Section A: Philosophical Underpinnings Flashcards
What are the goals of behavior analysis as a science?
Description, prediction, and control
What is description?
Through systematic observation, phenomena are quantified, classified, and examined for possible relations to known facts
What is prediction?
Repeated observations leads to correlations (or lack thereof) which can be used to predict the probability of one event in the presence or absence of another
What is control?
To set up an environment to intentionally “cause” an event to occur based on observations and predictions
Describe a functional relation.
A specific change in one event (dependent variable) is produced by specific manipulations of another event (independent variable) and those changes cannot likely be attributed to any other factor (confounding variable)
List the philosophical assumptions underlying behavior analysis as a science
Determinism, empiricism, experimentation, replication, parsimony, philosophical doubt, selectionism
What are the additional philosophical assumptions?
Thoroughness, curiosity, perseverance, diligence, ethics, and honesty
Describe determinism
The universe is lawful and orderly. All things happen as a result of interactions between phenomena, rather than by accident, chance, or divine planning
Describe empiricism
The practice of objective observation and measurement of the phenomena of interest (validation and replication)
Describe replication
Repeating of experiments, It helps determine reliability and usefulness of findings
Describe parsimony
All simple explanations of a behavior be ruled out (by experimentation or conceptually) before more complex or abstract explanations are considered
Describe philosophical doubt
To continually question the truthfulness of what is considered a fact; healthy skepticism
Describe experimentation
Controlled comparisons of some phenomenon of interest under at least two different conditions
Explain functional analysis
A method for assessing the controlling variables for problem behavior; demonstration of functional relations between environmental variables and a behavior
Describe the difference between methodological behaviorism and radical behaviorism
Methodological behaviorism only supports the investigation of behaviors that are operationally defined by observable, objective measurement. Radical behaviorism includes private events (non-observable behaviors such as thoughts and feelings) behaviors that can be analyzed using the same tools as are used to analyze observable behavior.
Describe behaviorism
Philosophy of the science of behavior as an objective branch directly observing relationships between environmental stimuli and behavioral responses (began with John B. Watson)
Describe the experimental analysis of behavior
Scientific branch of studying behavior using basic research
Describe applied behavior analysis
The use of a technology to improve social significant behavior
Respondent behavior is:
reflexive behavior elicited by stimuli that immediately precede them (i.e. squinting when a bright light is turned on)
Operant behavior is:
behavior shaped by consequences (reinforcement or punishment) rather than by the preceding stimulus
Explain pragmatism
The truth value of a statement is a function of how well the statement promotes effective action; used to assign value to behavioral findings
What are Baer, Wolf, and Risley’s (1968) dimensions of behavior?
Generality, effective, technological, analytic, conceptually systematic, applied, and behavioral
Generality
A behavior lasts over time, occurs in other environments, and/or spreads to behaviors not directly included in the intervention
Effective
The application of behavioral techniques must improve the behavior under investigation
Technological
All procedures are identified and described with sufficient detail that another person has a fair chance of replicating the procedures with the same results
Applied
Behaviors must be socially significant and improve or enhance the person’s life
Conceptually systematic
Procedures for changing behavior and any interpretations of how those procedures are effective must be described in terms of the principles from which they were derived
Analytic
A functional relation has been established between manipulated events and a measurable change in the target behavior
Behavioral
The behavior in need of improvement, it must be measurable, changes must be to the subject’s behavior
Selectionism is:
The theory that all forms of life naturally and continually evolve as a result of the interaction between function and the survival value of that function; organism adapt their behaviors according to which functions allow them the best chances of survival
