Study Notes ABA Principles, Stimulus Flashcards
What are the three levels of science?
Description, Prediction, Control
What is the highest level of scientific understanding?
Control
Pragmatism:
practical approach #promoter effective action #intervention
Selectionism:
: #selection by consequences
Determinism:
lawfulness #orderly #cause and effect
Empiricism:
facts #objective
Experimentation:
experimental analysis #manipulation
#functional relation
Replication:
repeatability #reliability #believability
Parsimony:
simplest theory #simplest explanation #KISS
Philosophic Doubt:
healthy skepticism #bullshit detector
________________________ is the simplest explanation of a behavior
whereas ______________________ is the simplest solution to a problem.
Parsimony, Pragmatism
T/F: Control is the highest level of
scientific understanding.
True
T/F: Experimentation states that the
world is an orderly & predictable
place.
False: correction is determinism
T/F: Empiricism is the practice of
objective observation.
True
T/F: Determinism states that everything
in the world happens for a reason
True
T/F: A functional relationship #control
happens when an experiment reveals
that a change in one event reliably
produced by specific manipulations
of another event.
True
This looks at just the facts, the observable behavior of interest
Empiricism
Ruling out the simplest explanations of behavior before considering more complex ones #SIMPLE
Parsimony
FunctionalRelation The Highest Level of Science
Control
Lawfulness The world is a lawful and orderly place, where all phenomena occur as a result of other events
Determinism
Correlation The second level of scientific understanding
Prediction
The basic strategy of how we manipulate variables
Experimentation
A collection of facts about the observed event, just describing what you see
Description
Reliability, The repeating of experiments to show that the independent variable is responsible for the change in the dependent variable
Replication
BullshitDetector Requires the scientist to always question the truthfulness of everything
Philosophic Doubt
Instead of arguing that the sky is blue because a little man hand-painted it, Janet argued that the sky is blue due to gasses that exist in the atmosphere.
Janet is demonstrating which of the following attitudes of science?
Parsimony
Megan goes out to the bar and takes data on the behavior that people engage in to present to social psychologists. What level of science is Megan engaging
in?
Description
Stacey has been experimenting with opening her palate. Lately, she has been determined to find sushi that she digests well and also enjoys the taste of. Stacey orders two different rolls, crunchy crab and spicy tuna. The tuna’s
consistency felt weird in her mouth and was very spicy so Stacey did not enjoy eating that one. The crunchy crab roll was delicious and digested well. Now Stacey regularly orders the crunchy crab roll when ordering sushi. Stacey’s choice was formed through which of the following processes?
Selectionism
Which attitude of science states that the world is a lawful and orderly place?
Determinism
Which attitude of science best matches the highest level of scientific understanding?
Experimentation
Jenny attends a conference where she learns ways to teach
children tacting. Although she is impressed with the initial results,
she maintains some skepticism about whether it is truly effective.
What attitude of science is she displaying?
Philosophical Doubt
John is talking to a parent whose child frequently engages in
tantrums. When John asks the parent what happens right before the behavior, the parent states, “it just came out of nowhere!”. What
attitude of science is being violated?
Determinism
A client’s parents state that their child hits them because he has
little self-control. After taking some data while observing, you state
that their child hits them because it has resulted in them escaping
the demand of cleaning their room. What attitude of science are you
demonstrating?
Parsimony
BF, a hard-core practitioner, relies only on facts to make decisions
regarding the outcomes of his experiments. He uses observation and detailed description of events. What attitude of science is BF
demonstrating?
Empiricism
Julie wants to know why her dog barks in the living room. She
manipulates dierent conditions in the living room to occur in order
to determine which condition causes her dog to bark. Which attitude of science is Julie demonstrating?
Experimentation
Kim has conducted an experiment to determine if her Skims
shapewear is indeed effective. She repeats the experiment over and
over and discovers some mistakes. Which attitude of science is Kim
demonstrating?
Replication
Which level of scientific understanding is the highest?
Control
Jen engages in a strange hobby, but she calls it science. She goes
out into the community and engages in objective observation and description of people while engaged in various social interactions.
Which level of scientific understanding does Jen engage in?
Description
John notices a correlation between his wife’s drinking and her
mood about the day, however, he does not have enough information
to state a cause. Which level of scientific understanding is he
demonstrating?
Prediction
Analytical:
functional relation #control #replication #experimentation
Conceptually systematic:
punishment #reinforcement #extinction
Technological:
idiot proof #recipe #detailed #precise
Applied:
sociallysignificant #meaningful
Generality:
generalization #behavior #setting #people #maingoal
Effective:
clinically significant #does it work #the change
Behavioral
clear #objective #complete #concise
What are the 4 Branches of Behavior Analysis?
*PEAR
-Practice Guided by Behavior analysis
-Experimental Analysis of Behavior (EAB)
-Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA)
-Radical behaviorism
What are the 2 primary types of behavior?
Operant and Respondent
T/F: Watson is associated with operant
behavior.
False - Correction: Skinner
T/F: All procedures should be described
in detail so that others can replicate
the procedures. This describes the
conceptually systematic dimension.
False - Correction: Technological
T/F: In order to be effective, an ABA
study must produce behavior
changes that are both clinically and
socially significant.
True
Skinner is the founder of
Experimental Analysis of Behavior.
True
T/F: Adaptation occurs when elicited
stimuli are presented repeatedly over short periods of time and the strength of respondent behavior diminishes
False - Correction: Habituation
___________________ research uses conveniently available behaviors (e.g. leverpressing) and ____________________ research focuses on socially significant
behavior.
Basic, Applied
____________________ behavior is connected to Watson and ________________
behavior is connected to Skinner
Respondent, Operant
_______________________________ occurs when the eliciting stimulus is
presented repeatedly over a short period of time and the strength of the
respondent behavior decreases.
Habituation
Observable
Behavioral
SociallySignificantBx, dimension of aba
Applied
DoesItWork, dimension of ABA
Effective
FunctionalRelation #Control
Analytic
OperationallyDefine #steps to follow
Technological
AcrossBehavior #AcrossSubjects #AcrossSettings
Generality
TieBackToBasicPrinciples, dimension of ABA
Conceptually Systematic
Which of the following is not a dimension of ABA according to Baer, Wolfe, and Risley? a. effectiveness c. applied
b. follow-through d. generality
b. follow-through
Trisha gets low grades in her psychology class due to her lack of
studying. Trisha’s lack of studying can be described as:
behavioral deficit
Sarah in a fit of anger flips her middle finger to the driver next to her at a red light for driving dangerously. Sarah flipping her middle finger is an example of:
Overt behavior
When Lily goes for her annual check-up with her doctor, they perform silly tests to make sure that her reflexes are responsive. Lily’s reflexes are which type of behavior?
respondent behavior
Behavior that aligns with the S-R-S model of behavior best
demonstrates which type of behavior?
operant behavior
Casey writes an intervention plan for a client. She defines the procedure so clearly and in detail that it could be replicated by a trained reader. What dimension of ABA is being shown?
Technological
When Jane is asked to come up with an intervention plan to help a child learn to wait, she uses basic principles of behavior analysis. Which dimension of ABA is Jane applying?
Conceptually Systematic
When Jamie works with her client, she makes sure that her client can perform the same task at school, home, and in social settings. Which dimension of ABA is Jamie displaying?
Generality
Charles has implemented an intervention and data shows that his client’s behavior has improved in a practical manner- his client can now finish his morning routine on his own. Which dimension of ABA is Charles displaying?
Effective
Cassandra develops a behavior plan and her data indicates that there is a functional relation between her intervention and the number of independent requests her client now makes. What dimension of ABA is this demonstrating?
Analytical
Madison develops an intervention and her client, Alexander, can now
approach peers at school as well as his parents in a way that makes them act more positively towards Alexander. Which dimension of ABA is being demonstrated?
Applied
When Mason is brought in to do a FBA, he looks only at observable behavior and chooses the behavior that is in need of improvement. Which dimension of ABA is Mason displaying?
Behavioral
Respondent behavior is
unlearned
Operant Behavior is
learned
Operant behavior is any behavior whose ________________ frequency is
determined primarily by it’s history of _________________.
Future, Consequences
Respondent conditioning is associated with ___________________
Pavlov
Operant conditioning is associated with who? _______________________
Skinner
Respondent conditioning is ______________-_________________ pairing.
Stimulus-Response
Operant conditioning is ______________-__________________-________________
pairing.
Stimulus-Response-Stimulus
Reinforcement has occurred if a behavior is followed closely in time by a
_________________ event and as a result the ________________ frequency of that
behavior increases.
Consequence, Future
Extinction can only occur when ______________ is withheld.
Reinforcement
Create a Conditioned Aversive Stimuli
Make alcohol a conditioned aversive stimulus.
● ____________________ ⇨________________
● ________________ + _________________⇨ _______________
● ⤹________________⇨__________________
Nausea-vomiting
Alcohol+nausea-vomiting
Alcohol-vomiting
Create a Conditioned Reinforcer
Make a wink a reinforcing stimulus.
● ____________________ ⇨________________
● ________________ + _________________⇨ _______________
● ⤹________________⇨__________________
Food-satiated
Wink+food-satiated
Wink-satiated
Create a Fear/Phobia
Make a stimulus of your choice a conditioned phobia.
● ____________________ ⇨________________
● ________________ + _________________⇨ _______________
● ⤹________________⇨__________________
Bite-pain
Dog+bite-pain
Dog-pain
Counterconditioning or Reconditioning of Phobias
Take your established phobia and place it on respondent extinction or
recondition it with a new stimulus.
● ____________________ ⇨________________
● ________________ + _________________⇨ _______________
● ⤹________________⇨__________________
Dog-Pain
Deep breathing+Dog-No pain
Deep breathing-No pain
T/F: Skinner is the father of radical
behaviorism
True
T/F: Reinforcement and punishment
affect current frequency of behavior.
False, Correct: Future
T/F: Radical behaviorism acknowledges private events and their effect on the
individual.
True
T/F: Methodological behaviorism
acknowledges private events but does not consider them in the analysis of
behavior.
True
T/F: Private events are thoughts and
feelings that take place within the
skin.
True
T/F: The 3 principles of behavior are
reinforcement, extinction, and
intermittent reinforcement.
False, Correction: Reinforcement, Extinction, Punishment
Positive Reinforcer
Conditioned
● ______________________
● ______________________
Unconditioned
● ______________________
● ______________________
Positive Reinforcers
a. Conditioned
i. IG likes (hearts)
ii. High Five
b. Unconditioned
i. Water
ii. Food
Negative Reinforcer
Conditioned
● ______________________
● ______________________
Unconditioned
● ______________________
● ______________________
Negative Reinforcers
a. Conditioned
i. Retail Sale
ii. Taking a Xanax
b. Unconditioned
i. Putting on coat/sweater when cold
ii. Drinking water to remove headache
Positive Punisher
Conditioned
● ______________________
● ______________________
Unconditioned
● ______________________
● ______________________
Positive Punishers
a. Conditioned
i. “F” on an assignment
ii. frown/scowl
b. Unconditioned
i. Burn from flat iron
ii. Slap in your face
Negative Punisher
Conditioned
● ______________________
● ______________________
Unconditioned
● ______________________
● ______________________
Negative Punishers
a. Conditioned
i. Friend Unfollows
ii. fines/fees/bills
b. Unconditioned
i. Take away food
ii. Taking away a coat when it’s cold
The most important principle of behavior and a key element of most behavior change programs.
Reinforcement
Reinforcement is withheld for all members of a previously reinforced response class
Extinction
Acknowledge the existence of mental events but do not consider them in the analysis of behavior
Methodological Behaviorism
Has to do with our learning history and the effects of consequences on our behavior
Operant Conditioning
When a behavior is followed by a stimulus change that decreases the future frequency of that behavior in similar conditions
Punishment
This type of learning is associated with Ian Pavlov and uses a stimulus-stimulus pairing procedure
Respondent Conditioning
This occurs when a stimulus that has been conditioned #learned is presented over and over without the unconditioned stimulus and in turn the response is weakened
Respondent extinction
Cognitive process and free will are examples of this topic
Hypothetical constructs
When a behavior is followed immediately by the presentation of a stimulus and as a result occurs more frequently in the future
Positive Reinforcement
If a behavior is followed by a consequence that increases the
likelihood that that behavior will occur again, ______________ has taken
place.
Reinforcement
Which of the following processes strengthen behavior?
a. negative punishment c. positive punishment
b. positive reinforcement d. contingency
Positive Reinforcement
Losing money is most likely an example of….
Conditioned punisher
Extinction is least effective when…
reinforcement occurs after extinction
When behavior occurs and aversive stimuli are no longer removed,
extinction of __________ occurs.
negatively reinforced behavior
Leah goes into the grocery store and throws a tantrum in the candy aisle. Her parents give her the candy and she stops her tantrum. In the future, every time Leah goes into the candy aisle she throws a tantrum. What principle of behavior is maintaining the tantrum behavior? Is it positive or
negative?
Positive Reinforcement, Positive
Oscar drives his roommate Felix crazy because he keeps the apartment sloppy. Felix nags Oscar until Oscar begins cleaning. Oscar only starts to clean to stop Felix from nagging. In the future, Oscar begins cleaning the apartment more frequently to avoid Felix nagging him. What principle of
behavior is maintaining Oscar’s cleaning? Is it positive or negative?
Negative Reinforcement, Negative
Jennifer snuck out of her house and came home late. As a result, her
parents took her phone away for a week. Jennifer no longer sneaks out of the house in the future. What principle of behavior is being demonstrated?
Is it positive or negative?
Negative punishment, Negative
Suzanne speeds down the road frequently. One day a police officer pulls her over for speeding and gives her a $500 ticket. In the future, Suzanne no longer speeds down that portion of the freeway. What principle of
behavior is being demonstrated. Is it positive or negative?
Positive Punishment, Positive
Cameron’s parents discover that after he got over his cold, that he
continued to cough because they always respond and give him attention. After confirming that he was only coughing for attention, his parents agreed to both ignore it. As a result, Cameron’s cough has stopped. What are her parents implementing?
Extinction
A stimulus class is a group of stimuli that share a common set of elements
in either a ____________ dimension, _______________ dimension or a
___________________ dimension.
Formal, Temporal, Functional
Behavior is the ___________________ of living organisms.
Activity
A response is a ___________________ instance of behavior.
Single
If a ____________________________ can do something it is NOT a behavior.
Dead Man
When you define a behavior it must be ______________, ______________________,
and ______________________.
Clear, Objective, Complete
A response class is a group of responses with the same _______________.
Function
A repertoire is all the _____________________ that a person can do.
Behaviors
All behaviors occur within an _____________________ context.
Enviornmental
T/F: A response class can have multiple responses that look topographically
different.
True
T/F: A response refers to all the
behaviors a person can do.
False, Correction: Repertoire
T/F: Behavior is what we say and do in
our everyday lives.
True
T/F: Behavior can be emitted in a black hole.
False, Correction: Can Not
T/F: The three types of stimulus classes are formal, temporal, and functional.
True
A stimulus class is a group of stimuli that have a common effect on behavior.
True
Formal Stimulus Class Examples:
Pizza, CDs, Bagels
Temporal Stimulus Class Examples:
Sleeping, Snooze Alarm, Put on slippers, brush teeth
Functional Stimulus Class Examples
Phone call, video call, write a letter, email, google doc
Response Class examples for Function of Escape from People
Stomach hurts, migraine, plan a phone call (emergency)
Response Class for Function of opening a locked door
Chop down door with an axe, phone a friend who has a spare key, grab the spare key under rock, kick it in
Stimuli that evoke the same
response, but do not share
common features
Arbitrary stimulus
This stimulus class talks about
stimuli based on their physical
features
Formal Stimulus Class
The activity of living organisms
Behavior
This stimulus class talks about
stimuli based on when they occur
in time
Temporal Stimulus Class
Stimuli that share common
physical forms #whatItLooksLike
Feature Stimulus Class
A group of responses that serve
the same function
Response Class
When there is a change in energy
and it affects the human or
organism in some way
Stimulus
This stimulus class talks about
stimuli based on their effects on
behavior
Functional Stimulus class
A group of behaviors that all have the same function but might look
different are referred to as…
arbitrary stimulus class
Everything that a person knows how to do is best defined as their….
Repertoire
John doesn’t know how to post on TikTok but would like to learn. He has downloaded the app but doesn’t know how to navigate, post, or edit his videos. John’s TikTok ability is best described as….
Skill Deficit
Monica is working in her cubicle at work and shivers when the AC unit
cranks on. She grabs her “work sweater” from the back of her chair and throws it on. The AC unit kicking on is best described as?
Stimulus
Janet’s son Tom is a really good singer. Lately, he pretends that he can’t sing because it makes him look dorky. Although Janet thinks he can have a legitimate run on American Idol, he still pretends he can’t sing when
requested. Tom’s lack of singing is best described as?
Performance Deficit
Tricia is looking at a client’s surroundings. Tricia checks out the people, places, and other elements
of her client’s surroundings. Tricia is looking at
the _____________ of her client.
Environment
Stephen is looking at what his client is doing. He observes that his client is sitting at times, standing at others, and raising his hand when the teacher asks questions. Stephen is observing the ____________ of his client.
Behavior
Donna is teaching her client to point out the whiskers of a cat, dog and lion. This is called a _________________ _________________ ____________.
Feature stimulus class
Omar kicks, screams and hits to gain access to his favorite toys. This is called a ____________ ________________.
Response Class
Jenny feels the warm light of the sun on her face. She then decides to put on her sunglasses. The light of the sun is considered a _________________.
Stimulus
A runner steps up to the line, takes his mark and waits for the gun to go off before he starts running. All of these stimuli occur prior to his run. This
is an example of a __________ ____________ _________.
Temporal Stimulus Class
Anthony is teaching his client Tobias to respond “fruit” to different edible items including bananas, apples, pears, and grapes. Anthony is teaching Tobias about what type of stimulus class?
Arbitrary
Adele is gathering information about all of the behavior her client can engage in. She learns that her client is able to clap her hands, ask for milk, eat with a spoon among many other things. Adele is learning about her
client’s ______________.
Repertoire
A treadmill, a game of tag and being late causes most people to start running. These stimuli are considered what type of stimulus class?
Functional Stimulus Class
Operant Behavior has ___________________
Consequences
Reinforcement increases the __________________ frequency of behavior
Future
Reinforcement is the fundamental building block for the selection of
_______________ behavior
Operant
Positive Reinforcement has occurred when a response is followed
immediately by the _____________ of a stimulus and as a result similar
responses occur more _________________ in the future.
Presentation, Frequently
The stimulus that is presented as a consequence and is responsible for
the subsequent increase in responding is called a ______________
______________
Positive Reinforcer
The importance of the ____________ of reinforcement is essential
Immediacy
You reinforce the ______________, not the person.
Behavior
Reinforcement depends on ________________.
Motivation
Automatic reinforcement occurs independent of _______________ mediation
by others.
Social
Negative reinforcement contingency is one in which the occurrence of a
response produces the ______________, termination, reduction, or postponement of a stimulus, which leads to an ____________________ in future
occurrence of that response.
Removal, Increase
Positive Reinforcer Examples
- Edibles
- Activity
- Tangible
- Social
- Sensory
Positive Punishment Examples
Positive Punishers
1. Reprimand
2. Overcorrection
3. Shock
4. Exercise
5. Response blocking
2 Types of negative reinforcement
- Escape
- Avoidance
2 types of negative punishment
- Response cost
- Time-out
2 types of response cost
- Bonus
- Direct Fines
2 types of time-out
- Non-exclusionary
- Exclusionary
T/F: A secondary reinforcer is sometimes
called an unconditioned reinforcer.
False, Correction: Primary
T/F: A few examples of unconditioned
reinforcers are water, food, and sleep
True
T/F: Negative Punishment is the removal of a stimulus that decreases the
future frequency of similar behaviors, it is important that the removal of the stimulus be immediately after the
behavior.
True
T/F: Behavioral contrast can be an
unwanted effect of reinforcement and punishment.
True
T/F: Escape is when a response you
engage in postpones or prevents the presentation of something occurring.
False, Correction: Stop an aversive situation from occuring
Lucy wants to use reinforcers to toilet train her son. An unwanted
effect of reinforcement that should be considered is…
effects can be temporary
Brett wants to use punishment with his dog’s jumping behavior. When
choosing a punisher you should consider…
a. the highest magnitude
b. the least intensity
Which of the following can be used to decrease behavior?
a. positive punishment c. extinction
b. negative punishment d. all of the above
All of the above
Which type of timeout procedure should be first considered when
using negative punishment?
non-exclusionary
When considering a scenario and you have determined that
someone helped out, the reinforcer or punisher is….
socially mediated
Jocelyn is late for work frequently. Her boss waited in the lobby of the clinic for her to arrive one morning and gave her a verbal reprimand in front of her peers. In the future Jocelyn is no longer late to work. Is this reinforcement or punishment? Is it automatic or social?
Punishment, positive, social
Gabriel was told to put sunscreen on in order to avoid sunburn by his mother. In the future he continues to put on sunscreen. Is this reinforcement or punishment? Is it positive or negative? Is it automatic or social?
Reinforcement, negative, auto
A child in the classroom starts to scream loudly. The teacher puts the child in timeout. In the future, the child decreases the amount of screaming he does in the classroom. Is this an example of reinforcement or punishment? Is it positive or negative? Is it automatic or social?
Punishment, negative, social
A teacher has implemented a program at school. For every student who remains in their seat during work, they are granted an extra 10 minutes at recess. In the future, in seat behavior increases. Is this an example of reinforcement or punishment? Is it positive or negative? Is it automatic or
social?
Reinforcement, positive, social
Joey’s mom is actively yelling at him. He runs away to another room to no longer hear her. Joey has engaged in _____________.
Escape
Tom passes his room and sees his mom is snooping around in there. He knows if he goes in it might lead to his mom yelling at him. Tom walks away from the room and goes downstairs instead. Tom has engaged in __________.
Avoidance
Mrs. Hendrix uses a token system for all of her students in the classroom. If they engage in on task behavior they are rewarded with a token. However, if they talk out of turn or get out of their seat one token is taken away. This is an
example of ____________.
Response Cost
Tokens are considered what type of reinforcer?
Secondary or conditioned: generalized conditioned reinforcer
Mrs. Jones takes Billy outside of the room for a timeout when he engages in throwing behavior. What kind of timeout is Mrs. Jones using?
Exclusionary
