Chapter 1

Question 1

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

Answer 1

Applied The objective observation of the phenomena of interest
Behavior Analysis (ABA)

Question 2

The philosophy of a science of behavior

Answer 2

Behaviorism

Question 3

The assumption that the universe is a lawful and orderly place in which phenomena occur in relation to other events and not in a willy-nilly, accidental fashion

Answer 3

Determinism

Question 4

The objective observation of the phenomena of interest

Answer 4

Empiricism

Question 5

A carefully controlled comparison of some measure of the phenomenon of interest (dependent variable) under two or more different conditions in which only one factor at a time (independent variable) differs from one condition to another

Answer 5

Experiment

Question 6

A natural science approach to the study of behavior as a subject matter in its own right founded by B.F. Skinner

Answer 6

Experimental analysis of behavior (EAB)

Question 7

A fictitious or hypothetical variable that often takes the form of another name for the observed phenomenon it claims to explain and contributes nothing to a functional account or understanding of the phenomenon, such as “intelligence” or “cognitive awareness” as explanations for why an organism pushes the lever when the light is on and food is available but does not push the lever when the light is off and no food is available

Answer 7

Explanatory Fiction

Question 8

Denotes demonstrations of functional relations between environmental variables and behavior

Answer 8

Functional Analysis

Question 9

Entails experimentally arranging antecedents and consequences representing those in one’s natural routines so that their separate effects on problem behavior can be observed and measured

Answer 9

Functional Analysis

Question 10

A verbal statement summarizing the results of an experiment that describes the occurrence of the phenomena under study as a function of the operation of one or more specified and controlled variables in the experiment in which a specific change in one event (dv) can be produced by manipulating another event (iv), and that change in the dv was unlikely the result of other factors (confounding variables)

Answer 10

Functional Relation

Question 11

A presumed but unobserved process or entity

Answer 11

Hypothetical Construct

Question 12

An approach to explaining behavior that assumes that a mental, or “inner”, dimension exists that differs from a behavioral dimension and that phenomena in this dimension either directly cause or at least meditate some forms of behavior, if not all

Answer 12

Mentalism

Question 13

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

Answer 13

Methodological Behaviorism

Question 14

The practice of ruling out simple, logical explanations, experimentally or conceptually, before considering more complex or abstract explanations

Answer 14

Parsimony / Occam’s Razor

Question 15

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

Answer 15

Philosophical Doubt

Question 16

A philosophical position asserting that the truth value of a statement is determined by how well it promotes effective action. Primary criterion by which behavior analysts judge the value of their findings.

Answer 16

Pragmatism

Question 17

A form of behaviorism that attempts to understand all human behavior, including private events such as thoughts and feelings, in terms of controlling variables in the history of the person (ontogeny) and the species (phylogeny)

Answer 17

Radical Behaviorism

Question 18

(A) Repeating conditions within an experiment to determine the reliability of effects and increase internal validity.
(B) Repeating whole experiments to determine the generality of findings of previous experiments to other subjects and/or behaviors.

Answer 18

Replication

Question 19

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

Answer 19

Science