psy 550

XXX-ABC recording/anecdotal observation

A form of direct, continuous observation in which the observer records a descriptive, temporally sequenced account of all behavior(s) of interest and the antecedent conditions and consequences for those behaviors as those events occur in the client's natural environment.

XXX-accuracy

The extent to which observed values, the data produced by measuring an event, match the true state, or true values, of the event as it exists in nature.

affirmation of the consequent

A three-step form of reasoning that begins with a true antecedent- consequent (if-A-then-B) statement and proceeds as follows: (1) If A is true, then B is true; (2) B is found to be true; (3) therefore, A is true.

ascending baseline

A data path that shows an increasing trend in the response measure over time.

XXX-automatic reinforcement

Reinforcement that occurs independent of the social mediation of others (e.g., scratching an inset bite relieves the itch).

baseline

A condition of an experiment in which the independent variable is not present.

baseline logic

A term sometimes used to refer to the experimental reasoning inherent in single-subject experimental designs; entails three elements; prediction, verification, and replication.

XXX-believability

The extent to which the researcher convinces herself and others that the data are trustworthy and deserve interpretation.

XXX-celeration

The change in rate of responding over time.

XXX-celeration time period

A unit of time in which celeration is plotted on a Standard Celeration Chart.

celeration trend line

Measured as a factor by which rate multiplies or divides across the celeration time periods (e.g., rate per week, rate per month, rate per year, and rate per decade).

A-B design

A two-phase experimental design consisting of a pretreatment baseline condition (A) followed by a treatment condition (B)

A-B-A design

A three-phase experimental design consisting of an initial baseline phase (A) until steady state responding is obtained, an intervention phase in which the treatment condition (B) is implemented until the behavior has changed and steady state responding is obtained, and a return to baseline conditions (A) by withdrawing the independent variable to see whether responding "reverses" to levels observed in the initial baseline phase.

alternating treatments design/multielement design

An experimental design in which two or more conditions are presented in rapidly alternating succession independent of the level of responding

B-A-B design

A three-phase experimental design that begins with the treatment condition. After steady state responding has been obtained during the initial treatment phase (B), the treatment variable is withdrawn (A) to see whether responding changes in the absence of the independent variable. The treatment variable is then reintroduced (B) in an attempt to recapture the level of responding obtained during the first treatment phase.

experimental question

A statement of what the researcher seeks to learn by conducting the experiment.

multiple treatment interference

The effects of one treatment on a subject's behavior being confounded by the influence of another treatment administered in the same study

multiple treatment reversal design

Any experimental design that uses the experimental methods and logic of the reversal tactic to compare the effects of two or more experimental conditions to baseline and/or to one another.

A-B-A-B design

An experimental design consisting of (1) an initial baseline phase (A) until steady state responding is obtained, (2) an initial intervention phase in which the treatment variable (B) is implemented until the behavior has changed and steady state responding is obtained, (3) a return to baseline conditions (A) by withdrawing the independent variable to see whether responding "reverses" to levels observed in the initial baseline phase, and (4) a second intervention phase (B) to see whether initial treatment effects are replicated.

XXX-artifact

An outcome or result that appears to exist because of the way it is measured but in fact does not correspond to what actually occurred.

XXX-continuous measurement

Measurement conducted in a manner such that all instances of the response class(es) of interest are detected during the observation period.

XXX-count

A simple tally of the number of occurrences of a behavior

dependent variable

The variable in an experiment measured to determine if it changes as a result of manipulations of the independent variable.

descending baseline

A data path that shows a decreasing trend in the response measure over time.

XXX-direct measurement

Occurs when the behavior that is measured is the same as the behavior that is the focus of the investigation.

XXX-discontinuous measurement

Measurement conducted in a manner such that some instances of the response class(es) of interest may not be detected.

XXX-duration

A measure of the total extent of time in which a behavior occurs.

XXX-exact count-per-interval IOA

The percentage of total intervals in which two observers recorded the same count; the most stringent description of IOA for most data sets obtained by event-recording

XXX-experiment

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

experimental control

Two meanings: (a) the outcome of an experiment that demonstrates convincingly a functional relation, meaning that experimental control is achieved when a predictable change in behavior can be reliably produced by manipulating a specific aspect of the environment; and (b) the extent to which a researcher maintains precise control of the independent variable by presenting it, withdrawing it, and/or varying its value, and also by eliminating or holding constant all confounding and extraneous variables.

experimental design

The particular type and sequence of conditions in a study so that meaningful comparisons of the effects of the presence and absence (or different values) of the independent variable can be made.

external validity

The degree to which a study's findings have generality to other subjects, settings, and/or behaviors.

extraneous variable

Any aspect of the experimental setting that must be held constant to prevent unplanned environmental variation.

XXX-fixed interval (FI)

A schedule of reinforcement in which reinforcement is delivered for the first response emitted following the passage of a fixed duration of time since the last response was reinforced.

XXX-fixed ration (FR)

A schedule of reinforcement requiring a fixed number of responses for reinforcement.

XXX-frequency

A ratio of count per observation time.

XXX-functional relation

A verbal statement summarizing the results of an experiment that describes the occurrence of the phenomena under study as a function of the operation of one or more specified and controlled variables in the experiment in which a specific change in one event can be produced by manipulating another event, and that the change in the dependent variable was unlikely the result of other factors.

independent variable

The variable that is systematically manipulated by the researcher in an experiment to see whether changes in the independent variable produce reliable changes in the dependent variable.

XXX-indirect measurement

Occurs when the behavior that is measured is in some way different from the behavior of interest.

internal validity

The extent to which an experiment shows convincingly that changes in behavior are a function of the independent variable and not the result of uncontrolled or unknown variables.

XXX-interobserver agreement (IOA)

The degree to which two or more independent observers report the same observed values after measuring the same events.

XXX-interval-by-interval IOA

An index of the agreement between observers for data obtained by interval recording or time sampling measurement.

XXX-mean count-per-interval IOA

The average percentage of agreement between the counts reported by two observers in a measurement period comprised of a series of smaller counting times.

XXX-mean duration-per-occurrence IOA

An IOA index for duration per occurrence data.

XXX-measurement

The process of assigning numbers and units to particular features of objects or events.

XXX-measurement bias

Nonrandom measurement error; a form of inaccurate measurement in which the data consistently overestimate or underestimate the true value of an event

reversal design

Any experimental design in which the researcher attempts to verify the effect of the independent variable by "reversing" responding to a level obtained in a previous condition.

XXX-scored-interval IOA

An interobserver agreement index based only on the intervals in which either observer recorded the occurrence of the behavior; calculated by dividing the number of intervals in which the two observers agreed that the behavior occurred by the number of intervals in which either or both observers recorded the occurrence of the behavior and multiplying by 100.

single-subject designs

A wide-variety of research designs that use a form of experimental reasoning called baseline logic to demonstrate the effects of the independent variable on the behavior of individual subjects.

XXX-event recording

Measurement procedure for obtaining a tally or count of the number of times a behavior occurs.

XXX-magnitude

The force or intensity with which a response is emitted.

XXX-measurement by permanent product

A method of measuring behavior after it has occurred by recording the effects that the behavior produced on the environment.

XXX-momentary time sampling

A measurement method in which the presence or absence of behaviors are recorded at precisely specified time intervals.

XXX-naive observer

An observer who is unaware of the study's purpose and/or the experimental conditions in effect during a given phase or observation period.

XXX-neutral stimulus (NS)

A stimulus change that does not elicit respondent behavior.

XXX-observed value

A measure produced by an observation and measurement system. Observed values serve as the data that the researcher and others will interpret to form conclusions about an investigation.

XXX-observer bias

Observer responds systematically to some variable other than target behavior.

XXX-observer drift

Any unintended change in the way an observer uses a measurement system over the course of an investigation that results in measurement error.

XXX-observer reactivity

Influence on the data reported by an observer that results from the observer's awareness that others are evaluating the data he reports

parametric analysis

An experiment designed to discover the differential effects of a range of values of an independent variable

XXX-partial interval recording

A time sampling method for measuring behavior in which the observation period is divided into a series of brief time intervals (typically from 5 to 10 seconds). The observer records whether the target behavior occurred at any time during the interval.

XXX-percentage

A ratio formed by combining the same dimensional quantities, such as count or time; expressed as a number of parts per 100.

XXX-permanent product

Recording tangible items or environmental effects that result from a behavior.

XXX-postreinforcement pause

The absence of responding for a period of time following reinforcement; an effect commonly produced by fixed interval (FI) and fixed ratio (FR) schedules of reinforcement.

practice effects

Improvements in performance resulting from opportunities to perform a behavior repeatedly so that baseline measures can be obtained.

XXX-rate

A ratio count per observation time; often expressed as count per standard unit of time (e.g., per minute, per hour, per day) and calculated by dividing the number of responses recorded by the number of standard units of time in which observations were conducted.

XXX-reactivity

Effects of an observation and measurement procedure on the behavior being measured. Most likely when measurement procedures are obtrusive, especially if the person being observed is aware of the observer's presence and purpose.

XXX-reliability

Refers to the consistency of measurement, specifically, the extent to which repeated measurement of the same event yields the same values

XXX-repeatability

Refers to the fact that a behavior can occur repeatedly through time.

replication

Repeating conditions within an experiment to determine the reliability of effects and increase internal validity OR Repeating whole experiments to determine the generality of findings of previous experiments to other subjects, settings, and/or behaviors.

XXX-response latency

The elapsed time from the onset of a stimulus to the initiation of a response.

XXX-social validity

Refers to the extent to which target behaviors are appropriate, intervention procedures are acceptable, and important and significant changes in target and collateral behaviors are produced.

stable baseline

Data that show no evidence of an upward or downward trend; all of the measures fall within a relatively small range of values.

steady state responding

A pattern of responding that exhibits relatively little variation in its measured dimensional quantities over a period of time.

steady state strategy

Repeatedly exposing a subject to a given condition while trying to eliminate or control extraneous influences on the behavior and obtaining a stable pattern of responding before introducing the next condition.

XXX-temporal extent

Refers to the fact that every instance of behavior occurs during some amount of time.

XXX-temporal locus

Refers to the fact that every instance of behavior occurs at a certain point in time with respect to other events.

XXX-time sampling

A measurement of the presence or absence of behavior within specific time intervals.

XXX-topography

The physical form or shape of a behavior.

XXX-topography-based definition

Defines instances of the targeted response class by the shape or form of the behavior.

XXX-total count IOA

The simplest indicator of IOA for event recording data; based on comparing the total count recorded by each observer per measurement period; calculated by dividing the smaller of the two observers' counts by the larger count and multiplying by 100.

XXX-total duration IOA

A relevant index of IOA for total duration measurement; computed by dividing the shorter of the two durations reported by the observers by the longer duration and multiplying by 100.

XXX-trial-by-trial IOA

An IOA index for discrete trial data based on comparing the observers' counts on a trial-by-trial, or item-by-item, basis; yields a more conservative and meaningful index of IOA for discrete trial data than does total count IOA.

XXX-trials-to-criterion

A special form of event recording; a measure of the number of responses or practice opportunities needed for a person to achieve a pre-established level of accuracy or proficiency.

XXX-true value

A measure accepted as a quantitative description of the true state of some dimensional quantity of an event as it exists in nature.

XXX-unscored-interval IOA

An interobserver agreement index based only on the intervals in which either observer recorded the nonoccurrence of the behavior, calculated by dividing the number of intervals in which the two observers agreed that the behavior did not occur by the number of intervals in which either or both observers recorded the nonoccurrence of the behavior and multiplying by 100.

XXX-validity

The extent to which data obtained from measurement are directly relevant to the target behavior of interest and to the reasons for measuring it.

variable baseline

Data points that do not consistently fall within a narrow range of values and do not suggest any clear trend.

XXX-variable interval (VI)

A schedule of reinforcement that provides reinforcement for the first correct response following the elapse of variable durations of time occurring in a random or unpredictable order. The mean duration of the intervals is used to describe the schedule.

XXX-variable ratio (VR)

A schedule of reinforcement requiring a varying number of responses for reinforcement. The number of responses required varies around a random number; the mean number of responses required for reinforcement is used to describe the schedule.

XXX-verification

One of three components of the experimental reasoning, or baseline logic, used in single-subject research designs, accomplished by demonstrating that the prior level of baseline responding would have remained unchanged had the independent variable not been introduced

XXX-whole interval recording

A time sampling method for measuring behavior in which the observation period is divided into a series of brief time intervals (typically from 5 to 15 seconds). At the end of each interval, the observer records whether the target behavior occurred throughout the entire interval.

XXX-x-axis

Horizontal line on a graph that denotes time.

XXX-y-axis

Vertical line on a graph that denotes the dependent variable

data

The results of measurement, usually in quantifiable form; in applied behavior analysis, it refers to measures of some quantifiable dimension of a behavior.

data path

The level and trend of behavior between successive data points; created by drawing a straight line from the center of each data point in a given data set to the center of the next data point in the same set.

variability

The frequency and extent to which multiple measures of behavior yield different outcomes.

trend

The overall direction taken by a data path

level

The value on the vertical axis around which a series of behavioral measures converge.