2. Definitions & Characteristics Flashcards
What is Applied Behavior Analysis?
a) addresses only behavior issues that are important to the individual or society
b) has its underlying philosophy in behaviorism,
c) uses a variety of measurement strategies
- defined by Baer, Wolf, & Risley (1968)
What is Experimental Analysis of Behavior?
- a basic science methodology
- focuses on discovering principles under very controlled conditions (rather than on application to societal problems)
What is a behavioral technology?
- science applied to remedy a problem of social importance
- “the practical application of knowledge”
- the development & evaluation of a treatment package (package is evaluated for efficacy, but not necessarily each component & it’s not necessarily compared to other technologies)
- e.g., a reading program that has been experimentally demonstrated to improve reading
- you need to get results
What is a mentalistic explanation?
- alludes to events that are neither observable nor measurable, is exemplified by the “mind,” & is often methaphorical
- these alleged causal antecedent events, when accepted, tend to end the search for physical (observable, measurable) explanations for behavior
- feelings or states of mind as a cause of behavior
- tends to halt further inquiry into causal factors
- is feelings or states of mind as a cause of behavior
- is most like an antecedent analysis
- is supposedly an antecedent analysis
Which contribution can be directly attributed to the experimental analysis of behavior?
- the distinction between respondent and operant behavior
- focuses on discovering principles under very controlled conditions
What is basic science?
focuses on discovering principles under very controlled conditions
-e.g., a reading program designed to investigate how students learn
What is a private event?
- anything that stimulates only one individual
- something within the skin, but not always (could involve action of the muscles or glands)
- could involve thinking (verbal behavior to oneself)
What is an explanatory fiction?
- circular reasoning whereby the cause and effect are both inferred from the same information
- words associated: attitude, feeling, ability, talent, expectation, knowledge
- is evident when a cause is another name for an effect
Interoceptive
carries stimulation from organs, related to internal economy
Proprioceptive
carries stimulation from joints, tendons, muscles, etc., necessary for posture and movement
-the inability to move is a function of proprioceptive
Exteroceptive
related to hearing, seeing, feeling (on the skin), smelling, tasting
Behavioral speaking, imagining an object that you have seen before is best described as
seeing the thing that is in the absence of the thing being seen
Behaviorally speaking, “knowing a fact” is
exhibiting a particular response given a particular stimulus
-the response is controlled by the stimulus
Behaviorally speaking, thinking could be thought of as
a covert verbal behavior (and follows the same principles as overt operant behavior)
After a great vacation to the shore, you find yourself imaging you are there. Which is the best behavioral description?
Imagining the shore has reinforcing value
Recalling from memory and knowing
are not behavioral descriptions
A stimulus
occasions the response
What is covert verbal response?
it could serve as an SD or EO for the next response and so on
What are the 7 dimensions of ABA?
- applied: focuses on bxs that are of social importance (human & nonhumans); involves using basic principles on problems of significance to participants
- behavioral: observable & measurable (talking is a behavior); focuses on the bx of the subject as the target for change; focuses on relevance & reliability of the behavioral measure
- analytic: involves a functional relationship between bx & environmental events (i.e., experimental control)
- maintenance/generalization:
- conceptually systematic: procedures are described in terms of basic principles (i.e., technical terms); it is important to relate findings to their relevance to basic principles; this helps to build technology & identify lawfulness
- technological: one that could be replicated by the reader & the description is specific & detailed; involves complete & precise described procedures
- effective: significant change, cost effectiveness, & efficiency; clinically significant effects provide a meaningful difference
Effective treatments must
significant change, cost effectiveness, & efficiency are all ellements of the effective dimension
What is an independent variable?
the behavior change procedure or set of procedures
What is NOT a threat to internal validity?
unexpected results
Internal validity is
- when you can pinpoint the reason for the behavior change
- the variables that effect internal validity include: history, maturation, & testing
What is a dependent variable?
behavior change
History as a threat to internal validity refers to
events that occur during an experiment
Maturation (threat to internal validity)
changes within the individual that occur during the experiment
Settings confounds (interval validity)
uncontrolled aspects of the natural environment
Testing (internal validity)
repeated testing
Procedural (treatment) integrity (interval validity)
treatment not being implemented as planned
-including procedural drift, which occurs when implementation of a procedure deteriorates over time
Loss of subjects (internal validity)
participants drop out (attrition)
Multiple intervention interference (internal validity)
interaction of multipletreatments; interactive effects
Instability (interval validity)
variability in behavior, data
Interviewing when behavior changes (internal validity)
coincidence
Instrumentation (internal validity)
inaccurate measurement by devices or human observers
