Domain B: Concepts & Principles

Behavior

An organism's activity involving interaction with its environment, including public and private activity.

Response

One instance of a behavior.

Response class

A group of responses that produce the same functional effect on the environment.

Response topography

The physical form or appearance of a response.

Response function

The effect a response has on the environment, especially the consequence that maintains it.

Environment

The physical conditions and events surrounding or within an organism that can affect behavior.

Stimulus

An energy change that affects an organism through its receptors.

Stimulus class

A group of stimuli sharing formal, temporal, or functional properties.

Antecedent

An environmental event or condition occurring before a response.

Consequence

An environmental event or change occurring after a response.

Contingency

A dependency between events, such as a consequence depending on a response.

Temporal contiguity

How closely events occur together in time. Closeness alone does not establish a contingency.

Three-term contingency

The relation among an antecedent stimulus, a response, and its consequence.

Four-term contingency

A relation that includes a motivating operation along with the discriminative stimulus, response, and consequence.

Learning history

An individual's past interactions with environmental events that influence current behavior.

Respondent behavior

Behavior elicited by antecedent stimuli, such as a reflex.

Respondent conditioning

Learning in which a stimulus acquires the ability to elicit a response through pairing with a stimulus that already elicits it.

Unconditioned stimulus (US)

A stimulus that elicits an unconditioned response without prior learning.

Unconditioned response (UR)

An unlearned response elicited by an unconditioned stimulus.

Neutral stimulus (NS)

A stimulus that does not initially elicit the respondent response being studied.

Conditioned stimulus (CS)

A previously neutral stimulus that elicits a conditioned response following conditioning.

Conditioned response (CR)

A learned respondent response elicited by a conditioned stimulus.

Stimulus–stimulus pairing

Presenting two stimuli in a temporal relation so one may acquire functions of the other.

Higher-order conditioning

Establishing a new conditioned stimulus by pairing it with an already established conditioned stimulus.

Respondent extinction

Repeated presentation of a conditioned stimulus without the stimulus it was paired with, resulting in reduced conditioned responding.

Spontaneous recovery

Temporary reappearance of an extinguished response after time has passed without further extinction exposure.

Habituation

A decrease in a respondent response following repeated presentations of the eliciting stimulus, excluding fatigue or sensory adaptation.

Operant behavior

Behavior selected and maintained by its consequences.

Operant conditioning

A process in which consequences change the future probability of behavior under similar conditions.

Reinforcement

A response is followed by a stimulus change that increases future responding under similar conditions.

Positive reinforcement

A stimulus is added after a response, increasing future responding under similar conditions.

Negative reinforcement

A stimulus is removed, reduced, or postponed after a response, increasing future responding under similar conditions.

Escape

A response terminates or reduces an ongoing aversive stimulus and is strengthened by that consequence.

Avoidance

A response prevents or postpones an aversive stimulus and is strengthened by that consequence.

Punishment

A response is followed by a stimulus change that decreases future responding under similar conditions.

Positive punishment

A stimulus is added after a response, decreasing future responding under similar conditions.

Negative punishment

A stimulus is removed after a response, decreasing future responding under similar conditions.

Automatic reinforcement

Reinforcement produced directly by a response without another person delivering the reinforcing consequence.

Socially mediated reinforcement

Reinforcement in which another person delivers or arranges the reinforcing consequence.

Automatic punishment

A response directly produces a punishing consequence without another person delivering it.

Socially mediated punishment

Punishment in which another person delivers or arranges the punishing consequence.

Unconditioned reinforcer

A stimulus change that functions as reinforcement without prior learning.

Conditioned reinforcer

A stimulus change that functions as reinforcement because of a learning history.

Generalized conditioned reinforcer

A conditioned reinforcer associated with multiple other reinforcers, making its effectiveness less dependent on one specific motivating operation.

Unconditioned punisher

A stimulus change that functions as punishment without prior learning.

Conditioned punisher

A stimulus change that functions as punishment because of a learning history.

Generalized conditioned punisher

A conditioned punisher associated with multiple other punishers.

Operant extinction

Discontinuing the reinforcement that previously maintained a response, resulting in a decrease in that response over time.

Extinction burst

A temporary increase in response frequency, duration, or intensity when extinction begins.

Extinction-induced variability

An increase in different forms of responding when previously reinforced behavior no longer produces reinforcement.

Resistance to extinction

The degree to which behavior continues after reinforcement is discontinued.

Resurgence

Reappearance of previously reinforced behavior when reinforcement for a more recently reinforced alternative is reduced or discontinued.

Response recovery

A general term for the reappearance of previously reduced behavior. Identify the specific recovery process when possible.

Continuous reinforcement (CRF)

A schedule in which every occurrence of a specified response is reinforced.

Intermittent reinforcement

A schedule in which some, but not all, occurrences of a specified response are reinforced.

Fixed-ratio (FR)

Reinforcement follows a fixed number of responses.

Variable-ratio (VR)

Reinforcement follows a varying number of responses around a specified average.

Fixed-interval (FI)

The first response after a fixed period of time is reinforced.

Variable-interval (VI)

The first response after varying periods of time is reinforced, with intervals averaging a specified value.

Limited hold

A limited period after an interval ends during which a response must occur to obtain the available reinforcer.

Ratio strain

Disrupted responding, such as long pauses or cessation, when a ratio requirement is increased too rapidly or becomes too demanding.

Postreinforcement pause

A period of little or no responding after reinforcement and before responding resumes.

Fixed-interval scallop

A pattern of low responding after reinforcement followed by increasing response rates as the end of a fixed interval approaches.

Concurrent schedules

Two or more reinforcement schedules operate simultaneously for different responses, allowing choice among them.

Multiple schedules

Two or more component schedules alternate, with each component signaled by a different stimulus.

Mixed schedules

Two or more component schedules alternate without distinct stimuli signaling which component is in effect.

Chained schedules

Two or more signaled component schedules occur in sequence. Completing each component advances the chain, and the final component produces the terminal reinforcer.

Tandem schedules

Two or more component schedules occur in sequence without distinct stimuli signaling the components. The terminal reinforcer follows completion of the final component.

Alternative schedules

Reinforcement occurs when either of two or more simultaneously operating schedule requirements is met.

Conjunctive schedules

Reinforcement occurs only after all of two or more schedule requirements have been met.

Progressive-ratio schedule

The number of responses required for reinforcement increases across successive reinforcer deliveries, often to assess reinforcer effectiveness.

Schedule thinning

Gradually reducing reinforcement frequency by increasing response requirements or time between reinforcement opportunities.

Stimulus control

A response occurs more often in the presence of a particular antecedent stimulus because of a history of differential reinforcement.

Discriminative stimulus (SD)

A stimulus in whose presence a response has been reinforced, while that response has not been reinforced, or has been reinforced less, in its absence.

Stimulus delta (SΔ)

A stimulus in whose presence a particular response has not produced reinforcement, relative to conditions signaled by the SD.

Stimulus discrimination

Differential responding to different stimuli resulting from a history of different consequences in their presence.

Simple discrimination

Responding differs based on one antecedent stimulus condition without depending on another conditional stimulus.

Conditional discrimination

Whether responding to one stimulus is reinforced depends on the presence or value of another stimulus.

Stimulus generalization

A response occurs in the presence of stimuli that differ from those used during training.

Response generalization

Untrained responses occur that are functionally similar to a trained response following intervention.

Generalization gradient

A pattern showing how responding changes as test stimuli differ from the training stimulus.

Response maintenance

Continued performance of a learned response after some or all intervention conditions have ended.

Faulty stimulus control

Responding comes under the control of unintended or irrelevant stimulus features.

Stimulus overselectivity

Restricted stimulus control in which behavior is controlled by only a limited part of a complex stimulus.

Motivating operation (MO)

An environmental event or condition that changes the effectiveness of a consequence and changes behavior that has produced that consequence.

Establishing operation (EO)

A motivating operation that increases the effectiveness of a consequence as a reinforcer or punisher.

Abolishing operation (AO)

A motivating operation that decreases the effectiveness of a consequence as a reinforcer or punisher.

Value-altering effect

A change in a stimulus's effectiveness as reinforcement or punishment caused by a motivating operation.

Behavior-altering effect

A change in the current frequency of behavior related to a consequence whose effectiveness is altered by a motivating operation.

Evocative effect

An increase in the current frequency of behavior caused by a motivating operation.

Abative effect

A decrease in the current frequency of behavior caused by a motivating operation.

Unconditioned motivating operation (UMO)

A motivating operation whose value-altering effect does not depend on a learning history.

Conditioned motivating operation (CMO)

A motivating operation whose value-altering effect depends on a learning history.

Surrogate CMO (CMO-S)

A stimulus that acquires motivating effects through pairing with another motivating operation.

Reflexive CMO (CMO-R)

A stimulus correlated with worsening or improving conditions that changes the reinforcing effectiveness of its own removal or continued presence.

Transitive CMO (CMO-T)

An environmental event that makes another stimulus effective as reinforcement and evokes behavior that has produced that stimulus.

Deprivation

Reduced access to a stimulus, which may increase its effectiveness as a reinforcer and evoke behavior that has produced it.

Satiation

Repeated or prolonged contact with a reinforcer, which may reduce its reinforcing effectiveness and abate behavior that has produced it.

Verbal behavior

Behavior reinforced through another person's behavior, where that person's mediating behavior has been conditioned by a verbal community.

Speaker

The person engaging in verbal behavior. Speaking aloud is not required because verbal behavior can include signs or other forms.