions for specific types of punishment.

stimulus delta (S^)

A stimulus in the presence of which a given behavior has not produced reinforcement in the past.

discriminative stimulus (Sd)

A stimulus in the presence of which response 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 why it increases momentary frequency of the behavior.

reflexive conditioned motivating operation (CMO-R)

A stimulus that acquires MO effectiveness by preceding some form of worsening or improvement. It is exemplified by the warning stimulus in a typical escape-avoidance procedure, which establishes its own offset as reinforcment and evokes all behavior that has accomplished that offset.

surrogate conditioned motivating operation (CMO-S)

A stimulus that acquires its MO effectiveness by being paired with another MO and has the same value-altering and behavior-altering effects as the MO with which it was paired.

unconditioned negative reinforcer

A stimulus that functions as a negative reinforcer as a result of the evolutionary development of the species and no prior learning is involved. (e.g. shock, loud noise, intense light, extreme temperatures, strong pressure against the body)

Unconditioned stimulus

A stimulus which elicits an unconditioned response without prior learning

Consequence

A stimulus which follows, that is, occurs after a response

Neutral stimulus

A stimulus which has no eliciting effect on behavior prior to being paired contingently with an unconditioned stimulus or another conditioned stimulus

Antecedent

A stimulus which precedes, that is, occurs before a response

positive reinforcer

A stimulus whose presentation or onset functions as reinforcement.

negative reinforcer

A stimulus whose termination (or reduction in intensity) functions as reinforcement.

reflex

A stimulus-response relation consisting of an antecedent stimulus and the respondent behavior it elicitis. Unconditioned and conditioned reflexes protect against harmful stimuli, help regulate the internal balance and economy of the organism, and promote reproduction.

backward chaining with leaps ahead

A backward chaining procedure in which some steps in the task analysis are skipped; used to increase the efficiency of teaching long behavior chains when there is evidence that the skipped steps are in the learners repertoire.

antecedent control

A behavior change intervention that manipulates contingency dependent consequence event to affect stimulus control.

response differentiation

A behavior change produced by differential reinforcement: Reinforced members of the current response class occur with greater frequency, and unreinforced members occur less frequently; the overall result is the emergence of a new response class.

overcorrection

A behavior change tactic based on positive punishment in which, contingent on the problem behavior, the learner is required to engage in effortful behavior directly or logically related to fixing the damage caused by the behavior.

Behavior cusps

A behavior change that has consequences for the organism beyond the change itself, some of which may be considered important

generalized behavior change / generalized outcome

A behavior change that has not been taught directly. It can take one, or a combination of, three primary forms: response maintenance, stimulus/setting generalization, and response generalization.

imitation

A behavior controlled by any physical movement, that serves as a novel model excluding vocal-verbal behavior, has formal similarity with the model, and immediately follows the occurrence of the model.

positive punishment / Type I punishment

A behavior is followed immediately by the presentation of a stimulus that decreases the future frequency of the behavior.

behavioral cusp

A behavior that has sudden and dramatic consequences that extend well beyond the idiosyncratic change itself because it exposes the person to new environments, reinforcers, contingencies, responses, and stimulus controls.

pivotal behavior

A behavior that, when learned, produces corresponding modifications or covariation in other untrained behaviors.

systematic desensitization

A behavior therapy treatment for anxieties, fears, and phobias that involves substituting one response, generally muscle relaxation, for the unwanted behavior - the fear and anxiety.

Ratio strain

A behavioral effect associated with abrupt increases in ratio requirements when moving from denser to thinner reinforcement schedules

ratio strain

A behavioral effect associated with abrupt increases in ratio requirements when moving from denser to thinner reinforcement schedules; common effects include avoidance, aggression, and unpredictable pauses or cessation in responding.

Behavioral contrast

A change in one component of a multiple schedule that increases or decreases the rate of responding on that component is accompanied by a change in the response rate in the opposite direction on the other, unaltered component of the schedule

behavior checklist

A checklist that provides descriptions of specific skills (usually in hierarchical order) and the condtions under which each skill should be observed. Some are designed to address on particular behavior or skill area. Others address multiple behaviors or skill areas. Most use a Likert scale to rate responses.

Functional response class

A collection of two or more topographically different responses that all have the same effect on the environment, usually producing a specific class of reinforcers

concept formation

A complex example of stimulus control that requires stimulus generalization within a class of stimuli and discrimination between classes of stimuli.

level system

A component of some token economy systems in which participants advance up (or down) through a succession of levels contingent on their behavior at the current level. The performance criteria and sophistication or difficulty of the behaviors required at each level are higher than those of preceding levels; as participants advance to higher levels, they gain access to more desirable reinforcers, increased privileges, and greater independence.

Level system

A component of some token economy systems in which participants advance up or down throughout a succession of levels contingent on their behavior at the current level

multiple schedule (mult)

A compound schedule of reinforcement consisting of two or more basic schedules of reinforcement (elements) that occur in an alternating, usually random, sequence; a discriminative stimulus is correlated with the presence or absence of each element of the schedule, and reinforcement is delivered for meeting the response requirements of the element in effect at any time.

mixed schedule (mix)

A compound schedule of reinforcement consisting of two or more basic schedules of reinforcement (elements) that occur in an alternating, usually random, sequence; no Sd is correlated with the presence or absence of each element of the schedule, and reinforcement is delivered for meeting the response requirements of the element in effect at any time.

Figure legend

A concise statement that provides you with sufficient information to identify the DVs and the IVs, and possibly other salient information necessary to visually interpret the data

respondent conditioning

A stimulus-stimulus pairing procedure in which a neutral stimulus (NS) is presented with an unconditioned stimulus (US) until the neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus that elicits the conditioned response.

Respondent conditioning

A stimulus-stimulus pairing procedure in which a neutral stimulus is presented with an unconditioned stimulus until the neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus that elicits the conditioned response

teaching sufficient examples

A strategy for promoting generalized behavior change that consists of teaching the learner to respond to a subset of all the relevant stimulus and response examples and then assessing the learner's performance on untrained examples.

habilitation

Adjustment occurs when a person's repertoire has been changed such that short- and long-term reinforcers are maximized and short- and long-term punishers are minimized.

Components of a discrete trial

An antecedent stimulus that sets the occasion for the learner's response A response by the learner A teacher provided consequence for the learner's response

Discriminative stimulus

An antecedent stimulus which evokes or abates a specific behavior, due to a past history of differential availability of reinforcement or punishment for that behavior, dependent on their presence versus their absence

Goals

An antecedent that describes a terminal level of performance to be obtained

mentalism

An approach to explaining behavior that assumes that mental, or "inner," dimension exists that differs from a behavioral dimension either directly cause or at least mediate some forms of behavior, if not all.

ecological assessment

An assessment protocol that acknowledges complex interrelationships between environment and behavior. A method for obtaining data across multiple settings and persons.

philosophic doubt

An attitude that the truthfulness and validity of all scientific theory and knowledge should be continually questioned.

stimulus generalization gradient

A graphic depiction of the extent to which behavior has been reinforced in the presence of a specific stimulus condition is emitted in the presence of other stimuli. It shows the relative degree of stimulus generalization and stimulus discrimination.

PLACHECK

A group of individuals is observed at the end of an interval Count how many of individuals are engaging in the target behavior(s) Compare with the total number of individuals Percent of individuals engaging in behavior(s)

response class

A group of responses of varying topography, all of which produce the same effect on the environment.

Stimulus control

A group of stimuli in which the frequency, latency, duration, or amplitude of a behavior is altered by the presence or absence of an antecedent stimulus

Stimulus class

A group of stimuli that share specified common elements along formal, temporal, and/or functional dimensions

Response class

A grouping of individual actions or responses that share those commonalities included in the definition

Rule-governed behavior

A higher-order operant response class that is under the control of verbal antecedent stimuli

split-middle line of progress

A line drawn through a series of graphed data points that shows the overall trend in the data; drawn through the intersections of the vertical and horizontal middles of each half of the charted data and then adjusted up or down so that half of all the data points fall on or above and half fall on or below the line.

response latency

A measure of temporal locus; the elapsed time from the onset of a stimulus to the initiation of a response.

momentary time sampling

A measurement method in which the presence or absence of behaviors are recorded at precisely specified time intervals.

time sampling

A measurement of the presence and absence of behavior within specific time intervals. It is most useful with continuous and high-rate behaviors.

behavioral momentum

A metaphor to describe a rate of responding and its resistance to change following as alteration in reinforcement conditions.

Discrete categorization

A method for classifying responses into discrete categories

forward chaining

A method for teaching behavior chains that begins with the learner being prompted and taught to perform the first behavior in the task analysis; the trainer completes the remaining steps in the chain. When the learner shows competence in the first step in the chain, he is then taught to perform the first two behaviors in the chain, with the trainer completing the chain. This process is continued until the learner completes the entire chain independently.

measurement by permanent product

A method of measuring behavior after it has occurred by recording the effects that the behavior produced on the environment.

response-deprivation hypothesis

A model for predicting whether contingent access to one behavior will function as reinforcement for engaging in another behavior based on whether access to the contingent behavior represents a restriction of the activity compared to the baseline level of engagement.

Abolishing operation

A motivating operation that decreases the effectiveness of a stimulus, object, or event as a consequence (reinforcer or punisher)

Abolishing operation

A motivating operation that decreases the reinforcing effectiveness of a stimulus, object, or event

abolishing operation (AO)

A motivating operation that decreases the reinforcing effectiveness of a stimulus, object, or event.

establishing operation (EO)

A motivating operation that establishes (increases) the effectiveness of some stimulus, object, or event as a reinforcer.

Establishing operation

A motivating operation that establishes the effectiveness of some stimulus, object, or event as a consequence (reinforcer or punisher)

Establishing operation

A motivating operation that establishes the effectiveness of some stimulus, object, or event as a reinforcer

Condition motivating operations

A motivating operation whose value-altering effect depends on a learning history

conditioned motivating operation (CMO)

A motivating operation whose value-altering effect depends on a learning history.

unconditioned motivating operation (UMO)

A motivating operation whose value-altering effect does not depend on a learning history.

multiple baseline across settings design

A multiple baseline design in which the treatment variable is applied to the same behavior of the same subject across two or more settings, situations, or time periods.

multiple baseline across subjects design

A multiple baseline design in which the treatment variable is applied to the same behavior of two or more subjects (or groups) in the same setting.

multiple baseline across behaviors design

A multiple baseline design in which the treatment variable is applied to two or more different behaviors of the same subject in the same setting.

habit reversal

A multiple-component treatment package for reducing unwanted habits such as fingernail biting and muscle tics; treatment typically includes self-awareness training involving repsonse detection and procedures for identifying events that precede and trigger the response; competing response training; and motivation techniques including self-administered consequences, social support systems, and procedures for promoting the generalization and maintenance of treatment gains.

Standard Celeration Chart

A multiply-divide chart with six base-1o cycles on the vertical axis that can accommodate response rates as low as 1 per 24 hours to as high as 1000 per minute.

contingency contract

A mutually agreed upon document between parties (e.g. parent and child) that specifies a contingent relationship between the completion of specified behavior(s) and access to specified reinforcer(s).

nonexlusion time-out

A procedure for implementing time-out in which, contingent on the occurrence of the target behavior, the person remains within the setting, but does not have access to reinforcement, for a specified period.

matching-to-sample

A procedure for investigating conditional relations and stimulus equivalence. A trial begins with the participant making a response that presents or reveals the sample stimulus; next, the sample stimulus may or may not be removed, and two or more comparison stimulus that matches the sample stimulus are reinforced, and no reinforcement is provided for responses selecting the nonmatching comparison stimuli.

fading

A procedure for transferring stimulus control in which features of an antecedent stimulus controlling a behavior are gradually changed to a new stimulus while maintaining the current behavior.

noncontingent reinforcement (NCR)

A procedure in which stimuli with known reinforcing properties are presented on fixed-time (FT) or variable-time (VT) schedules completely independent of behavior; often used as an antecedent intervention to reduce problem behavior.

response blocking

A procedure in which the therapist physically intervenes as soon as the learner begins to emit a problem behavior to prevent completion of the targeted behavior.

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.

placebo control

A procedure that prevents a subject from detecting the presence or absence of the treatment variable.

double-blind control

A procedure that prevents the subject and the observer(s) from detecting the presence or absence of the treatment variable; used to eliminate confounding of results by subject expectations, parent and teacher expectations, differential treatment by others, and observer bias.

self-monitoring

A procedure whereby a person systematically observes his behavior and records the occurrence or nonoccurrence of a target behavior.

percentage

A ratio formed by combining the same dimensional quantities, such as count or time; expressed as a number of responses of a certain type per total number of responses. Presents a proportional quantity per 100.

frequency / rate

A ratio of count per observation time; often expressed as count per standard unit of time and calculated by dividing the number of responses recorded by the number of standard units of time in which observations were conducted.

rate / frequency

A ratio of count per observation time; often expressed as count per standard unit of time and calculated by dividing the number of responses recorded by the number of standard units of time in which observations were conducted; The ratio is formed by combining the different dimensional quantities of count and time.

Verbally describe the skills and give a rationale

A rationale explains why the staff will be responsible for implementing the plan The verbal description should be succinct but clearly explain the steps of the plan

Adaptation

A reduction in the frequency or magnitude of a response or a set of responses as a result of prolonged exposure to a stimulus or an environmental context

point-to-point correspondence

A relation between the stimulus and response or response product that occurs when the beginning, middle, and end of the verbal response.

function-altering effect

A relatively permanent change in an organism's repertoire of MO, stimulus, and response relations, caused by reinforcement, punishment, an extinction procedure, or a recovery from punishment procedure.

Learning

A relatively permanent change in behavior as a result of experience

total duration IOA

A relevant index of IOA for total duration measurement; computed by dividing the shorter of the two durations reported by the observers by the longer duration and multiplying by 100.

fixed-time schedule (FT)

A schedule for the delivery of non-contingent stimuli in which a time interval remains the same from one delivery to the next.

variable-time schedule (VT)

A schedule for the delivery of noncontingent stimuli in which the interval of time from one delivery to the next randomly varies around a given time.

compound schedule

A schedule of reinforcement consisting of two-or-more elements of continuous reinforcement, the four intermittent schedules of reinforcement, differential reinforcement of various rates, and extinction. The elements from these basic schedules can occur successively or simultaneously and with or without discriminative stimuli, reinforcement may be contingent on meeting the requirements of each element of the schedule independent or in combination with all elements.

tandem schedule

A schedule of reinforcement identical to the chained schedule except, like the mix schedule, the tandem schedule does not use discriminative stimlui with the elements in the chain.

differential reinforcement of low rates (DRL)

A schedule of reinforcement in which reinforcement (a) follows each occurrence of the target behavior that is separated from the previous response by a minimum interresponse time (IRT) or (b) is contingent on the number of responses within a period of time not exceeding a predetermined criterion. Used to decrease the rates of behaviors that occur too frequently but should be maintained in the learner's repertoire.

lag reinforcement schedule

A schedule of reinforcement in which reinforcement is contingent on a response being different in some specified way (e.g. different topographies) from the previous response or a specified number of previous responses.

fixed interval (FI)

A schedule of reinforcement in which reinforcement is delivered for the first response emitted following the passage of a fixed duration of time since the last response was reinforced.

differential reinforcement of diminishing rates (DRD)

A schedule of reinforcement in which reinforcement is provided at the end of a predetermined interval contingent on the number of responses emitted during the interval being fewer than a gradually decreasing criterion based on the individual's performance in previous intervals.

differential reinforcement of high rates (DRH)

A schedule of reinforcement in which reinforcement is provided at the end of a predetermined interval contingent on the number of responses emitted during the interval being greater than a gradually increasing criterion based on the individual's performance in previous intervals.

Chained schedule

A schedule of reinforcement in which the response requirements of two OE more basic schedules must be met in a specific sequence before reinforcement is delivered

chained schedule

A schedule of reinforcement in which the response requirements of two or more basic schedules must be met in a specific sequence before reinforcement is delivered; a discriminative stimulus is correlated with each component of the schedule.

concurrent schedule

A schedule of reinforcement in which two or more contingencies of reinforcement operate independently and simultaneously for two or more behaviors.

Schedule of reinforcement

A schedule of reinforcement is the rule which describes or specifies which responses will be followed by reinforcement and which will not

variable ratio (VR)

A schedule of reinforcement requiring a varying number of responses for reinforcement. The number of responses required varies around a random number.

progressive schedule of reinforcement

A schedule that systematically thins each successive reinforcement opportunity independent of the individual's behavior; progressive ratio (PR) and progressive interval (PI) schedules are thinned using arithmetic or geometric progressions.

Autoclitic

A secondary verbal operant in which some aspect of a speaker's own verbal behavior functions as an Sd or an MO for additional speaker verbal behavior

bar graph/histogram

A simple and versatile graphic format for summarizing behavioral data; shares most of the line graphs's features except that it does not have distinct data points representing successive response measures through time.

Unconditioned reflex

A simple relation between a specific stimulus and a specific innate, involuntary response

Reflex

A simple relation between an antecedent stimulus and a reflex response

count

A simple tally of the number of occurrences of a behavior.

response

A single instance or occurrence of a specific class or type of behavior.

Single response skill

A single movement and can be taught without breaking it down into smaller steps

conflict of interest

A situation in which a person in a position of responsibility or trust has competing professional or personal interests that make it difficult to fulfill his or her duties impartially.

limited hold

A situation in which reinforcement is available only during a finite time following the elapse of an FI or VI interval; if the target response does not occur within the time limit, reinforcement is withheld and a new interval begins.

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 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.

formal similiarity

A situation that occurs when the controlling antecedent stimulus and the response or response product (a) share the same sense mode and (b) physically resemble each other.

prediction

A statement of the anticipated outcome of a presently unknown or future measurement; one of three components of the experimental reasoning, or baseline logic, used in single-subject research designs.

tact

An elementary verbal operant evoked by a nonverbal discriminative simulus and followed by generalized conditioned reinforcement.

Duplic: echoic

An elementary verbal operant involving a response that is evoked by a verbal discriminative stimulus that has point-to-point correspondence and formal similarity with the response

echoic

An elementary verbal operant involving a response that is evoked by a verbal discriminative stimulus that has point-to-point correspondence and formal similarity with the response.

textual

An elementary verbal operant involving a response that is evoked by a verbal discriminative stimulus that has point-to-point correspondence, but not formal similarity, between the stimulus and the response product.

Codic: textual

An elementary verbal operant involving a response that is evoked by a verbal discriminative stimulus that has point-to-point correspondence, but not formal similarity, between the stimulus, behavior, and consequence

Codic: transcription

An elementary verbal operant involving a spoken verbal stimulus that evokes a written, typed, or finger-spelled response

transcription

An elementary verbal operant involving a spoken verbal stimulus that evokes a written, typed, or finger-spelled response. There is point-to-point correspondence between the stimulus and the response product but not formal similarity.

copying a text

An elementary verbal operant that is evoked by a nonvocal discriminative stimulus that has point-to-point correspondence and formal similarity with the controlling response.

Duplic: copying words

An elementary verbal operant that is evoked by a nonvocal verbal discriminative stimulus that has point-to-point correspondence and formal similarity with the corresponding response

intraverbal

An elementary verbal operant that is evoked by a verbal discriminative stimulus and that does not have point-to-point correspondence with that verbal stimulus.

Intraverbal

An elementary verbal operant that is evoked by a verbal discriminative stimulus that does not have point-to-point correspondence with that verbal stimulus

mand

An elementary verbal operant that is evoked by an MO and followed by specific reinforcement.

Reinforcement

An environmental change that follows a response and increases or maintains the future frequency of that behavior

antecedent

An environmental condition or stimulus change existing or occurring prior to a behavior of interest.

Uses for IOA

Competence of new observers Detecting observer drift Validate collection methods Increase confidence that interventions are responsible for behavior change

Disadvantages of token economy systems

Complex and cumbersome Staff intensive Requires constant monitoring May be unnatural or intrusive System eventually requires fading

DeRisi model

Date contract begins and ends Behavior Amount and kind of reward Signatures of all involved Schedule for review of progress

Re-training

Decide if the staff "can't do" or "won't do" Task clarification

Transitive CAO

Decrease in the effectiveness of a stimulus as a reinforcer and abate behavior which is maintained by the reinforcer whose value has been lowered (decreased)

confidentiality

Describes a situation of trust insofar as any information regarding a person receiving or having received services may not be discussed with or otherwise made available to another person or group, unless that person has provided explicit authorization for release of such information.

contingent

Describes reinforcement (or punishment) that is delivered only after the target behavior has occurred.

Stimulus equivalence

Describes the emergence of accurate responding to untrained and non-reinforced stimulus-stimulus relations following the reinforcement of responses to some stimlus-stimulus relations

function-based definition

Designates responses as members of the targeted response class solely in terms of their common effect on the environment.

Listener responding

Following directions or complying with requests of others

relevance of behavior rule

Holds that only behaviors likely to produce reinforcement in the person's natural environment should be targeted for change.

Quality

How well something is done

Self-management strategies for problem behavior

Identify and display alternative responses that compete with and/or are incompatible with the target behavior Identify private and public precursors

Using positive reinforcement

Identify appetitive stimulus (potential reinforcers) Collect baseline data Deliver the appetitive stimulus contingent upon the target response Continue to collect data

Using negative reinforcement

Identify aversive stimuli/conditions Collect baseline data Remove the aversive condition contingent upon the target response Continue to collect data

Outcome management

Identify outcome for consumer Specify target behavior for staff Provide training Monitor staff performance Provide data based reinforcement for correct performance Provide corrective feedback for insufficient performance Evaluate the effects of supervisory procedures

Self-management strategies

Identify target behavior Self-monitor Identify discriminative stimuli and establishing operations Arrange contingencies to support self-management Identify immediate and delayed positive and negative consequences for engaging in the target behavior Get an accountability partner

Functional Assessment Interview Goals

Identify, define, and describe: The behaviors Potential ecological events Events that predict occurrence of behaviors Potential function of behaviors Efficiency of behaviors Functionally equivalent alternative behaviors Communication methods Potential reinforcers History of target behavior and treatment(s)

Behavioral contrast

If a behavior has been maintained in two or more contexts, and a procedure that decreases the behavior (e.g., DRO or extinction) is introduced in one of these contexts, the behavior may increase in the other context(s) despite no changes in the contingencies in these other contexts

Use the hand-over-hand prompt-to-selection mand transfer

If the learner does not repeat single words clearly and reliably and does not use hands and fingers to accomplish daily tasks

Use the hand-over-hand prompt-to-selection tact transfer procedure

If the learner does not repeat single words clearly and reliably and does not use hands and fingers to accomplish daily tasks

Use motor imitation-to-sign tact or hand-over-hand prompt-to-sign tact transfer procedure

If the learner does not repeat single words clearly and reliably but uses hands and fingers to accomplish many daily tasks

Use motor imitation-to-sign mand or hand-over-hand prompt-to-sign mand transfer procedure

If the learner does not repeat single words clearly and reliably, but uses hand and fingers to accomplish many daily tasks

Use the echoic-to-mand transfer procedure

If the learner repeats single words clearly and reliably To teach spoken-word mands

Premack principle

If the opportunity to engage in a "preferred" or "high-probability" behavior is made contingent on engaging in a "less preferred" behavior, the future duration or frequency of the "less preferred" behavior will increase

Generalized imitation

Imitative behavior which occurs without the person receiving training and reinforcement to imitate the specific behavior modeled

Total task chaining seems to work best with learners with an:

Imitative repertoire

Delivering tokens/praise

Immediately after behavior Use specific descriptive praise

Bi-Directional change

Implement bi-directional changes to bolster demonstration of experimental control Changing criteria to a previous subphase value and observing that behavior reverts to that criterion

Clinical tasks

Implementing behavior plans, collecting data, implementing emergency procedures

Training

Important for direct care staff Should be implemented for new staff, when new plans are introduced, or when there is a skill deficit in existing staff members Antecedent manipulation

practice effects

Improvements in performance resulting from opportunities to perform a behavior repeatedly so that baseline measures can be obtained.

aversive stimulus

In general, an unpleasant or noxious stimulus; more technically, a stimulus change or condition that functions: (a) to evoke a behavior that has terminated it in the past; (b) as a punisher when presented following behavior, and/or (c) as a reinforcer when withdrawn following a behavior.

Reflexivity

In the absence of training and reinforcement, a learner selects a stimulus that is matched to itself (A = A)

Reflexivity

In the absence of training and reinforcement, a response will select a stimulus that is matched to itself

Functional instruments

Include skills that are required in other settings Taught in the same circumstances as those in which they typically occur In the absence of which someone would have to perform the skills for them Result in increased access to preferred items, activities, and people

Developmental instruments

Include skills that are typically acquired in a specific sequence by typically-developing children

ASRs are correlated with:

Increased academic behavior Improved test scores Reduced disruptive behavior

Types of group contingencies

Independent Dependent Interdependent

observer reactivity

Influence on the data reported by an observer that results from the observer's awareness that others are evaluating the data he reports.

Why reinforcement fails

Insincere Too thin Assumption of value Too delayed Too general Non-contingent Reaction from employee

Teaching functional discriminations and alternative responses

May increase the rate of acquisition and result in more useful discriminations May decrease 'rote' responding and result in more useful responses

Advantages of backward chaining with leaps ahead

May reduce training time

Advantages of group contingencies

May save time as do not need to design multiple programs May be easier to implement than individualized programs May work quickly Takes advantage of natural peer-to-peer influence Group members may encourage "hero" or all other peers Group members may discontinue reinforcing undesirable behavior of "hero" or all other peers

continuous measurement

Measurement conducted in a manner such that all instances of the response class(es) of interest are detected during an observation period.

discontinuous measurement

Measurement conducted in a manner that some instances of the response class(es) of interest may not be detected.

event recording

Measurement procedures for obtaining a tally or count of the number of times a behavior occurs.

Errorless prompting and rapid prompt-fading

Minimizes errors May increase the rate of acquisition May decrease the tendency to exhibit behaviors that have resulted in escape

Condition change lines

Minor changes occur in the IV A minor (usually temporary) change in the environment

Reducing reactivity

Monitor frequently Self-monitoring Monitoring results Covert monitoring Using reactivity to your advantage

Problems with conducting monitoring

Monitoring is hidden Staff don't know why they are being monitored Monitoring is done impolitely Results of monitoring are not shared

Functional tasks

More closely resembles language as it naturally occurs Effective responding does not require induction

Interspersed and mixed tasks

More closely resembles language as it naturally occurs Improves attentiveness Reduce the tendency to exhibit behavior that has resulted in escape

Varied and functional cues

More closely resembles language as it naturally occurs More likely to result in stimulus generalization

Importance of generalization

Most students with autism and severe disabilities have difficulty generalizing the skills they learn. An effective teacher has students perform targeted skills in different settings and with different instructors, cues, and materials before concluding with confidence that the student has acquired and generalized a skill. Adulthood is expressed through self-sufficiency.

Procedures for fading response prompts

Most-to-least prompts (fading out) Least-to-most prompts (fading in) Time delay (constant or progressive) Graduated guidance

Identify target behaviors

Mostly behavior to accelerate Observable Measurable Clearly defined Criteria for earning token(s)

Phase change

Movement in the analysis from one level or kind of IV to the next level or kind of IV

Best to use level systems when

Multiple behavior change targets Behaviorally similar population Similar target environments Target population's behavior is controlled, somewhat, by delayed or mediated contingencies

Terminating services

Never abandon clients Don't leave suddenly without adequately preparing Start planning ahead of time and collaborate with other professionals

Unsignaled avoidance

No clear earning stimulus, but a response can still delay or prevent the occurrence of the aversive event

Unsigned avoidance

No clear warning stimulus, but a response can still delay or prevent the occurrence of the aversive event

Tandem schedules

No discriminative stimuli in the kinks of the chain

measurement bias

Nonrandom measurement error; a form of inaccurate measurement in which the data consistently overestimate or underestimate the true value of an event.

Characteristics of a good response definition

Objective Clear Complete

Empiricism

Objective observation with thorough description and quantification of the phenomena of interest, behavior

Characteristics of a good response definition

Objective, clear, complete

Operational definitions

Observable Measurable Reliable Two or more people should be able to agree on whether or not the targets are occurring

Types of integrity

Observation Permanent product Self-report

Narrative Recording

Observer produces a written narrative of an individual's responses throughout a specific period of time and a description of the environmental conditions under which the responses were emitted

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.

divergent multiple control (of verbal behavior)

Occurs when a single antecedent variable affects the strength of more than one responses.

convergent multiple control (of verbal behavior)

Occurs when a single verbal response is a function or more than one variable.

reinforcement

Occurs when a stimulus change immediately follows a response and increases the future frequency of that type of behavior in similar conditions.

Punishment

Occurs when stimulus change immediately follows a response and decreases the future frequency of that type of behavior in similar conditions

punishment

Occurs when stimulus change immediately follows a response and decreases the future frequency of that type of behavior in similar conditions.

indirect measurement

Occurs when the behavior that is measured is in some way different from the behavior of interest; considered less valid than direct measurment because inferences about the relation between the data obtained and the actual behavior of interest are required.

direct measurement

Occurs when the behavior that is measured is the same as the behavior that is the focus of the investigation.

verification

One of three components of the experimental reasoning, or baseline logic, used in single-subject research designs; accomplished by demonstrating that the prior level of baseline responding would have remained unchanged had the independent variable not been introduced.

Incidental teaching

One or more cues occur or motivating operations are captured in a naturally-occurring situation. Naturally-occurring consequences are delivered contingent on learner's response

Redundancy of antecedent stimuli

One or more stimulus/response dimension paired with correct choice

Single Operant

One task is available during all phases No programmed consequences for task completion During reinforcement phase (B), contingent on task completion (typically on an FR1), the stimulus is delivered

Successive discrimination training

Only one antecedent (Sd or Sdelta) is presented to the learner in a given trial

Verbal behavior

Operant behavior reinforced through the mediation of other persons

Stimulus prompts

Operate directly on the antecedent task stimuli to cue a correct response in conjunction with the critical Sd

Median level

Outlying data points skew the level line in a way that makes it non-representative of the data set as a whole

Environmental explanations

Past and current behavior is explained as a function of environmental contingencies

Contracting rules

Payoff should be immediate Initially reward small approximations Reward frequently with small amounts Reward accomplishments, not obedience Reward performance after it occurs The contract must be fair, honest, and positive The terms of the contract must be clear Contracting methods used systematically

Passive responding

Pays attention Listens to the teacher Watches others respond

Disadvantages of group contingencies

Peers may put too much pressure on the "hero" or other peers If the "hero" does not earn the reward or if some peers lose the reward for the group, others may retaliate Can be tricky to implement successfully depending on the makeup of the group May have other undesirable effects

Dimensionless quantities of discontinuous response measures

Percent occurrence Trials to criterion Discrete categorization Partial interval recording Whole interval recording Momentary time sampling PLACHECK

Developing a TA

Perform the task or watch someone perform the task Write down each individual step in sequence Perform or have someone perform a task according to the steps listed

How to program models/feedback

Performance based training

Components of OBM

Performance management (PM) Behavior systems analysis (BSA) Behavior-based safety (BBS) Pay for performance

Contracts are used for

Permanent products

automatic punishment

Punishment that occurs independent of the social mediation by others. (i.e. a response product serves as a punisher independent of the social environment.)

Cfunc

Qualify/quantify the specifics of a relation between stimuli

Measurement dimensions

Quantity Quality Cost Timeliness

The motor imitation-to-sign tact or hand-over-hand prompt-to-sign tact transfer procedure

Quickly demonstrate the sign or prompt it hand-over-hand Wait for the learner to form the sign Provide praise and say the word

Motor imitation-to-sign mand or hand-over-hand prompt-to-sign mand transfer procedure

Quickly demonstrate the sign or prompt it hand-over-hand Wait for the learner to form the sign Provide the requested item or activity and say the word

The hand-over-hand prompt-to-selection tact transfer procedure

Quickly prompt the learner to select the printed word hand-over-hand Wait for the learner to select the printed word Provide praise and say the word

Hand-over-hand prompt-to-selection mand transfer procedure

Quickly prompt the selection response hand-over-hand Wait for the learner to make the selection response Provide the requested item or activity and say the word

teaching loosely

Randomly varying functionally irrelevant stimuli within and across teaching sessions; promotes setting/situation generalization by reducing the likelihood that 1. a single or small group of noncritical stimuli will acquire exclusive control over the target behavior; 2. the learner's performance of the target behavior will be impeded or "thrown off" should he encounter any of the "loose" stimuli in the generalization setting.

DTT often result in

Rapid rate of acquisition

Multielement design

Rapidly alternate between conditions

reinforcer assessment

Refers to a variety of direct, empirical methods for presenting one or more stimuli contingent on a target response and meausring their effectiveness as reinforcers.

reliability

Refers to the consistency of measurement, specifically, the extent to which repeated measurement of the same event yields the same values.

social validity

Refers to the extent to which target behaviors are appropriate, intervention procedures are acceptable, and important and significant changes in target and collateral behaviors are produced.

repeatability

Refers to the fact that a behavior can occur repeatedly through time; one of the three dimensional quantities of behavior from which all behavioral measurements are derived.

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 has occurred, for reinforcement to "work".

temporal locus

Refers to the fact that every instance of behavior occurs at a certain point in time with respect to other events; often measured in terms of response latency and interreponse time; one of the three dimensional quantities of behavior from which all behavior measurements are derived.

temporal extent

Refers to the fact that every instance of behavior occurs during some amount of time; one of the three dimensional quantities of behavior from which all behavior measurements are derived.

Three types of stimulus equivalence

Reflexivity Symmetry Transitivity

Types of stimulus equivalence

Reflexivity Symmetry Transitivity

Use the tact-to-transfer procedure

Regardless of whether the learner uses spoken words or signs or selects printed words

Discrimination training

Reinforce a response in the presence of a stimulus, but not in the absence of that stimulus

Train to generalize

Reinforce generalization Use instructions to facilitate generalization

Two operations of differential reinforcement

Reinforcement Extinction

What to do with data

Reinforcement and corrective feedback for the staff member Minimum of 4:1 instances of reinforcement to corrective feedback Reinforcement every chance

Differential reinforcement of a high rate of responding (DRH)

Reinforcement occurs if and only if the rate of response is equal to or greater than a specified value

automatic reinforcement

Reinforcement that occurs independent of the social mediation of others. (e.g. scratching an insect bite relieves the itch.)

Uses for RFT

Reinforcer ID Observational learning Joint attention Establishing mand/tact repertoires Instructional control Naming Reading/spelling Math Syntax and grammar Analogical reasoning Perspective taking Empathy Self-directed rules

Differential reinforcement

Reinforcing only those responses within a response class that meet a specific criterion along some dimension(s) and placing all other responses in the class on extinction

differential reinforcement

Reinforcing only those responses within a response class that meet a specific criterion along some dimension(s) and placing all other responses in the class on extinction.

Framing

Relating stimuli in a specify way

RFT

Relational Frame Theory

Crel

Relational context

Experimental design

Repeated, systematic presentation and removal of an IV while measuring changes in the DV and holding other factors constant

steady state strategy

Repeatedly exposing a subject to a given condition while trying to eliminate or control extraneous influences on the behavior and obtaining a stable pattern of responding before introducing the next condition.

Replication

Repeating any part of an experiment

Multiple response skill

Requires breaking down the skill into multiple steps or responses to effectively teach it

Parsimony

Requires that all simple, logical explanations for the phenomena of interest be ruled out experimentally before more complex or abstract explanations are considered

Discrimination

Results when differential reinforcement consists of reinforcing a response when certain stimuli are present and not reinforcing the same response when those stimuli are not present

Differentiation

Results when differential reinforcement consists of reinforcing one response while placing a second response on extinction

After an Interview

Review notes/recording(s) Summarize the findings: Describe behavior Identify environmental factors Identify potential functions Identify functionally equivalent behavior Decide whether to continue behavioral assessment

When to use antecedent interventions

Role problems Competing contingencies Failure to generalize

Analytic

Seeks to identify functional relations between manipulated environmental events and behavior through systematic and controlled manipulations

Steps in designing a token economy

Select tokens Identify target behaviors Select back-up items that can be exchanged for tokens Establish the ratio of earning and exchanging Develop procedures Field testing and training

Manded stimulus selection

Selecting a named item or following a direction to complete a task

self-instruction

Self-generated verbal responses, covert or overt, that function as rules or response prompts for a desired behavior.

Elements of teaching self-management

Self-selection and definition of the target behavior to be managed Self-observation and recording Specification of the procedures for changing the target behavior Implementation of the self-management strategy Evaluation of self-management program

functionally equivalent

Serving the same function or purpose; different topographies of behavior are functionally equivalent if they produce the same consequences.

Considerations when using classroom training

Set very clear learning objectives Consider pre-test Provide rationale

informed consent

When the potential recipient of services or participant in a research study gives his explicit permission before any assessment or treatment is provided. Full disclosure of effects and side effects must be provided. To give it, the person must 1. demostrate the capacity to decide; 2. do so voluntarily; and 3. have adequate knowledge of all salient aspects of the treatment.

Resurgence

The reappearance of a previously extinguished behavior during the extinction of a more recently reinforced behavior

resistance to extinction

The relative frequency with which operant behavior is emitted during extinction.

Single-case designs

The repeated and systematic presentation and removal of a treatment and measurement of behavior while holding other factors constant

respondent extinction

The repeated presentation of a conditioned stimulus (CS) in the absence of the unconditioned stimulus (US); the CS gradually loses its ability to elicit the conditioned response until the conditioned reflex no longer appears in the individual's repertoire.

target behavior

The response class selected for intervention; can be defined either functionally or topographically.

respondent behavior

The response component of a reflex; behavior that is elicited, or induced, by antecedent stimuli.

data

The results of measurement, usually in quantifiable form; in applied behavior analysis, it refers to measures of some form of quantifiable dimension of a behavior.

Mixed schedule

The same as a multiple schedule except that there are no different stimuli associated with each component schedule

applied behavior analysis (ABA)

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.

successive approximations

The sequence of new response classes that emerge during the shaping process as the result of differential reinforcement; each one is closer in form to the terminal behavior than the response class it replaces.

Behavioral technology

The set of assessment and behavior change procedures validated by ABA researchers

total count IOA

The simplest indicator of IOA for event recording data; based on comparing the total count recorded by each observer per measurement period; calculated by dividing the smaller of the two observers' counts by the larger count and multiplying by 100.

Selection-based verbal behavior

The speaker selects a stimulus in the environment by pointing or finding a picture and handing it to the listener

Induction

The spread of the effects of reinforcement to responses outside the limits of an operant class

Respondent stimulus generalization

The spread of the effects of respondent conditioning to stimuli other than the conditioned stimulus

unconditioned stimulus (US)

The stimulus component of an unconditioned reflex; a stimulus change that elicits respondent behavior without any prior learning.

Operant spontaneous recovery

The sudden and temporary reappearance of a behavior following extinction

Respondent spontaneous recovery

The sudden reappearance of a previously extinguished conditioned reflex

Parametric analysis

The systematic examination of the effects of a range of values of the IV

Stimulus generalization

The tendency of a learned response to occur in the presence of stimuli which were not present during training but which either have some similar physical properties to the S^D or have been associated with the S^D

Sensitization

The tendency of a stimulus to elicit a reflex response following the elicitation of that response by a different stimulus

Discriminative control

The tendency of behavior to occur more frequently in the presence of a particular stimulus because the behavior has been reinforced only or mostly in the presence of that stimulus

Shaping across topographies

The terminal target response is a distinct topography - a different response - than the response that is currently occurring

Shaping within topographies

The terminal target response is similar in form to the initial response, but varies across some dimension, such as rate or duration

Academic learning time

The time that students actually spend learning

Social validity

The treatment goals and the achieved outcomes are acceptable, socially relevant, and useful to the individual receiving services and to those who care about the individual

Changing criterion design

The treatment phase is divided into subphases Each subphase involves a different behavioral criterion (i.e., a different value of the IV) Criterion in each subphase more closely resembles the terminal behavioral goal

Determinism

The universe is a lawful and orderly place

level

The value on the vertical axis around which a series of behavioral measures converge.

dependent variable

The variable in an experiment measured to determine if it changes as a result of manipulations of the indpendent variable; in applied behavior analysis, it represents some measure of socially significant behavior.

independent variable

The variable that is systematically manipulated by the researcher in an experiment to see whether changes in it produces reliable changes in the dependent variable. In applied behavior analysis, it is usually an environmental event or condition antecedent or consequent to the dependent variable.

Contingency specifying stimuli

The verbal antecedent stimulus or "rule" actually alters the function of other stimuli, such as a previously neutral stimulus may function as a discriminate stimulus or a reinforcer

Bar graph

The vertical axis represents the value of a DV The horizontal axis represents a phase, condition, or classification variable

ABA Practice

To help other persons to achieve their outcomes with the implementation of procedures validated by ABA researchers to make a difference in people's lives

Functional analysis methodology

To test a specific hypothesis about the controlling variables for problem behavior

Training with tokens

Train staff Train participants

Train loosely

Training is conducted with relatively little control over the stimuli presented and the correct responses allowed, so as to maximize sampling to relevant dimensions or transfer to other situation and other forms of the behavior

Introduce to natural reinforcement contingencies

Transfer control from trainer to stable, natural contingencies Accomplished by choosing behaviors to teach that will meet maintaining reinforcement contingencies after training.

If A=B and B=C, then A=C

Transitivity

Select back-up items that can be exchanged for tokens

Try natural occurring activities/events before using contrived reinforcers If individuals can get back-up reinforcers for "free", tokens won't be as effective Can be tangibles, activities, or privileges

maintenance

Two different meanings in applied behavior analysis: 1. the extent to which the learner continues to perform the target behavior after a portion or all of the intervention has been terminated, a dependent variable or characteristic of behavior and 2. a condition in which treatment has been discontinued or partially withdrawn, an independent variable or experimental condtion.

Concurrent operant assessment

Two identical tasks are available No programmed consequences for completing either task Increase in task completion from BL to S^r phase, stimulus = reinforcer

Multiple baseline design

Two or more independent baselines are established The IV is then separately introduced in a staggered fashion to each baseline When behavior us stable for the first baseline, the IV is introduced on the second baseline, and so on

S^R+

Unconditioned positive reinforcement

Receptive language

Under the antecedent control of a mand to comply

Duplic

Under the antecedent control of verbal stimuli with point-to-point correspondence and with formal similarity to the response

Codic

Under the antecedent control of verbal stimuli with point-to-point correspondence but without formal similarity

Intraverbal

Under the antecedent control of verbal stimuli without point-to-point correspondence and with no formal similarity

Pattern of behavior produced on fixed schedules

Unsteady responding (pause and burst)

Shaping

Using differential reinforcement to produce a series of gradual changing response classes. Reinforcement is provided when closer approximations to the correct response occurs

shaping

Using differential reinforcement to produce a series of gradually changing response classes; each response class is a successive approximation toward a terminal behavior. Members of an existing response class are selected for differential reinforcement because they more closely resemble the terminal behavior.

chaining

Various procedures for teaching behavior chains.

Duplic: imitating signs

Verbal discriminative stimulus in the form of signs

Steps for staff training

Verbally describe the skills and give a rationale Provide a written description Demonstrate how to perform the skills Observe trainee practice the skill Provide feedback on performance Repeats steps 3-5 until proficiency is reached

Fixed ratio

Very high rates of responding

stimulus generalization

When an antecedent stimulus has a history of evoking a response that has been reinforced in its presence, the same type of behavior tends to be evoked by stimuli that share similar physical properties with the controlling antecedent stimulus.

Discrimination

When differential reinforcement consists of reinforcing a response when certain stimuli are present and not reinforcing the same response when those stimuli are not present

Differentiation

When differential reinforcement consists of reinforcing some responses and not reinforcing other responses

Estimating IRT's

When given the rate, provided that the variability is not too great, or that there are no outliers

Mutual entailment

When in a given context, A is related in a characteristic way to B, and as a result, B is now related in another characteristic way to A

Stimulus transformers

When stimuli are brought into relations Any change to stimuli then changes all others in the network

Prompt fading

When the correct or an appropriate response begins to occur, gradually provide less prompts and an additional level of differential reinforcement

IT/NET often results in

Stimulus generalization and induction

terminal behavior

The end product of shaping.

Differential outcomes can be effective in

difficult discrimination tasks

Types of data display

(1) data may be embedded in text (2) data may be presented in summary form, usually as a structured data table (a numerical representation of data) (3) data may be presented in graphical form (a visual representation of data)

Primary goals of systematic experimental manipulation

(1) to demonstrate a functional relation between the IV and DV (2) to evaluate the interventions once they're decided on

generalization

A generic term for a variety of behavioral processes and behavior change outcomes.

baseline

A condition of an experiment in which the independent variable is not present; data obtained during baseline are the basis for determining the effects of the independent variable; a control condition that does not necessarily mean the absence of instruction or treatment, only the absence of a specific independent variable of experimental interest.

Warning stimulus

A conditioned aversive stimulus whose presence is correlated with the upcoming onset of an unconditioned aversive stimulus

Chained schedule

A conditioned reinforcer is produced by completion of the response requirements for that component schedule in the chain

generalized conditioned reinforcer

A conditioned reinforcer that as a result of having been paired with many other reinforcers does not depend on an establishing operation for any particular form of reinforcement for its effectiveness.

Generalized conditioned reinforcer

A conditioned reinforcer that has been paired with a variety of other reinforcers and which is effective for a wide range of behaviors

avoidance contingency

A contingency in which a response prevents or postpones the presentation of a stimulus.

escape contingency

A contingency in which a response terminates (produces escape from) an ongoing stimulus.

Interdependent group contingency

A contingency in which reinforcement for all group members of a group is dependent on each member of the group meeting a performance criterion that is in effect for all members of the group

interdependent group contingency

A contingency in which reinforcement for all members of a group is dependent on each member of the group meeting a performance criterion that is in effect for all members of the group.

Dependent group contingency

A contingency in which reinforcement for all members of a group is dependent on the behavior of one member of the group or the behavior of a select member within the larger group

Independent group contingency

A contingency in which reinforcement for each member of a group is dependent on that person's meeting a performance criterion which is in effect for all members of the group

independent group contingency

A contingency in which reinforcement for each member of group is dependent on that person's meeting a performance criterion that is in effect for all members of the group.

free-operant avoidance

A contingency in which responses at any time during an interval prior to the scheduled onset of an aversive stimulus delays the presentation of the aversive stimulus.

intermittent schedule of reinforcement (INT)

A contingency of reinforcement in which some, but not all, occurrences of the behavior produce reinforcement.

indiscriminable contingency

A contingency that makes it difficult for the learner to discriminate whether the next response will produce reinforcement. Practitioners use them to promote generalized behavior change.

satiation

A decrease in the frequency of operant behavior presumed to be the result of continued contact with or consumption of a reinforcer that has followed the behavior; also refers to a procedure for reducing the effectiveness of a reinforcer by presenting a person with copious amounts of it prior to a session.

Abative effect

A decrease in the momentary frequency of behavior

reinforcer-abolishing effect

A decrease in the reinforcing effectiveness of a stimulus, object, or even caused by a motivating operation.

explanatory fiction

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.

behavioral assessment

A form of assessment that involves a full range of inquiry methods (observation, interview, testing, and the systematic manipulation of antecedent or consequence variables) to identify probable antecedent and consequent controlling variables. It is designed to discover resources, assest, significant others, competing contingencies, maintenance, and generality factors, and possible reinforcer and/or punishers that surround the potential target behavior.

anecdotal observation/ABC recording

A form of direct, continuous observation in which the observer records a descriptive, temporally sequenced account of all behavior(s) of interest and the antecedent conditions and consequences for those behaviors as those events occur in the client's natural environment.

positive practice overcorrection

A form of overcorrection in which, contingent on an occurrence of the target behavior, the learner is required to repeat a correct form of the behavior, or a behavior incompatible with the problem behavior, a specified number of times; entails an educative component.

restitutional overcorrection

A form of overcorrection in which, contingent on the problem behavior, the learner is required to repair the damage or return the environment to its origninal state and then to engage in additional behavior to bring the environment to a condition vastly better than it was prior to the misbehavior.

Property

A fundamental quality of a natural phenomenon

Generative learning/adduction

A general pattern of responding that produces effective responding to many untrained relations

experimental analysis of behavior (EAB)

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 fomal theory testing.

Behavior Analysis

A natural science that studies functional relationships between behavior and environmental events

Higher-order conditioning

A neutral stimulus is paired with a previously conditioned stimulus (CS) rather than with a US

VB-MAPP

A norm-referenced developmental assessment and curriculum

steady stable responding

A pattern of responding that exhibits relatively little variation in its measured dimensional quantities over a period of time.

methodological behaviorism

A philosophical position that views behavioral events that cannot be publicly observed as outside the realm of science.

Time-based schedules

A preferred stimulus is delivered at a point in time without a response requirement

hypothetical construct

A presumed but unobserved process or entity.

conditioned punisher / secondary punisher / learned punisher

A previously neutral stimulus change that decreases the future frequency of a behavior because of prior pairing with other stimuli that decreases the future frequency of a behavior.

conditioned reinforcer

A previously neutral stimulus change that increases the future frequency of a behavior because of prior pairing with other stimuli that increases the future frequency of a behavior.

conditioned negative reinforcer/ secondary negative reinforcer / learned negative reinforcer

A previously neutral stimulus change whose removal increases the future frequency of a behavior because of prior pairing with other stimuli whose removal increases the future frequency of a behavior.

Premack principle

A principle that states that making the opportunity to engage in a high-probability behavior contingent on the occurrence of a low-frequency behavior will function as reinforcement for the low-frequency behavior.

Time-out from positive reinforcement

A procedure based on the principle of negative punishment; the organism cannot access (generally specified) reinforcers

Differential reinforcement of other behavior

A procedure for decreasing problem behavior in which reinforcement is contingent on the absence of the problem behavior during or at specific times

differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO)

A procedure for decreasing problem behavior in which reinforcement is contingent on the absence of the problem behavior during or at specific times.

differential reinforcement of incompatible behavior (DRI)

A procedure for decreasing problem behavior in which reinforcement is delivered for a behavior that is topographically incompatible with the behavior targeted for reduction and withheld following instances of the problem behavior.

differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA)

A procedure for decreasing problem behavior in which reinforcement is delivered for a behavior that serves as a desirable alternative to the behavior targeted for reduction and withheld following instances of problem behavior.

Differential reinforcement of alternative behavior

A procedure for decreasing problem behavior in which reinforcement is delivered for a behavior that serves as a desirable alternative to the behavior targeted for reduction and withheld following instances of the problem behavior

spaced-responding DRL

A procedure for implementing DRL in which reinforcement follows each occurrence of the target behavior that is seperated from the previous response by a minimum interresponse time (IRT).

full-session DRL

A procedure for implementing DRL in which reinforcement is delivered at the end of a session if the total number of responses emitted during the session does not exceed a criterion limit.

interval DRL

A procedure for implementing DRL in which the total session is divided into equal intervals and reinforcement is provided at the end of each interval in which the number of responses during the interval is equal to or below a criterion limit.

time-out ribbon

A procedure for implementing nonexclusion time-out in which a child wears a ribbon or wristband that becomes discriminative for receiving reinforcement. Contingent on misbehavior, the ribbon is removed and access to social and other reinforcers are unavailable for a specific period. When time-out ends, the ribbon or band is returned to the child and time-in begins.

bonus response cost

A procedure for implementing response cost in which the person is provided a reservoir of reinforcers that are removed in predetermined amounts contingent on the occurrence of the target behavior.

planned ignoring

A procedure for implementing time-out in which social reinforcers - usually attention, physical contact, and verbal interaction - are withheld for a brief period contingent on the occurrence of the target behavior.

contingent observation

A procedure for implementing time-out in which the person is repositioned within an existing setting such that observation of ongoing activities remains, but access to reinforcement is lost.

exclusion time-out

A procedure for implementing time-out in which, contingent on the occurrence of a target behavior, the person is removed physically from the current environment for a specified period.

hallway time-out

A procedure for implementing time-out in which, contingent on the occurrence of an inappropriate behavior, the student is removed from the classroom to a hallway location near the room for a specified period of time.

science

A systematic approach to the understanding of natural phenomena 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.

Behavioral Assessment

A systematic gathering of information in order to make data-based decisions, regarding behavior and the environment

Functional behavior assessment

A systematic method of assessment for obtaining information about the purpose of a problem behavior serves for a person

functional behavior assessment (FBA)

A systematic method of assessment for obtaining information about the purposes a problem behavior serves for a person; results are used to guide the design of an intervention for decreasing the problem behavior and increasing appropriate behavior.

Sequence Analysis

A systematic presentation and examination of information or data regarding target behavior and its stimulus conditions in an A-B-C format

Pattern Analysis

A systematic presentation and/or examination of information or data regarding the target behavior and its conditions

general case analysis

A systematic process for identifying and selecting teaching examples that represent the full range of stimulus variations and response requirements in the generalization settings.

generic (tact) extension

A tact evoked by a novel stimulus that shares all of the relevant or defining features associated with the original stimulus.

metonymical (tact) extension

A tact evoked by a novel stimulus that shares none of the relevant features of the original stimulus configuration, but some irrelevant yet related feature has acquired stimulus control.

metaphorical (tact) extension

A tact evoked by a novel stimulus that shares some, but not all, of the relevant features of the original stimulus.

programming common stimuli

A tactic for promoting setting/situation generalization by making the instructional setting similar to the generalization setting; the two-step process involves 1. identifying salient stimuli that characterize the generalization setting and 2. incorporating those stimuli into the instructional setting.

backward chaining

A teaching procedure in which a trainer completes all but the last behavior in a chain, which is performed by the learner, who then receives reinforcement for completing the chain. When the learner shows competence in performing the final step in the chain, the trainer performs all but the last two steps to complete the chain, and reinforcement is delivered. This sequence is continued until the learner completes the entire chain independently.

behavior change tactic

A technologically consistent method for changing behavior derived from one or more principles of behavior; possesses sufficient generality across subjects, settings, and/or behaviors to warrent its codification and dissemination.

Potentiation

A temporary increase in some dimension or intensity of a reflex response due to repeated presentations of an eliciting stimulus

Habituation

A temporary reduction in a reflex response due to repeated presentations of the eliciting stimulus

clicker training

A term popularized by Pryor (1999) for shaping behavior using conditioned reinforcement in the form of an auditory stimulus. A handheld device produces a click sound when presented. The trainer pairs other forms of reinforcement with the click sound so that the sound becomes a conditioned reinforcer.

baseline logic

A term sometimes used to refer to the experimental reasoning inherent in single-subject experimental designs; entails three elements: prediction, verification, and replication.

affirmation of the consequent

A three-step form of reasoning that begins with a true antecedent-consequent (if A-then B) statement and proceeds as follows: 1. If A is true, then B is true; 2. B is found to be true; 3. therefore A is true. Although other factors could be responsible for the truthfulness of A, a sound experiment affirms several if A-then B possibilities, each one reducing the likelihood of factors other than the independent variable being responsible for the observed changes in behavior.

whole-interval recording

A time sampling method for measuring behavior in which the observation period is divided into a series of brief time intervals. At the end of each interval, the observer records whether the target behavior occurred throughout the entire interval; tends to underestimate the proportion of the observation period that many behaviors actually occurred.

partial-interval recording

A time sampling method for measuring behavior in which the observation period is divided into a series of brief time intervals. The observer records whether the target behavior occurred at any time during the interval. It is not concerned with how many times the behavior occurred during the interval or how long the behavior was present, just that it occurred at some point during the interval; tends to overestimate the proportion of the observation period that the behavior actually occurred.

scatterplot

A two-dimensional graph that shows the relative distribution of individual measures in a data set with respect to the variables depicted by the x and y axes. Data is not connected.

semi-logarithmic chart

A two-dimensional graph with a logarithmic scaled y axis so that equal distances on the vertical axis represent changes in behavior that are of equal proportion.

A-B design

A two-phase experimental design consisting of a pre-treatment baseline condition followed by a treatment condition.

Functional Assessment

A type of behavioral assessment used to determine functional relations between challenging behavior and environmental events

symmetry

A type of stimulus-to-stimulus relationship in which the learner, without prior training or reinforcecment for doing so, demonstrates the reversibility of matched sample and comparison stimuli. (e.g. if A=B, then B=A).

total-task chaining

A variation of forward chaining in which the learner receives training on each behavior in the chain during each session.

planned activity check (PLACHECK)

A variation of momentary time sampling in which the observer records whether each person in a group is engaged in the target behavior at specific points in time; provides a measure of "group behavior".

delayed multiple baseline design

A variation of the multiple baseline design in which an initial baseline, and perhaps intervention, are begun for one behavior (or setting or subject), and subsequent baselines for additional behaviors are begun in staggered or delayed fashion.

multiple probe design

A variation of the multiple baseline design that features intermittent measures, or probes, during baseline. It is used to evaluate the effects of instruction on skill sequences in which it is unlikely that the subject can improve performance on later steps in the sequence before learning prior steps.

stimulus preference assessment

A variety of procedures used to determine the stimuli that a person prefers, the relative preference values of those stimuli, the conditions under which those preference values remain in effect, and their presumed value as reinforcers.

impure tact

A verbal operant involving a response that is evoked by both an MO and a nonverbal stimulus; thus, the response is part mand and part tact.

solistic (tact) extenstion

A verbal response evoked by a stimulus property that is only indirectly related to the proper tact relation.

functional relation

A verbal statement summarizing the results of an experiment that describes the occurrence of the phenomenon 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 can be produced by manipulating another event, and that the change in the dependent variable was unlikely the result of other factors.

graph

A visual format for displaying data; reveals relations among and between a series of measurements and relevant variables.

single-subject designs

A wide variety of research designs that use a form of experimental reasoning called baseline logic to demonstrate the effects of the independent variable on the behavior of individual subjects.

Transitivity

After learning that A = B and B = C, the learner demonstrates that A = C without direct training on that relationship

Symmetry

After learning that A = B, the learner demonstrates that B = A without direct training on that relationship

Transitivity

After learning that A=B and B=C, the learner demonstrates that A=C that emerges without direct training on that relationship

Symmetry

After learning that A=B, the learner demonstrates that B=A without direct training on that relationship

repertoire

All of the behaviors a person can do; or a set of behaviors relevant to a particular setting or task.

FR schedules

All or none schedules, as they produce a pause in responding immediately after reinforcement which is followed by a burst of responding. Pauses tend to be longer the thinner the schedule

Free-operant procedure

All stimuli available for entire session Free to interact with as many or as few stimuli as they want No stimuli are removed during the assessment

Multiple Stimulus without Replacement

All stimuli presented on 1st trial, selected stimuli removed on subsequent trials

Multiple Stimulus with Replacement

All stimuli presented on every trial

Behaviorally anchored rating scale (BARS)

Allows for easy goal setting Allows for objective evaluation Negates the need for other forms of performance review

Narrative Recording and ABC Charting

Allows one to start to identify idiosyncratic antecedents and consequences

Functions altering effects of rules

Alter the evocative or abative effect of other antecedent stimuli

Phasing out token economy system

Always pair tokens with praise Gradually increase earning criteria Increase cost of items Switch to natural back-up reinforcers Fade out physical tokens Reduce amount of time in effect Use self-monitoring and level system

Allocated time

Amount of time scheduled for instruction

Promise CAO-R

An AO for negative punishment; evoked behavior that has resulted in its own termination in the past

Threat CAO-R

An AO for negative reinforcement; abates avoidance behavior and abated behavior that has resulted in its own termination in the past

Promise CEO-R

An EO for negative punishment; abates behavior that has resulted in its own termination in the past

Threat CEO-R

An EO for negative reinforcement; evokes avoidance behavior and evokes behavior that has resulted in its own termination in the past

functional analysis

An analysis of the purposes of problem behavior, wherein antecedents and consequences representing those in the person's natural routines are arranged within an experimental design so that their separate effects on problem behavior can be observed and measured; typically consists of four conditions: three test conditions-contingent attention, contingent escape, and alone-and a control condition in which problem behavior is expected to be low because reinforcement is freely available and no demands are placed on the person.

functional communication training (FCT)

An antecedent intervention in which an appropriate communicative behavior is taught as a replacement behavior for problem behavior usually evoked by an establishing operation (EO); involves differential reinforcemet of alternative behavior (DRA).

Functional communication training

An antecedent intervention in which an appropriate communicative behavior is taught as replacement behavior for problem behavior usually evoked by an establishing operation

behavioral momentum / interspersed requests / pretask requests / high-probability (high-p) request sequence

An antecedent intervention in which two to five easy tasks with a known history of learner compliance (the high-p requests) are presented in quick succession immediately before requesting the target task (the low-p request).

High probability request sequence

An antecedent manipulation in which 2-5 easy/known tasks are presented in quick succession immediately prior to a difficult/high effort task or a response that is relatively infrequent

motivating operation (MO)

An environmental variable that 1. alters (increases or decreases) the reinforcing or punishing effectiveness of some stimulus, object, or event; and 2. alters (increases or decreases) the current frequency of all behavior that has been reinforced or punished by that stimulus, object, or event.

Motivating operation

An environmental variable that alters the reinforcing or punishing effectiveness of some stimulus, object, or event; and alters the current frequency of all behavior that has been reinforced or punished by that stimulus, object, or event

transitive conditioned motivating operation (CMO-T)

An environmental variable that, as a result of a learning history, establishes (or abolishes) the reinforcing effectiveness of another stimulus and evokes (or abates) the behavior that has been reinforced by that other stimulus.

Type II error

An error that occurs when a researcher concludes that the independent variable had no effect on the dependent variable, when no such relation exists. (false negative)

Type I error

An error that occurs when a researcher concludes that the independent variable had no effect on the dependent variable, when no such relation exists. (false positive)

Transitive CEO

An event that establishes another stimulus as a necessary condition to complete the response that the first event evokes, and thus established that second stimulus as a reinforcer

partition time-out

An exclusion procedure for implementing time-out in which, contingent on the occurrence of the target behavior, the person remains within the time-in setting, but stays behind a wall, shield, or barrier that restricts the view.

direct replication

An experiment in which the researcher attempts to duplicate exactly the conditions of an earlier experiment.

systematic replication

An experiment in which the researcher purposefully varies one or more aspects of an earlier experiment. If it reproduces the results of previous research, it not only demonstrates the reliability of the earlier findings but also adds external validity to the earlier findings by showing that the same effect can be obtained under different conditions.

noncontingent reinforcement (NCR) reversal techinque

An experimental control technique that demonstrates the effects of reinforcement by using noncontingent reinforcement (NCR) as a control condition instead of a no-reinforcement (baseline) condition. A higher level of responding during the reinforcement condition than during the NCR condition demonstrates that the changes in behavior are the result of contingent reinforcement, not simply the presentation of or contact with the stimulus event.

Reversal/Withdrawl Design (A-B-A-B design)

An experimental design consisting of an initial baseline phase until steady state responding (or counter-therapeutic trend) is obtained; an initial intervention phase in which the treatment variable is implemented until the behavior has changed and steady state responding is obtained; a return to baseline conditions by withdrawing the independent variable to see whether responding "reverses" to levels observed in the initial baseline phase; a second intervention phase to see whether initial treatment effects are replicated.

changing criterion design

An experimental design in which an initial baseline phase is followed by a series of treatment phases consisting of successive and gradually changing criteria for reinforcement or punishment. Experimental control is evidenced by the extent the level of responding changes to conform to each new criterion.

alternating treatments design/concurrent schedule design/multielement design

An experimental design in which two or more conditions (one of which may be a no-treatment control condition) are presented in rapidly aternating succession independent of the level of responding; differences in responding between or among conditions are attributed to the effects of the conditions.

multiple schedule design

An experimental design in which two or more conditions are compared to baseline as well as each other.

multiple baseline design

An experimental design that begins with the concurrent measurement of two or more behaviors in a baseline condition, followed by the application of the treatment variable to one of the behaviors while baseline conditions remain in effect for the other behavior(s). After maximum change has been noted in the first behavior, the treatment variable is applied in sequential fashion to each of the other behaviors in the design. Experimental control is demonstrated if each behavior shows similar changes when, and only when, the treatment variable is introduced.

DRO reversal technique

An experimental technique for demonstrating the effects of reinforcement by using differential reinforcement of other behavior as a control condition instead of a no-reinforcement (baseline) condition. Higher level of responding demonstrates that the changes in behavior are the result of contingent reinforcement , not simply the presentation of or contact with the stimulus event.

DRI/DRA reversal technique

An experimental technique that demonstrates the effects of reinforcement; it uses differential reinforcement of an incompatible or alternative behavior as a control condition instead of a no-reinforcement (baseline) condition. Higher level of responding demonstrates that the changes in behavior are the result of contingent reinforcement , not simply the presentation of or contact with the stimulus event.

Relational Frame Theory

An explicitly behavioral account of human language and cognition Provides a functional account of the structure of verbal knowledge and cognition

Evocative effect

An increase in the current frequency of behavior that has been reinforced by the stimulus that is increased in reinforcing effectiveness by the same motivating operation

evocative effect

An increase in the current frequency of behavior that has been reinforced by the stimulus that is increased in reinforcing effectiveness by the same motivating operation.

extinction burst

An increase in the frequency of responding when an extinction procedure is initially implemented.

reinforcer-establishing effect

An increase in the reinforcing effectiveness of a stimulus, object, or event caused by a motivating operation.

interval-by-interval IOA / point-by-point IOA / total interval IOA

An index of the agreement between observers for data obtained by interval recording or time sampling measurement; calculated for a given session or measurement period by comparing the two observers' recordings of the occurrence or nonoccurrence of the behavior in each observation interval and dividing the number of intervals of agreement by the total number of intervals and multiplying by 100.

unscored-interval IOA

An interobserver agreement index based only on the intervals in which either observer recorded the nonoccurrence of the behavior; calculated by dividing the number of intervals in which the two observers agreed that the behavior did not occur by the number of intervals in which either or both observers recorded the nonoccurrence of the behavior and multiplying by 100. It is recommended as a measure of agreement for behaviors that occur at high rates because it ignores the intervals in which agreement by chance is highly likely.

scored-interval IOA

An interobserver agreement index based only on the intervals in which either observer recorded the occurence of the behavior; calculated by dividing the number of intervals in which the two observers agreed that the behavior occurred by the number of intervals in which either or both observers recorded the occurrence of the behavior and multiplying by 100. It is recommended as a measure of agreement for behaviors that occur at low rates because it ignores the intervals in which agreement by chance is highly likely.

behavior trap

An interrelated community of contingencies of reinforcement that can be especially powerful. producing substantial and long-lasting behavior changes. Effective ones share four essential features: 1. They are "baited" with virtually irresistible reinforcers that "lure" the student to the trap; 2. only a low-effort response already in the student's repertoire is necessary to enter the trap; 3. once inside the trap, interrelated contingencies of reinforcement motivate the student to acquire, extend, and maintain targeted academic and/or social skills; and 4. they can remain effective for a long time because students shows few, if any, satiation effects.

behavior chain interruption strategy

An intervention that relies on the participant's skill in performing the critical elements of a chain independently; the chain is interrupted occasionally so that another behavior can be emitted.

token

An object that is awarded contingent on appropriate behavior and that serves as the medium of exchange for backup reinforcers.

naive observer

An observer who is unaware of the study's purpose and/or the experimental conditions in effect during a given phase or observation period.

Higher-order class

An operant class that includes within it other classes that can themselves function as operants

Discriminated operant

An operant class that is established through the process of differential reinforcement with respect to the presence or absence of antecedent stimuli

discriminated operant

An operant that occurs more frequently under some antecedent conditions than under others.

artifact

An outcome or result that appears to exist because of the way it is measured but in fact does not correspond to what actually occurred.

Confound

An uncontrolled factor known or suspected to exert influence on the DV

confounding variable

An uncontrolled factor known or suspected to exert influence on the dependent variable.

treatment drift

An undesirable situation in which the independent variable of an experiment is applied differently during later stages than it was at the outset of the study.

unconditioned reflex

An unlearned stimulus-response functional relation consisting of an antecedent stimulus that elicits a response.

extraneous variable

Any aspect of the experimental setting that must be held constant to prevent unplanned environmental variation.

contrived contingency

Any contingency of reinforcement (or punishment) designed and implemented by a behavior analyst or practitioner to achieve the acquisition, maintenance, and/or generalization of a targeted behavior change.

naturally existing contingency

Any contingency of reinforcement (or punishment) that operates independent of the behavior analyst's or practitioner's efforts; includes socially mediated contingencies contrived by other people and already in effect in the relevant setting.

reversal design

Any experiment design in which the researcher attempts to verify the effect of the independent variable by "reversing" responding to a level obtained in a previous condition; encompasses experimental designs in which the independent variable is withdrawn or reversed in its focus.

component analysis

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. The basic strategy is to compare levels of responding across successive phases in which the intervention is implemented with one or more components left out.

multiple treatment reversal design

Any experimental design that uses the experimental methods and logic of the reversal tactic to compare the effects of two or more experimental conditions to baseline and/or to one another.

generalization probe

Any measurement of a learner's performance of a target behavior in a setting and/or stimulus situation in which direct training has not been provided.

schedule thinning

Changing a contingency or reinforcement by gradually increasing the response ratio or the extent of the time interval; it results in a lower rate of reinforcement per responses, time, or both.

free operant

Any operant behavior that results in minimal displacement of the participant in time and space. It can be emitted at nearly any time; it is discrete; it requires minimal time for completion; and it can produce a wide range of response rates. Examples in ABA include 1. the number of words read during a 1-minute counting period; 2. the number of hand slaps per 6 seconds; and 3. the number of letter strokes written in 3 minutes.

discrete trial / restricted operant / controlled operant

Any operant whose response rate is controlled by a given opportunity to emit the response.

generalization setting

Any place or stimulus situation that differs in some meaningful way from the instructional setting and in which performance of the target behavior is desired.

Simple line graph

Any point within the plane of the chart represents a specific relationship between the two variables (dimensions) measured along each of the axis lines

calibration

Any procedure used to evaluate the accuracy of a measurement system and, when sources of error are found, to use that information to correct or improve the measurement system.

When collecting data on deceleration

Arrange observations when problem behavior is most likely More worried about low agreement Integrity is more important in some procedures as opposed to others

The tact-to-transfer procedure

Ask a question which can be answered by saying, signing, selecting a printed word or previously learned as a tact Point to the corresponding item or activity Wait for the learner to say, sign, or select the word Provide some form of confirmation or approval

During an Interview

Ask open-ended questions Ask follow-up questions Acknowledge responses Write notes or use recorder

Progressive Ratio (PR) Schedules

Assess reinforcer effectiveness as the response requirement increases

Steps in a risk-benefit analysis

Assess risk of behavioral intervention Assess benefits Discuss the analysis with involved parties Decision

Pragmatism

Assesses the truth of theories or beliefs in terms of the success of their practical application

Equal interval line graph

Based on a Cartesian plane, a 2D area formed by the intersection of two perpendicular lines (one vertical, one horizontal)

line graph

Based on a Cartesian plane, a two-dimensional area formed by the intersection of two perpendicular lines. Any point within the plane represents a specific relation between the two dimensions described by the intersecting lines. It is the most common graphic format for displaying data in applied behavior analysis.

Experimental Analysis of Behavior

Basic research; provides the scientific method for studying behavior by using cumulative records, manipulation of variables, and automated recording

rule-governed behavior

Behavior controlled by a verbal statement if an antecedent-behavior-consequence contingnecy; enables human behavior to come under indirect control of temporally remote or improbable but potentially significant consequences.

ethics

Behaviors, practices, and decisions that address such basic and fundamental questions as: Was it the right thing to do? What's worth doing? What does it mean to be a good behavior analytic practitioner?

Disadvantages of level systems

Can become punitive Easily misused Relying on level system too much

Use for negative reinforcement

Can get behavior started Should transfer to positive reinforcement as soon as pinpoint begins to occur

Advantages to self-management

Can lead to lasting change Skills may contribute to a more efficient classroom, workplace, or home Some people perform better under self-selected goals and standards One of the ultimate goals of education "Feels good"

Problems with behavior

Can't do: skill deficit Problem with strength Won't do Does, but only under limited circumstances Does at the wrong time or in the wrong place

generalization across subjects

Changes in the behavior of people not directly treated by an intervention as a function of treatment contingencies applied to other people.

Cultural selection

Cultural practices evolve as they contribute to the success of the practicing group

Steps of preliminary assessment

Determine who has the authority to give consent for services; determine whether or not you have the permission, skills, time, and resources to begin assessment; complete intake paperwork or the equivalent (may be done by cleric); review records and available data; meet client and begin observations; document

Philosophical assumptions

Determinism, empiricism, parsimony, philosophical doubt, pragmatism, experimentation

Good goals

Difficult but achievable Under performer control Specific

Basic operations

Direct observation Repeated measures Graph data Manipulation Systematic evaluation Analysis and interpretation

Descriptive Assessment

Direct observation of behavior and environmental events in real-life contexts

descriptive functional behavior assessment

Direct observation of problem behavior and the antecedent and consequent events under naturally occurring conditions.

Methodologies of EAB

Direct, repeated measurement of behavior Rate of response as the basic datum Visual inference (graphing) Within subject comparisons

Behavioral

Directly observed and measured

S^∆R-

Discriminative stimulus for extinction of behavior maintained by negative reinforcement

S^∆R+

Discriminative stimulus for extinction of behavior maintained by positive reinforcement

S^∆ for SR (SR crossed through)

Discriminative stimulus for extinction; abates behavior because in the past that behavior has NOT been reinforced in its presence

S^DP for SP

Discriminative stimulus for punishment; abates behavior because in the past that behavior has been punished in its presence

S^D for SR

Discriminative stimulus for reinforcement; evokes behavior because in the past that behavior has been reinforced in its presence

S^∆P-

Discriminative stimulus for unavailability of negative punishment

S^∆P+

Discriminative stimulus for unavailability of positive punishment

S^∆P for SP (SP crossed through)

Discriminative stimulus for withholding punishment; evokes behavior because in the past that behavior has NOT been punished in its presence

Guidelines

Don't threaten punishment, just implement Punish the behavior, not the person Punish immediately Punish every time Make it clear what is expected and reinforce the occurrence Continue to deliver reinforcement for appropriate behavior Punish in private Be consistent Don't mix punishment and reinforcement Use an intense punisher

Competing Stimulus Assessment

Duration-based assessment designed to determine the extent to which stimuli displace problem behavior

Social validity

Examination of the acceptability or viability of a programmed intervention

Quality assessment

Examine industry standards Observe the behavior Surveys

contingency reversal

Exchanging the reinforcement contingencies for two topographically different responses. (First Behavior A results in reinforcement and Behavior B results in extinction; then Behavior A results in extinction and Behavior B results in reinforcement.)

feature stimulus class

Stimuli that share common physical forms or structures or common relative relationships.

multiple exemplar training

Instruction that provides the learner with practice with a variety of stimulus conditions, response variations, and response topographies to ensure the acquisition of desired stimulus controls response forms; used to promote both setting/situation generalization and response generalization.

Four components of BST

Instructions Modeling Rehearsal Feedback

Techniques for programming the generality of behavior change

Introduce to natural reinforcement contingencies Train sufficient exemplars Train loosely Use indiscriminable contingencies Program common stimuli Mediate generalization Train to "generalize"

Contracting guide

Involve the individual in some or all aspects of developing the contract Select behavior-negotiate Describe behavior, must be observable and measurable Identify rewards Identify mediator, collect data, and reward Write understandable contract Collect data Troubleshoot the system if no improvement Rewrite contract Monitor, troubleshoot, rewrite for improvement

Position cue

Item being taught placed closer to student

Appetitive stimulus

Its onset strengthens behavior that precedes its onset. Its offset weakens behavior that precedes its offset. It abates behavior that removes it. It may elicit smooth muscle and gland responses.

Aversive stimulus

Its presentation evokes behavior that terminates it. Its onset weakens behavior that precedes its onset. Its offset strengthens behavior that precedes its offset. It may elicit smooth muscle and gland responses.

Types of antecedent-based interventions

Job description Supervisor presence Job aides

Arbitrarily applicable relational responding

Learned relational responding that can come under the control of arbitrary contextual cues, NOT solely the formal properties of relata nor direct experience with them

With picture selection

Learners will be able to acquire fewer skills and communicate fewer and less detailed messages, but to a larger audience

With signs

Learners will be able to acquire more skills and communicate a greater variety of messages with more detail to a smaller audience

Visual analysis of a graph

Level Variability Trend The number of data points

Outcomes

Life changes that represent a person's aspirations, dreams, and broad preferences

Phase changes

Major changes occur in the IV A major (usually permanent) change in the environment

Disciplinary action

Make sure the reinforcement procedures stay in effect Align with personnel policy Obtain upper management support Supervisors should persevere

Verbal operants

Mand, tact, echoic, intraverbal, codic, duplic

Nonverbal operants

Manded stimulus selection, manded complilance (listener responses)

Structured Assessment

Manipulation of antecedent events in natural settings

Supervisor presence

May be especially helpful when reactivity is noted and/or the supervisor has been correlated with the availability of reinforcement

Steps to effective performance monitoring

Pinpoint - Specify what it is the staff are supposed to be doing Develop a tool that contains each component The observer collects data as the staff implements a behavior plan Determine if the staff meets a specified level of criteria Often the target behavior can be collected simultaneously

Teaching self-rules

Pliance Tracking Augmenting

Selection-based response forms

Pointing to pictures, symbols, or words on a board or an electronic device without voice output; Selecting pictures, symbols, or words and handing these pictures to another person; Touching pictures, symbols, or words on an electronic device with voice output; Activating a switch which selects pictures, symbols, or words on an electronic device with voice output; Typing letters and words; Making Braille patterns with a Braille writer; Pointing to or touching items

Movement cue

Pointing to, tapping, touching, looking at item being taught

Performance feedback

Positive feedback Constructive feedback

Advantages of token economy systems

Powerful behavior change system Immediate delivery of reinforcement Does not interrupt task or activity Depth and individualization Facilitate money usage Facilitates data collection

Prerequisite skills

Pre-attending skills Instructional control Verbal behavior Generalized imitation Derived relational responding

Components of a Functional Assessment

Preliminary indirect assessment Direct descriptive assessment Functional analysis (systematic manipulations)

Types of response cards

Preprinted selection-based response cards Preprinted selection-based "pincher" response cards "Write-on" response cards

Imitation training

Presenting a model that sets the occasion for a specific response by the learner Providing response prompts as needed, so the learner emits the imitative response within a designated interval Reinforcing the imitative response

Technological

Procedures are completely identified, and precisely described and defined

Conceptually systematic

Procedures are linked to, and described in terms of, the basic principles of behavior

Differential reinforcement

Process that consists of reinforcement and extinction that may result in either differentiation or discrimination

Ratio schedules

Produce higher rates of responding

VR schedules

Produce steady and high rates of responding

VI schedules

Produce steady, low to moderate rates of responding

High ASR approaches to Instructional Activity

Programmed instruction (PI) Personalized system of instruction (PSI) Direct instruction (DI) Precision teaching (PT) Morningside model

Task interspersal

Programming mastered items or tasks in between acquisition trials during discrete trial instruction

Fast-paced intense instruction

Prompt-out latency to achieve fluency Improves attentiveness Results in less frequent problem behavior

Job description

Proper evaluation of pinpoints Clarification of management duties Clarification of roles

General case conditions

Provide broad range of program exemplars with which they are likely to interact "sample the instructional universe" for all skills needed

Provide feedback on performance

Provide immediate feedback following performance Describe what was done correctly and incorrectly Explain how to fix the incorrect elements Answer questions

Positive feedback

Provide immediate, specific, contingent, sincere statement Deliver fairly and equally, based upon data Spend time pairing yourself with reinforcement Be sensitive to public versus private praise

Using classroom training

Provide instruction using lecture, watching videos, internet broadcasting Avoid passive attendance by using active student responding (ASR)

alternative schedule

Provides reinforcement whenever the requirement of either a ratio schedule or an interval schedule - the basic schedules that makeup the alternative schedule - is met, regardless of which of the component schedule's requirements is met first.

Motivating operations: capturing and contriving

Providing 'free' reinforcement Reducing the difficulty of tasks and fading-in demands Capturing and contriving events

Differential reinforcement

Providing a reinforcer when the correct or an appropriate response occurs and not doing so when it does not occur or another response occurs

How to train

Provision of written description Brief explanation with questions Classroom training Performance and competency-based training Behavioral skills training (BST)

Discrimination training results in

Stimulus control

Staff information

Should always be informed about what is expected (goals) and how they are doing in relation to what is expected (monitoring and feedback)

Progress record

Should monitor progress of contract and provide interim rewards

Advantages of level systems

Simplifies staff training Provides systematic guidelines for decisions Can offset the individual differences that control decisions May be used to fade out a token economy program

Performance based training is effective with

Single client program and/or simulated clients Actual clients Multiple client program

Multiply controlled operant

Single verbal response is a function of more than one verbal and what is said has more than one antecedent source of control

Types of problems with behavior

Skill deficits, problems with strength of behavior, problems with performance, problems with stimulus control, problems with generality, behavior excesses

Group average: Disadvantage

Some group members may become "free riders"

Intermittent reinforcement

Some responses are reinforced and some are not; used to maintain already established behavior

Video modeling

Some skills are difficult to role-play, or you have a large group of trainees Evaluate video models performing behavior Employees evaluate correct and incorrect elements of a performance While watching the videos employees evaluate the performance with assessments tools Typical tools include checklists or other evaluation tools used on the job Provide feedback on the accuracy of recording Vary the scenarios

Role-playing

Some skills can be acted out One employee engages in a scripted behavior and another employee(s) complete a skill as taught Provide feedback either during or immediately after the performance Always have a mastery criteria

Speaker

Someone who engages in verbal behavior by emitting mands, tacts, intraverbals, autoclitics, and so on

speaker

Someone who engages in verbal behavior by emitting mands, tacts, intraverbals, autoclitics, and so on. Also someone who uses sign language, gestures, signals, written words, codes, pictures, or any form of verbal behavior.

Listener

Someone who provides reinforcement for verbal behavior

listener

Someone who provides reinforcement for verbal behavior. May also serve as an audience evoking verbal behavior.

Relational frames

Specific classes of AARR that show contextually controlled properties of mutual and combinatorial entailment and the transformation of stimulus functions, not due solely to formal properties or to direct training with the stimuli involved, but due to a history of such relational responding and the presence of contextual cues that evokes this pattern of responding

Rules

Specify contingencies Tell the listener what to do to gain or avoid certain consequences

Latency recording

Specify when to start recording (at the onset or the offset of the stimulus)

ethical codes of behavior

Statements that provided guidelines for members of professional associations when deciding a course of action or conducting professional duties; standards by which graduated sanctions can be imposed for deviating from the code.

indirect functional assessment

Structured interviews, checklists, rating scales, or questionnaires used to obtain information from people who are familiar with the person exhibiting the problem behavior; used to identify conditions or events in the natural environment that correlate with the problem behavior.

Incidental teaching

Structuring and sequencing learning opportunities so that they occur within a natural setting and which is used to give the learner an opportunity to practice a skill

Response latency and IRT

Student variables that can influence the number of learn units delivered in a lession

Personalized System of Instruction (PSI)

Students achieve standards at their own pace

Prompts

Supplementary antecedent stimuli used to evoke a correct response in the presence of an EO or Sd that will eventually control behavior

Component analyses/sequential withdrawal

Systematically withdrawing treatment components to see if behavior change is maintained

Elementary verbal operants

Tact Mand Duplic Codic Intraverbal

Capturing

Taking advantage of a teaching situation that arises without warning in the natural setting

backup reinforcers

Tangible objects, activities, or privileges that serve as reinforcers and that can be purchased with tokens.

When to use High-P request sequence

Tendency to become overly prompt dependent Too big to manage physically Extremely sensitive to being touched

Avoidance

Terminated a "warning" stimulus; prevents or delays the onset of the aversive stimulus

Avoidance

Terminates a "warning" stimulus; prevents or delays the onset of the aversive stimulus

Learn unit

That smallest divisible unit of teaching and incorporates interlocking three-term contingencies for both the teacher and the student

Burrhus Frederick Skinner

The Experimental Analysis of Behavior The Operant Chamber ("Skinner Box") Principles of Operant Conditioning Radical Behaviorism Analysis of Verbal Behavior The Cumulative Recorder Programmed Instruction

Domains of behavior analysis

The Experimental Analysis of Behavior (EAB) Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) Behavior Analysis Service Delivery Conceptual Analysis of Behavior

Trace conditioning procedure

The OFFSET of the CS must come before the ONSET of the US; sometimes effective

Long delay conditioning

The ONSET of the CS must come first, before the ONSET of the US; usually effective

Short delay conditioning

The ONSET of the CS must come first, before the ONSET of the US; very effective

Backward conditioning procedure

The ONSET of the US must come before the ONSET of the CS; almost always ineffective

instructional setting

The environment where instruction occurs; includes all aspects of the environment, planned and unplanned, that may influence the learner's acquisition and generalization of the target behavior.

matching law

The allocation of repsonses to choices available on concurrent schedules of reinforcement; rates of responding across choices are distributed in proportions that match the rates of reinforcement received from each choice alternative.

Matching law

The allocation of responses to choices available on concurrent schedules of reinforcement

Matching law

The allocations of responses to choices available on concurrent schedules of reinforcement Rates of responding across choices are distributed in proportions that match the rates of reinforcement received for each choice-alternative

Latency

The amount of time between a stimulus and a response

ABA practice

The application of the principles of operant and respondent learning derived from the experimental analysis of behavior and the application of methods and procedures validated by ABA researchers to assess and improve socially important human behaviors

determinism

The assumption that the universe is a lawful and orderly place in which phenomena occur in relation to other events.

mean count-per-interval IOA

The average percentage of agreement between the counts reported by two observers in a measurement period comprised of a series of smaller counting times; a more conservative measure of IOA than total count of the target behavior.

local response rate

The average rate of response during a smaller period of time within a larger period for which an overall response rate has been given.

Radical Behaviorism

The basic foundation for our conceptual analyses and permeates all the branches

Operant conditioning

The basic process by which operant learning occurs

operant conditioning

The basic process by which operant learning occurs; consequences result in an increased or decreased frequency of the same type of behavior under similar motivational and environmental conditions in the future.

three-term contingency

The basic unit of analysis in the analysis of operant behavior; encompasses the temporal and possibly dependent relations among antecedent stimulus, behavior, and consequence.

Response cycle

The beginning, middle, and end of a response

Self-monitoring is likely to be more effective if

The behavior is recorded immediately after it occurs Effective prompts cue the person to observe and record regularly Permanent product of the behavior or a record of its occurrence is made for evaluation

stimulus discrimination training

The conventional procedure requires one behavior and two antecedent stimulus conditions. Responses are reinforced in the presence of one stimulus condition (Sd) but not in the presence of the other stimulus condition (S^).

external validity

The degree to which a study's findings have generality to other subjects, settings, and/or behaviors.

IV integrity

The degree to which an intervention is implemented as described/designated

interobserver agreement (IOA)

The degree to which two or more independent observers report the same observed values after measuring the same events.

extinction (operant)

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.

Sequence effects

The effects on a person's behavior in one condition can be influenced by the subject's experience in a prior condition

sequence effects

The effects on a subject's behavior in a given condition that are the result of the subject's experience with a prior condition.

Function

The effects or results of a response on the environment

Stimulus equivalence

The emergence of accurate responding to untrained and non-reinforces stimulus-stimulus relations following the reinforcement of responses to some stimulus-stimulus relations

stimulus equivalence

The emergence of accurate responding to untrained and nonreinforced stimulus-stimulus relations following the reinforcement of responses to some stimulus-stimulus relations. Requires a positive demonstration of reflexivity, symmetry, and transitivity.

response maintenance

The extent to which a learner continues to perform the target behavior after a portion or all of the intervention responsible for the behavior's initial appearance in the learner's repertoire has been terminated.

setting/situation generalization

The extent to which a learner emits the target behavior in a setting or stimulus situation that is different from the instructional setting.

response generalization

The extent to which a learner emits untrained responses that are functionally equivalent to the trained target behavior.

External validity

The extent to which a study's results are generalizable to other subjects, settings, or behaviors

Internal validity

The extent to which an analysis assures that measured changes in behavior are due to the manipulation and not due to uncontrolled extraneous variables

internal validity

The extent to which an experiment shows convincingly that changes in behavior are a function of the independent variable and not the result of uncontrolled or unknown variables.

validity

The extent to which data obtained from measurement are directly relevent to the target behavior of interest and to the reasons for measuring it.

Variability

The extent to which measures of behavior under the same environmental conditions diverge from one another

accuracy

The extent to which observed values, the data produced by measuring an event, match the true state, or true values, of the event as it exists in nature.

Stimulus generality

The extent to which performance of the target behavior is improved in environments different than the original training environment

treatment integrity

The extent to which the independent variable is applied exactly as planned and described and no other unplanned variables are administered inadvertently along with the planned treatment.

Maintenance

The extent to which the learner continues to perform the target behavior after a portion or all of the intervention has been terminated

Response generality

The extent to which the learner performs a variety of functional responses in addition to the trained response

believability

The extent to which the researcher convinces herself and others that the data are trustworthy and deserve interpretation. Measures of interobserver agreement (IOA) are the most often used index of believability in applied behavior analysis.

magnitude / amplitude

The force or intensity with which a response is emitted; provides important quantitative parameters used inn defining and verifying the occurrence of some response classes. Responses meeting those criteria are measured and reported by one or more fundamental or derivative measures such as frequency, duration, or latency.

variability

The frequency and extent to which multiple measures of behavior yield different outcomes.

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.

ontogeny

The history of the development of an individual organism during its lifetime.

phylogeny

The history of the natural evolution of a species.

Parts of an equal interval line graph

The horizontal X-axis The vertical Y-axis Data points The data path Condition and phase change lines Condition and phase change labels Figure legend

Mimetic

The imitation of a physical movement that is also a nonvocal verbal unit

Applied

The implementation of basic principles to change behaviors of significance to clients

Contracts

The individual's verbal repertoire must be sufficiently advanced so that his/her behavior comes under the control of the contract

Advantages of backwards chaining

The learner contacts the natural reinforcement contingencies in every learning trial

Imitation

The learner emits behavior which is topographically identical or very similar to the antecedent stimuli, which consists of someone else performing a behavior, which is then imitated by the learner

data path

The level and trend of behavior between successive data points; created by drawing a straight line from the center of each data point in a given data set to the center of the next data point in the same set.

overall response rate

The rate of response over a given time period.

Rate

The ratio of the number of responses over some period of time

conditional probability

The likelihood that a target behavior will occur in a given circumstance; computed by calculating 1. the proportion of occurences of behavior that were preceeded by a specific antecedent variable and 2. the proportion of occurrence of problem behavior that were followed by a specific consequence.

Performance management

The management of an individual employee or a group of employees through the application of behavior principles

Level

The mean (average) value of a set of data points, usually across an entire condition or phase

Temporal contiguity

The nearness of events in time

Trials to criterion

The number of consecutive opportunities to respond required to achieve a performance standard Record each opportunity to respond until the performance standard is met

Countability

The number of responses or number of cycles of the response class

empiricism

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."

recovery from punishment procedure

The occurrence of a previously punished type of response without its punishing consequence. This procedure is analogous to the extinction of previously reinforced behavior and has the effect of undoing the effect of the punishment.

Generalization

The occurrence of relevant behavior under different conditions without the scheduling of the same events in those conditions as had been scheduled in the training conditions.

Negative reinforcement

The onset of painful stimulation establishes the reduction or offset of this stimulation as an effective form of reinforcement and evokes behavior that achieved such reduction or offset

Premack principle

The opportunity to engage in a high-probability behavior contingent upon the occurrence of low-probability behavior will reinforce the low-probability behavior

trend

The overall direction taken by a data path. It is described in terms of direction, degree, and the extent of variability of data points around it.

experimental design

The particular type and sequence of conditions in a study so that meaningful comparisons of the effects of the presence and absence (or different values) of the independent variable can be made.

exact count-per-interval IOA

The percentage of total intervals in which two observers recorded the same count; the most stringent description of IOA for most data sets obtained by event recording.

self-management

The personal application of behavior change tactics that produces a desired change in behavior.

behavioral contrast

The phenomenon in which a change in one component of a multiple schedule that increases or decreases the rate of responding on that component is accompanied by a change in the response rate in the opposite direction on the other, unaltered component of the schedule.

behaviorism

The philosophy of a science of behavior.

Behaviorism

The philosophy or world view underlying behavior analysis. Posits that behavior is the subject matter of our science

topography

The physical form or shape of a behavior.

Risk-benefit analysis

The potential gain must be weighed against the risk of continuing This is done when deciding to take a case, continue with a case, and terminate a case

parsimony

The practice of ruling out simple, logical explanations, experimentally or conceptually, before considering more complex or abstract explanations.

Preliminary assessment

The practitioner gathers basic information about the case, determines if behavioral services are appropriate, and if he/she is the appropriate provider of those services

Reinforcement

The presentation or removal of a stimulus following a response, that increases (or maintains) the future frequency of that response

Recovery from punishment

The process by which a previously punished behavior is strengthened by withholding punishment

Operant extinction

The process by which a previously reinforced behavior is weakened by withholding reinforcement

sensory extinction

The process by which behaviors maintained by automatic reinforcement are placed on extinction by masking or removing the sensory consequence.

Selection

The process in which repeated cycles occur of variation, interaction with the environment, and differential replication as a function of the interaction

task analysis

The process of breaking a complex skill or series of behaviors into smaller, teachable units.

Respondent extinction

The process through which a conditioned reflex is weakened by discontinuing to pair the CS with the US

Variables influencing effectiveness of modeling

Whether or not the model's behavior is reinforced The similarity between the model and the imitator The physical attractiveness and prestige of the model The model's emphasis of critical aspects of the target behavior Difficulty of the modeled behavior Whether a "mastery" model is presented or a "coping" model Strength of the learner's imitative repertoire Motivating operations in effect with respect to the form of reinforcement available for imitating the modeled behavior