Unit 3 Terms

Question 1

Antcedent

Answer 1

A stimulus or event that precedes the target behavior

Question 2

Antecedent stimulus

Answer 2

The specific stimulus that precedes a behavior

Question 3

Applied behavior analysis

Answer 3

The science in which tactics derived from the principles of behavior are applied to improve socially significant behavior, and experimentation is used to identify the variables responsible for the improvement of behavior

Question 4

Behavioral deficit

Answer 4

A desirable target behavior that a person seeks to increase in frequency, duration, or intensity.

Question 5

Behavioral excess

Answer 5

An undesirable target behavior that a person seeks to decrease in frequency, duration, or intensity.

Question 6

Behaviorism

Answer 6

The philosophy of a science of behavior

Question 7

Conditional reflex

Answer 7

A learned stimulus-response functional relation consisting of an antecedent stimulus and the response it elicits

Question 8

Conditioned stimulus

Answer 8

A formerly neutral stimulus change that elicits respondent behavior only after it has been paired with an unconditioned stimulus.

Question 9

Consequence

Answer 9

A stimulus change that follows a behavior of interest

Question 10

Contingency

Answer 10

Refers to dependent and/or temporal relations between operant behavior and its controlling variables.

Question 11

Elicit

Answer 11

The manner in which a response is brought on during respondent conditioning

Question 12

Evoke

Answer 12

The manner in which a response is brought on during operant conditioning.

Question 13

Neutral stimulus

Answer 13

A neutral change that does not elicit respondent behavior

Question 14

Operant behavior

Answer 14

Behavior that acts on the environment to produce an immediate consequence and, in turn, is strengthened by that consequence.

Question 15

Operant conditioning

Answer 15

Occurs when a behavior in a particular situation is followed by a reinforcing consequence, thus making the behavior more likely to occur in similar circumstances in the future.

Question 16

Respondent behavior

Answer 16

Behavior that is elicited, or induced, by antecedent stimuli

Question 17

Respondent conditioning

Answer 17

A process in which a neutral stimulus is paired with an unconditioned stimulus, which elicits an unconditioned response

Question 18

Response

Answer 18

A single instance of an occurrence of specific class or type of behavior

Question 19

Response class

Answer 19

A group of responses of varying typography, all of which produce the same effect on the environment.

Question 20

Selection by consequences

Answer 20

The fundamental principle underlying operant conditioning. The basic tenet is that all forms of behavior, from simple to complex, are shaped, selected, and maintained by their consequences during an individual’s lifetime

Question 21

Stimulus

Answer 21

An environmental event that can be detected by one of the senses

Question 22

Stimulus class

Answer 22

A group of stimuli that all have the same functional effect on a particular behavior. For example, each stimulus in a stimulus class may function as a discriminative stimulus for a particular behavior.

Question 23

Stimulus-stimulus pairing

Answer 23

A procedure in which two stimuli are presented at the same time, usually repeatedly for a number of trials, which often results in one acquiring the function of the other stimulus.

Question 24

Three-term contingency

Answer 24

The antecedent that is present when the behavior occurs, the behavior, and the reinforcing consequence

Question 25

Unconditioned response

Answer 25

The response that is elicited by an unconditioned stimulus

Question 26

Unconditioned stimulus

Answer 26

The stimulus component of an unconditioned reflex; a stimulus change that elicits respondent behavior without any prior learning.