Chapter 1 Key Terms

Question 1

Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA)

Answer 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 in behavior.

Question 2

Behaviorism

Answer 2

The philosophy of a science of behavior, there are various forms

Question 3

Determinism

Answer 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.

Question 4

Empiricism

Answer 4

The objective observation of the phenomena of interest; objective observations are “independent of the individual prejudices, tastes, & private opinions of the scientists… Results of empirical methods are objective in that they are open to anyone’s observations and do not depend on the subjective belief of the individual scientist.

Question 5

Experiment

Answer 5

A carefully controlled comparison of some measure of the phenomenon of interest (dependent variable) under 2 or more different conditions in which only 1 factor at a time (independent variable) differs from one condition to another.

Question 6

Experimental Analysis of Behavior (EAB)

Answer 6

• Natural science approach to the study of behavior as a subject matter in its own right founded by Skinner; methodological features include rate of response as a basic dependent variable, repeayed or continuous measure 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 betwen behavior and controlling variables in the environment over formal theory testing.

Question 7

Explanatory Fiction

Answer 7

A fictitious or hypothetical variable that often takens the form of another name for the observed phenomeno it claims to explain and contributes nothing to a functional account or understanding of the phenomenon, such as “intelligence” or “cognitive awareness” as explanation 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.

Question 8

Functional Analysis

Answer 8

A term with 2 meanings in contemporary behavior analysis literature. Original and most fundamental usage: denotes demonstration of functional relations b/t environmental variables and behavior. In context of determining the purposes (function) of problem behavior for an individual: entails experimentally arranging antecedents and consequences representing those in the person’s natural routines so that their separate effects on problem behavior can be observed and measured.

Question 9

Functional Relation

Answer 9

A verbal statement summarizes the results of an experiment that describes the occurence of the phenomena under study as a function of the operation of 1 or more specified and controlled variables in the experiment in which a specific change in 1 event (dependent variable) can be produced by manipulating another event (independent variable), and that the change in dependent variable was unlikely the result of other factors (confounding variable). b = f (x1), (x2)

Question 10

Hypothetical Construct

Answer 10

A presumed but underobserved process or entity (e.g. Freud’s id, ego, and superego)

Question 11

Mentalism

Answer 11

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

Question 12

Methodological Behaviorism

Answer 12

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

Question 13

Parsimony

Answer 13

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

Question 14

Philosophic Doubt

Answer 14

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

Question 15

Pragmatism

Answer 15

A philosophical position asserting that the truth value of a statement is determined by how well it promotes effective acti0on; pragmatism is a primary criterion by which behavior analysis judge the value of their findings

Question 16

Radical Behaviorism

Answer 16

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

Question 17

Replication

Answer 17

a. repeating conditions within an experiment to determine the reliability of effects and increase internal validity. See also baseline logic, prediction, and verification.
b. repeating whole experiments to determine the generality of findings of previous experiments to other subjects, settings, and/or behavior. See also direct replication, external validity, and systematic replication

Question 18

Science

Answer 18

A systemic approach to the understanding of natural phenomena that relies on determinism as its fundamental assumption, empiricism as its primary rule, experimentation as its basic startegy, replication as a requirement for believability, parsimony as a value, and philosophic doubt as its guiding conscience.