Applied Behavior Analysis Terms

A set of flashcards covering key terms and definitions related to Applied Behavior Analysis.

Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA)

Science of socially significant behavior change.

Behaviorism

The philosophy of the science of behavior.

Determinism

Assumption that the world is lawful and orderly.

Empiricism

Objective observation of phenomena.

Experiment

Controlled comparison of the DV under the IV.

Experimental Analysis of Behavior (EAB)

Natural science approach to the study of behavior.

Explanatory fiction

A hypothetical variable that falsely claims to explain the observed phenomena.

Functional Analysis (FA)

Demonstration of a functional relation between environmental variables and behavior.

Functional relation

A change in behavior attributed only to the manipulated event.

Hypothetical construct

A presumed but unobserved process.

Mentalism

A faulty explanation of behavior that assumes an inner cause.

Methodological behaviorism

A philosophical approach that views unobservable behavioral events as outside the realm of science.

Parsimony

Ruling out simple explanations before moving to complex ones.

Philosophic doubt

Continually questioning truth and validity of science.

Pragmatism

Truth of a statement depends on how effectively it guides action.

Radical behaviorism

Behaviorism that includes understanding all human behavior, including private events.

Replication

Repeating conditions to determine reliability.

Science

A systematic approach to the understanding of natural phenomena.

Autoclitic

Two interlocking levels of verbal behavior in one utterance.

Automatic contingencies

Behavior change by environmental variables independent of other people.

Bidirectional naming

Higher order verbal cusp combining speaker and listener repertoires.

Codic

Verbal response under the control of a verbal stimulus with point to point correspondence and no formal similarity.

Compound verbal discrimination

Two or more verbal SDs that independently evoke behavior but combine to evoke a specific response.

Copying text

Written response evoked by a written verbal SD.

Duplic

Verbal behavior with formal similarity under the control of a verbal SD.

Echoic

Vocal response evoked by a vocal verbal SD with formal similarity.

Elementary verbal operant

Five different types of verbal behavior.

Formal similarity

Antecedent and response share the same sense mode and resemble each other.

Generative learning

Previously acquired skills enable or accelerate the acquisition of other skills without teaching.

Intraverbal

Response evoked by a verbal SD with no point-to-point correspondence.

Listener

Person who reinforces the speaker’s behavior.

Listener discrimination

A verbal SD evokes a specific nonverbal behavior.

Mand

A response of any form evoked by an MO and followed by specific reinforcer.

Motor imitation

A duplic where the form of a motor response is under the control of a visual verbal SD with formal similarity.

Convergent multiple control

A single verbal response is the function of more than one variable.

Divergent multiple control

A single antecedent variable affects the strength of more than one response.

Point to point correspondence

Relationship between the stimulus and response where all parts match.

Private events

Covert events accessible only to the individual.

Selection based verbal behavior

Verbal behavior where the learner points or selects the stimulus.

Simple verbal discrimination

A single component evokes a nonmatching intraverbal response.

Speaker

Someone who engages in verbal behavior.

Tact

A response evoked by a nonverbal discriminative stimulus.

Tact extension

A tact that occurs as a result of stimulus generalization.

Taking dictation

A spoken verbal stimulus that evokes a written, typed or finger-spelled response.

Textual

A response evoked by a written verbal SD with no formal similarity but there is point-to-point correspondence.

Topography based verbal behavior

Verbal behavior where the listener is affected by a specific response topography from the speaker.

Verbal behavior

Behavior whose reinforcement is mediated by a listener.

Verbal conditional discrimination

A discrimination in which a verbal stimulus alters the function of another stimulus.

Verbal episode

Interaction between a speaker and a listener.

Verbal function altering effect

A change in the function of a stimulus due to a verbal stimulus, modifying how an individual responds to that stimulus in the future.