Behavioral Concepts Units #1-3

applied

an aspect of ABA that signals commitment to effecting improvements in behaviors that enhance and improve people's lives

analytic

criterion that that experimenter must demonstrate a functional relation between the manipulated events snd a reliable change in some measurable dimension of the targeted behavior

behavior

that portion of an organism's interaction with its environment that involves observable, measurable movement of effectors of the organism

behavioral

criterion in ABA that requires behaviors targeted to be socially significant, measurable, and reliably observed

behavioral unit

not a single behavior but a class of behaviors producing an effect

behaviorism

the philosophy of a science of behavior including various forms

conceptually systematic

procedures for changing behavior and any interpretations of how or why those procedures were effective should be described in terms of the relevant principles from which they were derived

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

effective

the criterion that the application of behavior techniques must improve the behavior enough to be socially important

effector

muscles or glands that respond to impulses

environment

the conglomerate of real circumstances in which the organism or referenced part of the organism exists

explanatory fiction

a fictitious or hypothetical variable that often takes the form of another name for the observed phenomenon it claims to explain and contributes nothing to a functional account or understanding of the phenomenon

functional relation

a verbal statement summarizing the results of an experiment (or group of related experiments) that describes the occurrence of the phenomena under study as a function of the operation of one or more specified and controlled variables in the experiment in which a specific change in one event can be produced by manipulating another event, and that the change in the dependent variable was unlikely the result of confounding variables

generality

criterion that behavior change must last over time, appear in environments other than the one in which the intervention that initially produced it was implemented, and/or spread to other behaviors not directly treated by the intervention

hypothetical construct

a presumed but unobserved process or entity

levels of science

description, prediction, control

mentalism

an approach to explaining behavior that assumes that a mental, or inner, dimension exists that differs from a behavioral dimension and that phenomena in this dimension either directly cause or at least mediate some forms of behavior, if not all

parisomy

the practice of ruling out simple, logical explanations, experimentally or conceptually, before considering more complex or abstract explanations

philosophic doubt

an attitude that the truthfulness and validity or all scientific theory and knowledge should be continually questioned

receptors

an organ that converts energy changes in its environment into nerve impulses

reflex

a stimulus-response relation consisting of an antecedent stimulus and the respondent behavior it elicits

repertoire

all of the behaviors a person can do; or a set of behaviors relevant to a particular setting or task

response

a single instance or occurrence of a specific class or type of behavior

response class

a group of responses of varying topography, all of which produce the same effect on the environment

response topography

the physical form or shape of a behavior

science

a systematic approach to the understanding of natural phenomena that relies on determinism as its fundamental assumption, empiricism as its primary rule, experimentation as its basic strategy, replication as a requirement for believability, parsimony as a value, and philosophic doubt as its guiding conscience

stimuli

multiple energy changes that affect an organism through its receptor cells

stimulus

An energy change that affects an organism through its receptor cells.

stimulus class

a group of stimuli that share specified common elements along formal, temporal, and/or functional dimensions

stimulus change

the addition or removal of an energy change that affects organisms

static stimulus condition

a constant environment that does not change

technological

a criterion that all operative procedures are identified and described with sufficient detail and clarity

unconditioned response

an unlearned, naturally occurring instance of a behavior

unconditioned stimulus

a stimulus change that elicits respondent behavior without any prior learning

antecedent

an environmental condition or stimulus change existing or occurring prior to a behavior

aversive stimulus

an unpleasant or noxious stimulus; a stimulus change or condition that functions to evoke a behavior that has terminated it in the past, as a punisher when presented following behavior, and or as a reinforcer when withdrawn following behavior

conditioned response

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

conditioned stimulus

a formerly neutral stimulus change that elicits respondent behavior only after it has been paired with a stimulus

consequence

a stimulus change that follows a behavior of interest

contingency

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

contingent

describes reinforcement or punishment that is delivered only after the target behavior has occurred

elicit

a stimulus produces a behavior regardless of what follows it

emit

when an organism produces a behavior based on previous consequences

evoke

when a stimulus produces a behavior based on previous consequences

function

a thing dependent on another factor or factors

functional consequence

Stimulus change that follows a given behavior in a relatively immediate temporal sequence and alters the frequency of that type of behavior in the future

learning

the process by which a behavior is added to a person's repertoire

neutral stimulus

a stimulus change that does not elicit respondent behavior

operant behavior

behavior that is selected, maintained, and brought under stimulus control as a function of its consequences

operant conditioning

the basic process by which consequences result in an increased or decreased frequency of the same type of behavior under the similar motivational and environmental conditions in the future

pairing

two or more stimuli occurring simultaneously that contributes to respondent conditioning

respondent behavior

behavior that is elicited, or induced, by antecedent stimuli

respondent conditioning

a stimulus-stimulus pairing procedure in which a neutral stimulus is presented with an unconditioned stimulus and the neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus that elicits the conditioned response

respondent extinction

the repeated presentation of a conditioned stimulus in the absence of the unconditioned stimulus; the CS gradually loses its ability to elicit the conditioned response until the conditioned reflex no longer appears in the individual's repertoire

stimulus-stimulus pairing

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

three term contingency

Antecedent, Behavior, Consequence

automaticity

the ability to process information with little or no effort

automatic reinforcement

reinforcement that occurs independent of the social mediation by others

avoidance contingency

a contingency in which a response prevents or postpones the presentation of a stimulus

compound schedule of reinforcement

a schedule of reinforcement consisting of two or more elements of continuous reinforcement, the four intermittent schedules of reinforcement, differential reinforcement of various rates of responding, and extinction. The elements of these basic schedules can occur successively or simultaneously and with or without discriminative stimuli; reinforcement may be contingency on meeting the requirements of each element of the schedule independently or in combination with all elements

conditioned punishment

A stimulus change that functions as a punisher because of prior pairing with one or more other punishers

conditioned reinforcement

a stimulus change that functions as a reinforcer because of prior pairing with one or more other reinforcers

continuous schedule of reinforcement

a schedule of reinforcement that provides reinforcement for each occurrence of the targeted behavior

escape contingency

a contingency in which a response terminates an ongoing stimulus

extinction burst

an increase in the frequency of responding when an extinction procedure is initially implemented

fixed interval schedule

A schedule of reinforcement in which a reinforcer is delivered for the first response emitted following the passage of a fixed duration of time since the last response was reinforced

fixed ratio schedule

a schedule of reinforcement requiring a fixed number of responses for reinforcement

generalized conditioned reinforcement

functions as reinforcement under a wide range of motivating operations because of its previous pairing with numerous unconditioned and conditioned reinforcers

generalized conditioned punishment

functions as punishment under a wide range of motivating operations because of its previous pairing with numerous unconditioned and conditioned punishers

intermittent schedule of reinforcement

a contingency of reinforcement in which some, but not all, occurrences of the behavior produce reinforcement

negative punishment

a response behavior followed immediately by the removal of a stimulus that results in similar responses occurring less other

negative reinforcement

a contingency in which the occurrence of a response is followed immediately by the termination, reduction, postponement, or avoidance of a stimulus, and which leads to an increase in future occurrence of similar responses

operant extinction

the weakening and eventual disappearance of a response because it is no longer reinforced

positive punishment

A response followed immediately by the presentation of a stimulus that decreases the future frequency of the behavior

positive reinforcement

a response followed immediately by the presentation of a stimulus change that results in similar responses occurring more often

post-reinforcement pause

the absence of responding for a period of time following reinforcement; an effect commonly produced by fixed interval and fixed ratio schedules of reinforcement

punisher

a stimulus change that decreases the future occurrence of behavior that immediately precedes it

punishment

a basic principle of behavior describing a response-consequence functional relation in which a response is followed immediately by a stimulus change that decreases future occurrences of that type of behavior

reinforcement

a basic principle of behavior describing a response-consequence functional relation in which a response is followed immediately by a stimulus change that results in similar responses occurring more often

reinforcer

a stimulus change that increases the future frequency of behavior that immediately precedes it

resistance to extinction

the relative frequency with which operant behavior is emitted during extinction

schedule of reinforcement

A rule specifying the environmental arrangements and response requirements for reinforcement; a description of a contingency of reinforcement

spontaneous recovery

a behavioral effect associated with extinction in which the behavior suddenly begins to occur after its frequency has decreased to its prereinforcement level or stopped entirely

stimulus control

A situation in which the frequency, latency, duration, or amplitude of a behavior is altered by the presence or absence of an antecedent stimulus

unconditioned punishment

A stimulus change that decreases the frequency of any behavior that immediately precedes it irrespective of the organism's learning history with the stimulus

unconditioned reinforcement

A stimulus change that increases the frequency of any behavior that immediately precedes it irrespective of the organism's learning history with the stimulus.

variable interval schedule

a schedule of reinforcement that provides reinforcement for the first correct response following the elapse of variable durations of time occurring in a random or unpredictable order

variable ratio schedule

a schedule of reinforcement requiring a varying number of responses for reinforcement; the number of responses a required varies around a random number