Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA)
The science in which tactics derived from the principles of behavior are applied to improve socially significant behavior
... [Show More] and experimentation is used to identify the variables responsible for the improvement in behavior.
Identify the goals of behavior analysis as a science.
3 Levels of Scientific Understanding: Description, Prediction, and Control
Description
Facts that are derived from systematically observed events.
Prediction
When repeated observations show that there is a consistent relationship between the occurrence of 2 events.
Control
An experimental demonstration that manipulating 1 event (IV) results in a change in another event (DV) and this change can only be attributable to the independent variable.
Explain the Philosophical Assumptions underlying the science of behavior analysis.
(DEPPS-PER) Determinism Empiricism Pragmatism Parsimony Selectionism Philosophical Doubt Experimentation Replication
Determinism
The assumption that the universe is a lawful and orderly place in which phenomena occur in relation to other events and not in a willy-nilly, accidental fashion.
Empiricism
The act of objective observation and measurement.
Parsimony
The practice of ruling out simple, logical explanations, experimentally or conceptually, before considering more complex or abstract explanations.
Pragmatism
A practical approach to problems in which truth is found in the process of verification.
Selectionism
A 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. Operant selection by consequences is the conceptual and empirical foundation of behavior analysis.
Describe and explain behavior from the perspective of radical behaviorism.
Radical behaviorism is a types of behaviorism that seeks to understand all forms of behavior, including private events such as thoughts and feelings, in terms of controlling variables in the history of the person (ontogeny) and the species (phylogeny)
Ontogeny
The history of development of an individual organism during its lifetime.
Phylogeny
The history of the natural evolution of a species.
Distinguish among behaviorism, the experimental analysis of behavior, applied behavior analysis, and professional practice guided by the science of behavior analysis.
(BEAP) Behaviorism Experimental Analysis of Behavior Applied Behavior Analysis Professional Practice Guided by the Science of ABA
Behaviorism
The philosophy of a science of behavior; there are various forms of behaviorism (methodological behaviorism and radical behaviorism)
Experimental Analysis of Behavior (EAB)
a natural science approach to the study of behavior as a subject matter in its own right founded by B.F.Skinner; methodological features include rate of response as a basic dependent vairable, repeated or continuous measurement of clearly defined response classes, within-subject experimental comparisons instead of group design, visual analysis of graphed data instead of statistical inference, and an emphasis on describing functional relations between behavior and controlling variables in the environment over formal theory testing
Applied Behavior Analysis-Domain
Technology for improving socially significant behavior, focuses on humans, applied research, aligns with 7 dimensions of ABA
Professional Practice Guided by the Science of Behavior Analysis
Implementation of direct services or ABA procedures within their professions; natural environment; socially valid methods/results; results focus on current behavior or setting and remediating symptoms
Describe and define the dimensions of applied behavior analysis (Baer, Wolfe, Risley, 1968).
(GETACAB) Generality
Effective
Technological
Applied
Conceptually Systematic
Analytic
Behavioral
Generality
Any behavior change that persists across time, across settings, and across people
Effective
ABA technologies should improve behavior enough that it makes socially significant differences in a person's life.
Technological
Clear and concise procedures so that they are replicable
Applied
Improves socially significant behaviors in real-world settings
Conceptually Systematic
All ABA procedures should be derived from the basic principles of behavior analysis (reinforcement, punishment, and extinction)
Analytic
A functional relationship is demonstrated when manipulated events produce a reliable change in any measurable dimension of the targeted behavior and an experimenter can control the occurrence and non-occurrence of the target behavior [Show Less]