Applied Behavior Analysis

chapter 1 terms

applied behavior analysis (ABA)

Using the science of behavior to help people learn new skills and improve behaviors that matter in everyday life, while testing what works.

Example: Teaching a student to ask for a break instead of yelling and using data to see if the strategy works.

Easy way to remember: Using science to understand behavior, make positive changes, and prove what works.

Behaviorism

The belief that behavior should be studied scientifically to understand why people act the way they do.

Example: Studying how rewards and consequences influence a student's behavior.

Easy way to remember: The idea that behavior can be studied and explained through science.

Determinism

The belief that everything happens for a reason and events have causes rather than happening randomly.

Example: A student's behavior happens because of certain factors influencing it, not just by chance.

Easy way to remember: Behavior doesn't happen randomly. There's a reason behind it.

Empiricism

Using direct observation and evidence to understand behavior instead of relying on opinions or assumptions.

Example: Recording how many times a student leaves their seat instead of just saying they are disruptive.

Easy way to remember: Focus on what you can observe and measure, not what you think.

Experiment

A controlled test where you change one thing at a time to see how it affects something else.

Example: Changing how often a student receives praise to see if it increases their completed assignments.

Easy way to remember: Change one thing, measure what happens, and compare the results.

Experimental Analysis of Behavior (EAB)

The scientific study of behavior, developed by B. F. Skinner, using experiments and data to understand how the environment affects behavior.

Example: Measuring how often a rat presses a lever when different rewards are given.

Easy way to remember: Using experiments to discover why behaviors happen.

Explanatory Fiction

Using a made-up or assumed reason to explain a behavior without actually explaining what caused it.

Example: Saying a student refuses to work because they're "defiant" without looking at why they're refusing.

Easy way to remember: Giving a behavior a label instead of explaining why it happens.

Functional Analysis (FA)

A controlled test where we change what happens before and after a behavior to find out why it's happening.

Example: Testing whether a student acts out to get attention, escape work, or gain access to something they want.

Easy way to remember: Testing different situations to figure out the purpose of a behavior.

Functional Relation

When changing one thing directly causes a change in behavior, and we can prove it through an experiment.

Example: A student's work completion increases when they earn breaks, and decreases when the breaks are removed.

Easy way to remember: Proving that changing one thing causes a behavior to change.

Hypothetical Construct

Something assumed to exist but that cannot be directly observed.

Example: Freud's id, ego, and superego.

Easy way to remember: An idea we use to explain something but can't directly observe.

Mentalism

Explaining behavior by assuming someone's thoughts, feelings, or other inner mental processes cause it.

Example: Saying a student refuses to work because they're lazy.

Easy way to remember: Using what's happening inside someone's mind to explain their behavior.

Methodological Behaviorism

The belief that science should only study behaviors that others can directly observe.

Example: Studying a student crying rather than trying to measure their private thoughts or feelings.

Easy way to remember: If others can't observe it, it's not studied scientifically.

Parsimony

Looking for the simplest, most logical explanation before considering more complicated ones.

Example: A student is falling asleep in class. Before assuming they have a medical condition, consider whether they simply didn't get enough sleep.

Easy way to remember: Start with the simplest explanation first.

Philosophic Doubt

The belief that scientific knowledge should always be questioned and tested, even if it's widely accepted.

Example: Questioning whether a behavior intervention is actually working, even if it has worked in the past.

Easy way to remember: Never stop questioning. New evidence can change what we know.

Pragmatism

The belief that an idea or method is valuable if it produces useful results.

Example: Using a behavior intervention because data shows it actually helps a student improve.

Easy way to remember: What matters is whether it works!

Radical Behaviorism

The belief that all behavior, including thoughts and feelings, can be understood by looking at a person's experiences, biology, and environment.

Example: Understanding a student's anxiety by looking at their past experiences and current environment, rather than ignoring their feelings.

Easy way to remember: All behavior matters, even thoughts and feelings we can't see.

Replication

Repeating an experiment to make sure the results are reliable and can happen again.

Example: Using the same behavior intervention multiple times to see if it consistently improves a student's behavior.

Easy way to remember: Repeat it to make sure the results are real and reliable.

Science

A systematic way of understanding how things work through observation, experiments, and evidence.

Example: Studying a student's behavior, testing what influences it, and repeating the experiment to make sure the results are accurate.

Easy way to remember: Observe, test, and use evidence to understand why things happen.