Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) Solution Guide; Updated 2021/2022
ABA Cooper Book (Glossary)
ABA Cooper Book (Glossary)
Applied Behaviour Analysis
... [Show More] (ABA) Solution Guide; Updated
2021/2022
A-B design
2-phase design: 1. Pre-treatment baseline (A); 2. treatment condition (B).
A-B-A design
3-phase design: Pre-treatment baseline (A); 2. treatment condition (B); 3. return to
baseline conditions (A). Each phase should reach "steadystate" responding before
the introduction of the next phase.
A-B-A-B design
4-phase design: Pre-treatment baseline (A); 2. treatment condition (B); 3. return to
baseline (A). and (4) a second intervention phase (B). Each phase should reach
"steadystate" responding before the introduction of the next phase. (Also called
reversal design, withdrawal design)
abative effect (of a motivating operation)
A decrease in the current frequency of behavior that has been reinforced by the
stimulus that is increased in reinforcing effectiveness by the same motivating
operation. For example, food ingestion abates (decreases the current frequency of)
behavior that has been reinforced by food.
ABC recording
A form of direct, continuous observation in which the observer records a
descriptive, temporally sequenced account of all behavior(s) of interest and the
antecedent conditions and consequences for those behaviors as those events occur
in the client's natural environment (also called anecdotal observation).
abolishing operation (AO)
A motivating operation that decreases the reinforcing effectiveness of a stimulus,
object, or event. For example, the reinforcing effectiveness of food is abolished as
a result of food ingestion.
accuracy (of measurement)
The extent to which observed values, the data produced by measuring an event,
match the true state, or true values, of the event as it exists in nature.
adjunctive behavior
Behavior that occurs as a collateral effect of a schedule of periodic reinforcement
for other behavior; time-filling or interim activities (e.g., doodling, idle talking,
smoking, drinking) that are induced by schedules of reinforcement during times
when reinforcement is unlikely to be delivered. Also called schedule-induced
behavior.
affirmation of the consequent
A three-step form of reasoning that begins with a true antecedent-consequent (if-Athen-B) statement and proceeds as follows: (1) If A is true,then B is true; (2) B is
found to be true; (3) therefore, A is true. Although other factors could be
responsible for the truthfulness of A, a sound experiment affirms several if-A-thenB possibilities, each one reducing the likelihood of factors other than the
independent variable being responsible for the observed changes in behavior.
alternating treatments design
An experimental design in which two or more conditions (one of which may be a
nontreatment control condition) are presented in rapidly alternating succession
(e.g., on alternating sessions or days) independent of the level of responding;
differences in responding between or among conditions are attributed to the effects
of the conditions (also called concurrent schedule design, multielement design,
multiple schedule design).
alternative schedule
Provides reinforcement whenever the requirement of either a ratio schedule or an
interval schedule—the basic schedules that makeup the alternative schedule—is
met, regardless of which of the component schedule's requirements is met first.
anecdotal observation
A form of direct, continuous observation in which the observer records a
descriptive, temporally sequenced account of all behavior(s) of interest and the
antecedent conditions and consequences for those behaviors as those events occur
in the client's natural environment (also called ABC recording).
antecedent
An environmental condition or stimulus change
existing or occurring prior to a behavior of interest.
antecedent intervention
A behavior change strategy that manipulates contingency-independent antecedent
stimuli (motivating operations).
antecedent control
A behavior change intervention that manipulates contingency-dependent
consequence events to affect stimulus control.
antecedent stimulus class
A set of stimuli that share a common relationship. All stimuli in an antecedent
stimulus class evoke the same operant behavior, or elicit the same respondent
behavior.
applied behavior analysis (ABA)
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 in behavior.
arbitrary stimulus class
Antecedent stimuli that evoke the same response but do not resemble each other in
physical form or share a relational aspect such as bigger or under (e.g., peanuts,
cheese, coconut milk, and chicken breasts are a member of an arbitrary stimulus
class if they evoke the response "sources of protein"). (Compare to feature stimulus
class).
artifact
An outcome or result that appears to exist because of the way it is measured but in
fact does not correspond to what actually occurred.
ascending baseline
A data path that shows an increasing trend in the response measure over time.
(Compare with descending baseline.)
audience
Anyone who functions as a discriminative stimulus evoking verbal behavior.
Different audiences may control different verbal behavior about the same topic
because of a differential reinforcement history. Teens may describe
the same event in different ways when talking to peers versus parents.
autoclitic
A secondary verbal operant in which some aspect of a speaker's own verbal
behavior functions as an SD or an MO for additional speaker verbal behavior. The
autoclitic relation can be thought of as verbal behavior about verbal behavior.
automatic punishment
Punishment that occurs independent of the social mediation by others (i.e., a
response product serves as a punisher independent of the social environment).
automatic reinforcement
Reinforcement that occurs independent of the social mediation of others (e.g.,
scratching an insect bite relieves the itch).
automaticity of reinforcement
Refers to the fact that behavior is modified by its consequences irrespective of the
person's awareness; a person does not have to recognize or verbalize the relation
between her behavior and a reinforcing consequence, or even know that a
consequence has occurred, for reinforcement to "work." (Contrast with automatic
reinforcement.)
aversive stimulus
In general, an unpleasant or noxious stimulus; more technically, a stimulus change
or condition that functions (a) to evoke a behavior that has terminated it in the past;
(b) as a punisher when presented following behavior, and/or (c) as a reinforcer
when withdrawn following behavior.
avoidance contingency
A contingency in which a response prevents or postpones the presentation of a
stimulus. (Compare with escape contingency.)
B-A-B design
A three-phase experimental design that begins with the treatment condition. After
steady state responding has been obtained during the initial treatment phase (B),
the treatment variable is withdrawn (A) to see whether responding changes in the
absence of the independent variable. The treatment variable is then reintroduced
(B) in an attempt to recapture the level of responding obtained during the first
treatment phase.
backup reinforcers
Tangible objects, activities, or privileges that serve as reinforcers and that can be
purchased with tokens.
backward chaining
A teaching procedure in which a trainer completes all but the last behavior in a
chain, which is performed by the learner, who then receives reinforcement for
completing the chain. When the learner shows competence in performing the final
step in the chain, the trainer performs all but the last two behaviors in the chain, the
learner emits the final two steps to complete the chain, and reinforcement is
delivered. This sequence is continued until the learner completes the entire chain
independently.
backward chaining with leaps ahead
A backward chaining procedure in which some steps in the task analysis are
skipped; used to increase the efficiency of teaching long behavior chains when
there is evidence that the skipped steps are in the learner's repertoire.
bar graph
A simple and versatile graphic format for summarizing behavioral data; shares
most of the line graph's features except that it does not have distinct data points
representing successive response measures through time. (Also called a histogram.)
baseline
A condition of an experiment in which the independent variable is not present; data
obtained during baseline are the basis for determining the effects of the
independent variable; a control condition that does not necessarily mean the
absence of instruction or treatment, only the absence of a specific independent
variable of experimental interest.
baseline logic
A term sometimes used to refer to the experimental reasoning inherent in singlesubject experimental designs; entails three elements: prediction, verification, and
replication.
behavior
The activity of living organisms; human behavior includes everything that people
do. A technical definition: "that portion of an organism's interaction with its
environment that is characterized by detectable displacement in space through time
of some part of the organism and that results in a measurable change in at least one
aspect of the environment" (Johnston & Pennypacker, 1993a, p. 23).
behavior-altering effect (of a motivating operation)
An alteration in the current frequency of behavior that has been reinforced by the
stimulus that is altered in effectiveness by the same motivating operation. For
example, the frequency of behavior that has been reinforced with food is increased
or decreased by food deprivation or food ingestion.
behavior chain
A sequence of responses in which each response produces a stimulus change that
functions as conditioned reinforcement for that response and as a discriminative
stimulus for the next response in the chain; reinforcement for the last response in a
chain maintains the reinforcing effectiveness of the stimulus changes produced by
all previous responses in the chain.
behavior chain interruption strategy
An intervention that relies on the participant's skill in performing the critical
elements of a chain independently; the chain is interrupted occasionally so that
another behavior can be emitted.
behavior chain with a limited hold
A contingency that specifies a time interval by which a behavior chain must be
completed for reinforcement to be delivered.
behavior change tactic
A technologically consistent method for changing behavior derived from one or
more principles of behavior (e.g., differential reinforcement of other behavior,
response cost); possesses sufficient generality across subjects, settings, and/or
behaviors to warrant its codification and dissemination.
behavior checklist
A checklist that provides descriptions of specific skills (usually in hierarchical
order) and the conditions under which each skill should be observed. Some
checklists are designed to assess one particular behavior or skill area. Others
address multiple behaviors or skill areas. Most use a Likert scale to rate responses.
behavior trap
An interrelated community of contingencies of reinforcement that can be
especially powerful, producing substantial and long-lasting behavior changes.
Effective behavior traps share four essential features: (a) They are "baited" with
virtually irresistible reinforcers that "lure" the student to the trap; (b) only a low
effort response already in the student's repertoire is necessary to enter the trap; (c)
once inside the trap, interrelated contingencies of reinforcement motivate the
student to acquire, extend, and maintain targeted academic and/or social skills; and
(d) they can remain effective for a long time because students shows few, if any,
satiation effects.
behavioral assessment
A form of assessment that involves a full range of inquiry methods (observation,
interview, testing, and the systematic manipulation of antecedent or consequence
variables) to identify probable antecedent and consequent controlling variables.
Behavioral assessment is designed to discover resources, assets, significant others,
competing contingencies, maintenance and generality factors, and possible
reinforcer and/or punishers that surround the potential target behavior.
behavioral contract
A mutually agreed upon document between parties (e.g., parent and child) that
specifies a contingent relationship between the completion of specified behavior(s)
and access to specified reinforcer(s). (Also called contingency contract)
behavioral contrast
The phenomenon in which a change in one component of a multiple schedule that
increases or decreases the rate of responding on that component is accompanied by
a change in the response rate in the opposite direction on the other, unaltered
component of the schedule.
behavioral cusp
A behavior that has sudden and dramatic consequences that extend well beyond the
idiosyncratic change itself because it exposes the person to new environments,
reinforcers, contingencies, responses, and stimulus controls.
behavioral momentum
A metaphor to describe a rate of responding and its resistance to change following
an alteration in reinforcement conditions. The momentum metaphor has also been
used to describe the effects produced by the high-probability (high-p) request
sequence.
behaviorism
The philosophy of a science of behavior; there are various forms of behaviorism.
believability
The extent to which the researcher convinces herself and others that the data are
trustworthy and deserve interpretation. Measures of interobserver agreement (IOA)
are the most often used index of believability in applied behavior analysis.
bonus response cost
A procedure for implementing response cost in which the person is provided a
reservoir of reinforcers that are removed in predetermined amounts contingent on
the occurrence of the target behavior.
calibration
Any procedure used to evaluate the accuracy of a measurement system and, when
sources of error are found, to use that information to correct or improve the
measurement system.
celeration
The change (acceleration or deceleration) in rate of responding over time; based on
count per unit of time (rate); expressed as a factor by which responding is
accelerating or decelerating (multiplying or dividing); displayed with a trend line
on a Standard Celeration Chart. Celeration is a generic term without specific
reference to
accelerating or decelerating rates of response.
celeration time period
A unit of time (e.g., per week, per month) in which celeration is plotted on a
Standard Celeration Chart.
celeration trend line
The celeration trend line is measured as a factor by which rate multiplies or divides
across the celeration time periods (e.g., rate per week, rate per month, rate per year,
and rate per decade).
chained schedule
A schedule of reinforcement in which the response requirements of two or more
basic schedules must be met in a specific sequence before reinforcement is
delivered; a discriminative stimulus is correlated with each component of the
schedule.
chaining
Various procedures for teaching behavior chains.
changing criterion design
An experimental design in which an initial baseline phase is followed by a series of
treatment phases consisting of successive and gradually changing criteria for
reinforcement or punishment. Experimental control is evidenced by the extent the
level of responding changes to conform to each new criterion.
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