ABA Terms Flashcards
Determinism
The assumption the universe is a lawful and orderly place in which phenomena occur as the results of other events
Empiricism
The Practice of Objective Observation of the phenomena of interest
Experimentation
A carefully conducted comparison of some measure of the phenomenon of interest under two or more different conditions in which only one factor at a time differs from one condition to another
Replication
Repeating experiments to determine the reliability and usefulness of findings
Parsimony
Simple, logical explanations must be ruled out, experimentally or conceptually, before complex or abstract explanations are considered
Philosophical Doubt
Continually questioning the truthfulness and validity of all scientific theory and knowledge
Behaviorism - Theoretical and Philosophical
A systematic approach to understanding the behavior of humans and other animals. Emphasizes the direct observation of the relationship between environmental stimuli and the response they evoke (S - R)
Experimental Analysis of Behavior - Basic Research
A natural science approach for discovering orderly and reliable relations between behavior and various types of environmental variables of which it is a function; discovers reliable relations
Radical Behaviorism
Attempts to explain all behavior, including private events, such as thinking and feeling
Mentalism
An approach to understanding behavior that assumed that a mental or inner dimension exists that differs from a behavioral dimension and that phenomena in this dimension either directly cause or at least mediate some forms of behavior
Methodological Behaviorism
A philosophical position that considers behavioral events that cannot be publicly observed to be outside the real of science
Applied Behavior Analysis - Applied Research
The science in which tactics derived from the principles of behavior are applied systematically to improve socially significant behavior and experimentation is used to identify the variables responsible for behavior change
Response
A specific instance of behavior
Response Topography
The physical shape or form of a behavior
Response Class
A group of responses of varying topography, which all produce the same effect on the environment
Stimulus Class
A group of stimuli that share specified common elements along formal, temporally, and functionally
Respondent Behavior
Elicited by antecedent stimuli
Operant Behavior
Selected by consequences
Ontogeny
Lifetime of an individual Organism
Phylogeny
History of Species
Function Based Definitions
Members in the response class have the same effect on the environment
Topography Based Definitions
Members in the response class have the same shape or form of the behavior
Repeatability (Measurable dimension of behavior)
Instance of a response class occur repeatedly through time (Behavior can be counted)
Temporal Extent (Measurable dimension of behavior)
Every instance of behavior occurs during some amount of time (the duration fo behavior can be measured)
Temporal Locus (Measurable dimension of behavior)
Every instance of behavior occurs at a certain point in time with respect to other events (When behavior occurs can be measured)
Rate (or frequency)
The number of responses per unit of time
Celeration
Measure of the change in rate of responding per unit of time
Duration
The amount of time in which behavior occurs
Response Latency
A measure of the elapsed time between the onset of a stimulus and the initiation of a subsequent response
Interresponse time
The amount of time that elapses between two consecutive instances of a response class
Trials to Criterion
A measure of the number of response opportunities needed to achieve a predetermined level of performance
Magnitude
the force or intensity with which a response is emitted
Planned Activity Check (PLACHECK)
the observer records whether each individual group is engaged in the target behavior
Validity
Yields data that is directly relevant to the phenomenon measured and to the reasons for measuring it
Accuracy
The extent to which the observed value matches the true state or true value of the event
True Value
A measure ontained by procedures that are independent of and different from the procedures that produced the data being evaluated
Reliability
A measurement procedure yields the same value when brought into repeated contact with the same state of nature
Horizontal Axis in a Line Graph
the x axis; a straight horizontal line that represents the passage of time and the presence, absence, and/or value o the IV
Vertical Axis in a Line Graph
Y axis; represents a range of values of the dependent variable (some quantifiable dimension of behavior)
Data Points on a Graph
Represent a quantifiable measure of the target behavior recorded during an observation period and the time or experimental conditions under which the particular measurement was conducted
Standard Celeration Chart
Charts and analyzes how frequency of behavior changes over time
Variability with Graphs
The frequency and degree to which multiple measures of behavior yield different outcomes
Level with Graphs
The value on the vertical axis around which a series of data points converges
Trend with Graphs
The overall direction taken by a data path
External Validity
The degree to which a study’s results are generalizable to other subject’s settings and/or behaviors; or when a functional relation in an experiment holds under different conditions
Parametric Study
compares the differential effects of a range of different values of the IV