Chapter 1 - Definition & Characteristics of ABA Flashcards
Interventions deal with problems that are deemed socially important
Applied
Applied interventions deal with measurable behavior or reports if they can be validated
Behavioral
Applied interventions require an objective demonstration that the procedures caused the effect
Analytic
Applied interventions are described well enough that they can be implemented by anyone with training and resources
Technological
Applied interventions arise from a specific and identifiable theoretical base rather than a set or bag of tricks
Conceptual Systems
Applied interventions produce strong socially important effects
Effective
Applied interventions are designed from the outset to operate in new environments and continue after the formal treatments have ended
Generality
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 in behavior.
ABA
The philosophy of a science of behavior
behaviorism
The assumption that the universe is a lawful and orderly place in which phenomena occur in relation to other events and not in an accidental fashion.
determinism
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” (Zuriff, 1985)
empiricism
A carefully controlled comparison of some measure of the phenomenon of interest (the dependent variable) under two or more diffferent conditions in which only one factor at a time (the independent variable) differs from one condition to another.
experiment
A natual 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 betweeen behavior and controlling variables in the environment over formal theory testing.
Experimental Analysis of Behavior (EAB)
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 food is not available.
explanatory fiction
A term with two meanings in contemporary behavior analysis literature.
- In its original and most fundamental usage _____ _____ denotes demonstrations of functional relations between environmental variables and behavior.
- In the context of determining the purposes (functions) of problem behavior for an individual, _____ _____ entails experimentally arranging antecedents and consequences representing those in a person’s natural routines so that their separate effects on a problem behavior can be observed and measured.
functional analysis
A verbal statement summarizing the results of an experiment (or group of related experiments) 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 the change in the DV was unlikely the result of other factors (confounding variables); in behavior analysis expressed as b=f(x1), (x2)….. where b is the behavior and x1, x2 are environmental variables of which the behavior is a function.
functional relation
A presumed but unobserved process or entity (e.g. Freud’s id, ego, superego)
hypothetical construct
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 mediate some forms of behavior, if not all.
mentalism
A philosophical position that views behavioral events that cannot be publicly observed as outside the realm of science.
methodological behaviorism
The practice of ruling out simple, logical explanations, experimentally or conceptually, before considering more complex or abstract explanations.
parsimony
An attitude that the truthfulness and validity of all scientific theory and knowledge should be continually questioned.
philosophical doubt