Domain C Flashcards
objective
clear
complete
characteristics of an operational definition
2 types of operational definitions
functional
topographical
explain each.
functional- defines behavior by its function; use when a target behavior can be defined by its function, NOT topography/form
topographical- defines behavior by its form; use when the function is unknown or unreliable (unreliable aka when behavior has different outcomes); NOT function
crying, screaming, wailing that results in person being removed from a non-preferred activity and given access access to the outside playground
this is an example of __________
functional operational definition
expelling tears from the eyes, accompanied by loud vocalizations
this is an example of __________
topographical operational definition
measuring the actual behavior as it is occurring
direct measure of behavior
behavior is measured in a way that it produces a secondhand account of what actually happened; violates applied dimensions of ABA, researchers have to work harder to justify validity of their findings
indirect measures of behavior
asking a parent to report on their follow-through with directives using a rating scale; this may not produce information about what actually occurred
example of an indirect measure of behavior
measuring behavior by looking at the changes the behavior produced on the environment after it has occurred
product measures of behavior
think: measures final product produced from behavior
an empty dishwasher is a permanent product that measures the occurrence of emptying the dishwashe
example of product measure of behavior
think: measures the final product produced from behavior
3 dimensional quantities of behavior
repeatability
temporal extent
temporal locus
repeatability- countability of behavior
temporal extent- measure of behavior’s duration
temporal locus- point in time a behavior is measured
quantitative facts representing the repeatability and countability of behavior
occurrence measures
3 types of repeatability/occurrence measures
count
rate
celeration
count- measurement of number of occurrences (formula add up occurrences)
rate- measurement of number of occurrences over a given period of time (formula count/time)
celeration- measurement of changes in rate over time (formula count per unit of time/time OR rate/time)
measurement that is derived from the repeatability dimensional quantities
derivative measures
measurement derived from count, therefore an occurrence measurement; total correct response/number of opportunities X100
percentage
measurement that depicts the strength, force, severity, intensity of behavior
magnitude
measurement that depicts physical form and shape of behavior
topography
temporal dimensions of behavior: duration, latency, interresponse time
2 categories of temporal dimensions:
temporal extent
temporal locus
which categories are duration, latency, and interresponse time related to?
temporal extent- duration
temporal locus- latency and interresponse time
measurement that depicts length of time a behavior occurs from its onset to its offset
duration
measurement that depicts duration of time between presentation of a stimulus and the onset of a behavior
latency
measurement that depicts duration of time that elapses bewteen two consecutive instances of a behavior
interresponse time
shorter IRT = _____ rate
longer IRT = _____ rate
shorter IRT = higher rate
longer IRT = lower rate
continuous vs discontinuous measurement
continuous measurement- measures every instance of a behavior; count, rate, duration
discontinuous measurement- measures some instances of a behavior; time sampling, interval recording; can result in measurement artifact
3 time sampling/interval recording procedures
whole
partial
momentary
whole interval recording- measures overall occurrence by how many intervals behavior occurs through the ENTIRE interval; estimates total duration
partial interval recording- measuring number of intervals the behavior occurred at ANY TIME WITHIN the interval
momentary time sampling- measuring number of intervals the behavior is occurring AT END of interval
__________recording is used when working to increase a behavior that should occur for long stretches of time (e.g. attention to task); NOT for decreasing behavior.
whole interval recording
__________ recording is used when measuring more than one behavior at a time or multiple peoples behaviors; when working to decrease behavior; NOT for increasing behavior
partial-interval recording
__________ recording is used when not able to measure behavior throughout the interval; for easily identifiable behaviors like task engagement; when measuring multiple behaviors at the same time
momentary time sampling
a variation of momentary time sampling used for measuring behavior of a group; estimates the overall occurrence of group behavior by measuring the number of individuals emitting the behavior at end of interval
PLACHECK (planned activity check)
measures number of response opportunities required to achieve a pre-specified level of performance
trials to criterion
weighing the difference between the cost of implementing an intervention; considering financial cost, resources available, time commitment, training duration (predicted time that will be needed for training and mastery e.g. will suit toleration be done in time for a wedding?)
cost-benefit analysis
3 indicators of trustworthy measurement
validity- (most important; without validity, accuracy and reliability are moot)
accuracy
reliability
when data represents relevant dimension of behavior, directly measures target behavior, and represents target behavior as it occurs in the conditions of interest
validity
measuring the wrong dimension of target behavior, indirect measurement, measurement artifacts
THREATS to validity!
data that represent an unwarranted and misleading picture of behavior because of how it was measured
*data are not wrong, but misleading
measurement artifacts
the degree to which repeating a measurement procedure produces the same results
reliability
poorly created measurement systems, bad observer training, observer drift, measurement bias, observer reactivity
causes of human measurement error that affect reliability; human error is the biggest threat to reliability
when observers’ measurement is influenced by an expectatioin or belief rather than what actually occurs
measurement bias
measurement procedure used if problem behavior is not observable and does not produce measurable change in the environment
indirect measures, covert observation
measurement procedure used if problem behavior is not observable but produces a measurable change in the environment
permanent product recording
measurement procedure used if problem behavior is observable, discrete and countable, can occur at any time, and if duration latency or intensity are a primary concern or important seciondary measure for designing treatment
duration, latency, or interval recording (pick depending on the concern)
measurement procedure used if problem behavior is observable, not discrete or countable, but produces a measurable physical change in the environment
partial interval recording
measurement procedure used if problem behavior is observable, not discrete and countable, and does not produce a physical change in the environment
momentary time sampling
measurement procedure used if problem behavior is observable, discrete and countable, but cannot occur at any time
event recording (percentage of opportunity)
measurement procedure used if problem behavior is observable, discrete and countable, can occur at any time, but duration latency and intensity are not a primary concern or important secondary measure for designing treatment
event recording
this graph is used for communicating relevant quantitative relations over time; examining trend, level, variability
line graph
this graph displays unrelated discrete sets of data with a common dimension; group summative performance; separate data sets that aren’t related; comparing unrelated data sets
bar graph
this graph is used for adding up the total number of accumulated behaviors
cumulative record
this graph is used for examining patterns in the temporal distribution of behavior; identifies time periods where challenging behavior occurs
scatterplot (pattern analysis)
this graph is used for charting academic, social behaviors; self-monitoring; increasing fluency (accuracy + speed); precision teaching
standard celeration chart
*used for SAFMED fluency
degree to which data on the y-axis converge
level
mean level line is used when there is __________ variability. median level line is used when there are __________ in data.
mean is used for moderate variability
median is used when there are extreme outliers in data
overall direction taken by the data path on a line graph; ascending/ increasing, descending/decreasing, or stable/zero
trend
How do you calculate and draw a split-middle line of progress?
CDMMQS
count
divide
mid-rate
mid-date
quarterly
split-middle
refer to p161 PTB
degree to which data bounce around on a line graph (zig-zag)
variability
degree to which what was quantitatively measured (observed value) is representative of what actually occurred (true value)
accuracy
measuring the right behavior incorrectly is a threat to __________
accuracy
__________ and __________ measures tell us that errors occurred, while ___________ helps identify those errors, enabling us to fix them
reliability and IOA measures tell us that errors occured, while accuracy helps identify those errors
refers to the recommended , requested, and/or approved number of ABA hours that will be provided, usually on a weekly basis
dosage
assessment results, severity of behavior excesses and skill deficits, clients age and other obligations, duration of training required to meet goals are all considerations for __________
dosage
any circumstance of a person’s situation or environment that discourages the development of skills, independence, social competence, or adaptive behavior
environmental constraint
- poorly scheduled measurement periods (e.g. recording a behavior during non-meal times but the behavior occurs during meal times)
- limiting measurement scales (imposing an aritificial floor or ceiling on behavior)
- time-sampling and interval recording (discontinuous measurement systems)
these are all causes of __________.
measurement artifacts
when observers collecting data have a shift in how they interpret the operational definition of the target behavior
observer drift
