Chapters 1-7 Flashcards
Behavior analysis defenition
The science that studies environmental events that change behavior
Principle of public events
seeking the causes of behavior in public (environmental) events
what is a Behavioral Strategy
way of defining human problems as behavioral problems
Steps in applying the behavioral strategy
Behavioral definition Direct Observation Reliability and Social Validity Single-subject experiment Visual analysis
ABA exploded in popularity in what year
1970
Definition of Behavior
anything a person does
behavior is physical and it functions to do something
Behavioral Definition
a statement that specifies exactly what behavior to observe
Benefits of a behavioral definition
Clearer communication with others
More consistent observations
Self-report observations
The observer relies on their memory of the behavior
Direct observation
The use of a trained observer who personally sees and immediately records their observations
exceptions: Observer can hear behavior or see results
How to increase direct observation accuracy when observing yourself
use a behavioral definition
someone else make an independent report
How much of the body does behavior involve?
The whole body
Behavior refers to activities that are…
obvious, subtle, internal or private
Types of direct observations
Outcome recording
Event recording
Interval recording
Time-sample recording
Outcome recording
record a response when you see the results of the behavior
Use when the behavior leaves a result
Event recording
record a response when you see an instance of the behavior
Use if the behavior is uniform in length
Interval recording
record a response if the behavior occurs in one of a series of continuous intervals
Use if behavior is non-uniform in length or occurs in nonuniform episodes
Time-sample recording
record a response if the behavior occurs within one of a series of discontinuous intervals (can use to observe multiple people- check on one than the other)
Use to observe a sample of the behavior
Most common method of direct observation
event recording
Definition of Reliability
agreement between two independent observers
Two conditions of reliability
use the same behavioral definition
observe the same responses
Forms of reliability
Trial reliability
Frequency reliability
Trial reliability
compares each observation of two independent observers
Only used for interval and time-sample recording
Formula for trial reliability
100%xA/(A+D)
A=agreements
D=Disagreements
Frequency reliability
compares the total count between two observers
Used for event and outcome recording
Acceptable goal reliability
90% for old definitions
80% for new definitions
What is Social Validity
The correlation between ratings by outside judges and observations by trained observers
Validates the behavioral definition as well as the social appropriateness of intervention
What percentage of journal articles use reliability and what percent use social validity?
94% use reliability
29% use social validity
Assume the behavioral definition in a question is…
old - 90% needed
Experimental design is used to…
rule out alternative explanations of the results
What are the possible alternative explanations
Individual differences
Time coincidences
Treatment
Method introduced to modify the rate of a behavior
Baseline
The period of an experiment without the treatment
What are you doing when you rule out alternative explanations
Showing that events other than the treatment did not cause an observed difference
Principle of single-subject experiments
to expose the same person to the baseline and treatment
Can be more than one person but they all have to be subjected to both conditions
A group treated as a unit counts as a “person”
List the types of single-subject experiments
Comparison Design
Reversal Design
Multiple-baseline Design
Comparison Design
An experimental design comparing the baseline condition with the treatment condition
Cannot rule out time coincidences
Reversal Design
Looks at behavior during baseline, treatment and reversal back to baseline
Multiple-baseline Design
An experimental design that introduces treatment at different times for two or more behaviors people or situations
What is a Backward Design?
When you start with the treatment condition first then move to baseline (and back to treatment if it’s reversal)
What is one-time treatment?
When you can’t undo treatment condition. A skill can’t be unlearned so treatment condition never ends
How do you test the generality of an experiment?
Repeat the experiment many times with different people
Multi-element Design
Involves alternating the experimental conditions many times, often every day
Group Designs
Provide statistical information, compares the treatment to standard treatments rather than finding out what causes the improvement
What modifies or changes behavior?
Treatment
Principle of Visual Analysis
to decide whether differences between baseline and treatment look convincing
Divided conditions
when the ranges on the last three points of two conditions are mutually exclusive
Stable condition
The last three numbers of one condition are not moving closer to the numbers in the other condition
Steps of visual analysis
Divided
Stable
Convincing
Treatment cause the difference? - not comparison
Convincing
Each part must be divided and stable. If one isn’t then the answer is no
Why do we observe behaviors?
To help people change them
How is ABA “applied”?
Allowed methods of inquiry to be applied to human behavior
What do you do if the behavioral observations are not reliable?
Retrain the observers
Revise the behavioral definition to make it clearer
What do you do if your beh def isn’t socially valid?
Revise the behavioral def to match the meaning used by the judges
