Terminology

Question 1

A description of a response in terms of the antecedent (A), behavior (B), and consequence (C)
Antecedent: The stimulus that immediately comes before the behavior
Behavior: A description of the response in terms of its topography (what the behavior looks like)
Consequence: The immediate outcome of the behavior

Answer 1

A-B-C

Question 2

An acronym that is used to refer to the field of Applied Behavior Analysis, the application of the science of learning to socially significant human behavior

Answer 2

ABA

Question 3

Acronym for the Assessment of Basic Language and Learning Skills, a language assessment tool in common usage within Applied Behavior Analytic programs
- Created by James W. Partington and Mark L. Sundberg

Answer 3

ABLLS

Question 4

The time during which an individual is learning a new behavior
- Data collected on the rate (speed) and accuracy of the skill being acquired informs the interventionist working with an individual as to whether the teaching procedures being used need to be adjusted

Answer 4

Acquisition

Question 5

Includes many different behaviors involved in taking care of one’s self (eg; toilet usage, washing, dressing, eating, ect.)
- These behaviors are also referred to as self help skills

Answer 5

Activities of Daily Living (ADL)

Question 6

Individuals are taught to follow a series of written or pictorial cues to complete a task, engaging in the behavior chain represented

Answer 6

Activity Schedule

Question 7

A specific method of instruction where one attempts to teach a task by teaching the last step first and working through a task analysis in reverse
- Example: Putting together a new puzzle. The instructor would prompt the student to put in all of the pieces in the puzzles. They would fade the prompt o the last piece while continuing to prompt the student through the rest of the puzzle. Once the student puts the last piece in independently (no prompts), the instructor can begin to fade prompts on second to last piece

Answer 7

Backward Chaining

Question 8

The period of observation during which we gather data relevant to the behavior of interest before we initiate an intervention

Answer 8

Baseline

Question 9

This term refers to some action made by an individual
- It is the movement of a person in the environment
- See the dead man’s (or woman’s) test

Answer 9

Behavior

Question 10

Multiple steps linked together to make up a given behavior or activity
- Completion of one step leads to the next step until the entire task is completed

Answer 10

Behavior Chain

Question 11

A written description outlining how relevant individuals should respond in order to decrease inappropriate behavior and increase appropriate behavior

Answer 11

Behavior Treatment Plan

Question 12

The philosophy of the science of behavior
- It takes several forms, but always emphasizes that behavior is the proper subject matter of psychology and should be studied using an objective, scientific, and experimental methdology

Answer 12

Behaviorism

Question 13

This is a person who has satisfied all the requirements to acquire the “BCBA” and can therefore call him/herself a Board Certified Behavior Analyst
- Requirements include completing a prerequisite number of hours of Univrsity level course work in the science of behavior, completing a period of internship under the supervision of a Board Certified Behavior Analyst, and passing the required written examination
- To maintain certification once it is achieved, there are various continuing education requirements
- There are currently two levels of certification, the Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) and the Board Certified Associate Behavior Analyst (BCABA)
- The exact requirements and most current information regarding how to become or locate a Board Certified Behavior Analyst are available through the Behavior Analyst Certification Board website

Answer 13

Board Certified Behavior Analyst

Question 14

A description of the background of a particular individual, an educational program, or a behavior program usually used to assist in treatment decisions

Answer 14

Case Study

Question 15

A reinforcer that was previously neutral, but has become a reinforcer
- Money becomes this by being paired with the items it purchases
- Interventionists may become this for their student’s behavior, through being paired with other reinforcers (eg; praise, tokens, favored activities, ect.)

Answer 15

Conditioned Reinforcer

Question 16

The specific immediate result of a given behavior
- It may or may not alter how often the behavior occurs in the future

Answer 16

Consequence

Question 17

Quantitative information gathered to guide the decision making process

Answer 17

Data

Question 18

A set of rules based on relevant data that allow BCBAs to make decisions about when to change programs or methods

Answer 18

Data Based Decision Making

Question 19

A guiding principle in the definition of behavior
- It basically states that anything a dead person can do is not behavior

Answer 19

Dead Man’s (Person’s) Test

Question 20

To increase the potency of a reinforcer by not delivering it to the individual for a time
- For example, to make an edible particularly reinforcing, one might not deliver that edible directly following a meal when the child is full and food may not be a reinforcer
- If an individual has non restricted access to a particular reinforcer, it is unlikely to be particularly potent when offered as a reinforcer
- Contrast with satiation

Answer 20

Deprivation

Question 21

A form of teaching that is heavily based upon behavioral principles
- Students are taught in groups that are made up of students at roughly the same academic level, there is scripted and fast paced presentation of materials, students respond as a group as well as individually, and there is a very high degree of student - instructor interaction with error correction and positive reinforcement for correct responding
- There is an emphasis on very well designed and researched modules that students must master before moving on to the next level (see work by Engleman and Carnine)

Answer 21

Direct Instruction

Question 22

This uses the three term contingency (A-B-C) relationship to teach various skills
- Each “trial” is a separate attempt to teach a new behavior or reinforce a previously learned behavior

Answer 22

Discrete Trial Teaching

Question 23

The repeating of previously heard utterances

Answer 23

Echoic

Question 24

Food items that may be used as reinforcers
- One common myth surrounding ABA is that edibles are the predominant reinforcers used in all treatment procedures with children
- In actuality, when edibles are used, they are always paired with other more natural reinforcers such as verbal praise, attention, and tokens and are faded as the student acquires other reinforcers

Answer 24

Edible Reinforcers

Question 25

Set procedures that are used in the event that the learner responds incorrectly or is non responsive
- For example, in one error correction procedure, the SD is repeated, followed by a zero second prompt for the child to respond correctly and is followed by a transfer trial

Answer 25

Error Correction

Question 26

Prompting and prompt fading are utilizes to reduce and/or eliminate the likelihood of learner errors
- If possible, the student is prevented from making the incorrect response in the first place through careful prompting
- This increases the probability that the student will have more opportunities to make a correct response and receive reinforcement

Answer 26

Errorless Learning

Question 27

To cease reinforcing a previously reinforced behavior to decrease the behavior’s frequency

Answer 27

Extinction

Question 28

Refers to the tendency for behavior “to get worse before it gets better”
- When a previously reinforced behavior is no longer reinforced, the behavior will temporarily increase in frequency, magnitude, and variability

Answer 28

Extinction Burst