Principles of ABA

applied behavior analysis

a scientific approach for discovering environmental variables that reliably influence socially significant behavior and for developing a technology of behavior change that takes practical advantage of those discoveries

Behaviorism

the philosophy of the science of behavior

Determinism

the assumption that the universe is a lawful and orderly place in which phenomena occur as a result of other events

Empiricism

the objective observation of the phenomena of interest

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; an emphasis on describing functional relations between behavior and controlling variables in the environment over formal theory testing

explanatory fiction

a fictitious 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, such as “intelligence” or “cognitive awareness” as an explanation

experiment

a carefully controlled comparison of some measure of the phenomenon of interest under two or more different conditions in which only one factor at a time differs from one condition to another

Functional Analysis

demonstrations of functional relations between environmental variables and behavior

Functional relation

when a well-controlled experiment demonstrates that a specific change in one event is reliably produced by specific manipulations of another event, and that the change in the dependent variable was unlikely to be the result of other extraneous factors

Hypothetical construct

presumed but unobserved entities that could not be manipulated in an experiment (using social constructs that aren’t observable/measureable as explanations of behavior, like determination or ambitious)

Mentalism

attributing the causes of behavior to events and processes said to occur in a mind or inner domain that lacks physical dimensions

Methodological behaviorism

a philosophical position that views behavioral events that cannot be publicly observed as outside the realm of science

Parsimony

favoring the simplest explanation before considering more complex or abstract explanations

Philosophical doubt

a continuous attitude of skepticism in which scientific knowledge is constantly questioned and reevaluated

Pragmatism

a philosophical position asserting that the truth value of a statement is determined by how well it promotes effective action; it is a primary criterion by which behavior analysts judge the value of their findings

Radical behaviorism

a form of behaviorism that attempts to understand all human behavior, including private events such as thoughts and feelings, in terms of controlling variables in the history of the person and the species

Replication

repeating conditions within an experiment to determine the reliability of effects and increase internal validity

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 con

What are the goals of behavior analysis as a science?

Description, prediction, control

philosophical assumptions underlying the science of behavior analysis

selectionism, determinism, empiricism, parsimony, pragmatism

What are the dimensions of ABA?

applied, behavioral, analytic, technological, conceptually systematic, effective, generality

description

systematic observation of behavioral events

prediction

observations indicate that two events tend to occur in the presence of one another (CORRELATION not causation)

control

the functional relation that exists through experimentation

applied

effecting improvements in behaviors that enhance and improve people’s lives

behavioral

the behavior chosen must be: in need of improvement, measurable, observable

analytic

a demonstrated functional relation between the manipulated events and a reliable change in some measurable dimension of the behavior

technological

when all its operative procedures are identified and described with sufficient detail and clarity such that a reader could replicate it with similar results

conceptually systematic

the procedures for behavior change and interpretations of efficacy should be described in terms of the relevant principles from which they came

effective

effective

generality

if a behavior change lasts over time, across multiple environments, or spreads to other behaviors

6 attitudes of science

determinism, empiricism, experimentation, replication, parsimony, philosophical doubt