to be continued (highlighted Qs)

What are the 4 branches of behavior analysis and their differences?

• Experimental Analysis of Behavior (EAB):

Differences: Complete agreement with existing database (some differences); mostly testable with as much scope as the EAB database enables

• Radical Behaviorism:

Differences: partially testable with a wide scope because theory attempts to account for all behavior and minimal precision (experimental data doesn't always exist for all behavior encompassed by theory)

• Applied Behavior Analysis:

Differences: Completely agrees with existing database (some differences) with as much scope as the database allows and as much precision as the ABA’s current technology for experiements

• Practice guided by behavior analysis:

Differences: As much agreement as possible with a narrow scope because practitioners primary focus is helping the specific situation and maximum precision to effectively change behavior

Identify the 6 key philosophical assumptions of behavior analysis (know examples)

1. Determinism

ex) Traffic Lights: Red always means stop, green always means go, following set rules

ex) Planetary Motion: The orbits of planets are predictable due to gravitational laws, a core concept in classical physics

1. Empiricism:

ex) Learning that fire is hot and painful after touching it | Learning that adding too much salt can make your food taste bad

1. Experimentation:

ex) Reversal Design (ABA or ABAB): A BCBA measures a student's handwriting (baseline A), introduces a pencil grip intervention (B), and then removes the grip (A) to see if handwriting quality drops, proving the grip caused the improvement

1. Replication:

ex) A-B-A-B Reversal Design (Direct Replication): A BCBA measures a child's tantrum frequency (Baseline), introduces a visual schedule to reduce it (Intervention), removes the schedule (Return to Baseline), and reintroduces the schedule to show the reduction in behavior is consistent

1. Philosophic doubt:

ex) A researcher finding a treatment effective but, rather than stopping, continues to test it against new data, wondering, "What if I’m wrong?"

1. Parsimony:

ex) Preferring the simple explanation that a light went out because you flipped the switch (one event) over a complex one involving a power outage exactly then (multiple events)

What is watson’s contribution to the origins of behavior analysis?

• Shifting the field toward objective, measurable, and observable behaviors rather than internal, subjective consciousness

• Watson argued that the proper subject matter for psychology was observable behavior rather than the state of mind or mental processes; Watsonion behaviorism” became stimulus-response psychology

What is Skinner’s contribution to behavior analysis?

Originated the experimental branch of behavior analysis (EAB), his research discovered respondent an operant behavior; focused on scientific accounts rather than determining it was out of the reach of science; He argued that internal thoughts and feelings are not causes of behavior but are behaviors themselves, subject to the same environmental conditioning

What is the significance of Baer, Wolf, and Risley (1968)

Recommended that ABA be applied, behavioral, analytic, technological, conceptually systematic, effective, and capable of appropriately generalized outcomes; reported 7 dimensions/characteristics of ABA “seven self-conscious guides to behavior analytic conduct”

What are the 7 dimensions of ABA?

1. Applied

2. Behavioral

3. Analytic

4. Technological

5. Conceptually systemic

6. Effective

7. Generality

Why do some current dimensions of ABA remain standard in the field?

they establish a foundational, scientifically validated framework for effective, ethical, and socially significant behavior change

Ethical commitments of ABA practice

designed to protect client welfare, ensure dignity, and promote autonomy

Why is direct measurement preferred in ABA?

Because it involves observing and recording the behavior as it occurs, rather than relying on self-reports or indirect surveys, ensuring higher data accuracy