The Experimental Analysis of Behavior (ch. 2)

Structural/Topographical Description of Behavior

- What does behavior look like?
- the "lay of the land"
ex. a child finds a hidden object & a functional analysis suggest this behavior has resulted in specific consquences- the child had a particular history of reinforcement responsible for their capability.

History of Reinforcement

The combination of respondent & operant conditioning in your past. Previous experiences w/ reinforcement & punishment that influence current & future behaviors.

Functional Description of Behaviour

- why does behavior happen?
- defined by the causes of behavior

Respondent (conditioning)

Behavior that increases or decreased by the presentation of a stimulus that precedes the response

Elicited

Respondent behavior is ELICITED (reflexive & involuntary), in the sense that it reliably occurs when the US is presented

Emitted

Operant behavior is EMITTED (voluntary) at some frequency based on an organism's genetic endowment

Operant (conditioning)

Behavior that's strenthened or weakened by the events the events that follow the response.

How do we measure behavior? (FIDL)

Frequency - the # of times the behavior happens
Intensity - the magnitude/severity of the behavior
Duration - the amount of time a behavior occurs
Latency - the amount of time passes before a behavior occurs

Single Case Designs

focuses on behavior change at the individual level, but doesn't mean that a study has 1 participant (ex. studying students with ADHD)

Internal Validity

- how certain you are that your independent variable is what CAUSED a change in the dependent variable
- control over independent variable & variables that might interfere

External Validity

- how replicable the effect is on other people in other situations
- does it apply to the GENERAL public?

Reversal "ABAB" Design

To measure a baseline (the first A), a treatment measurement (the first B), the withdrawal of treatment (the second A), and the re-introduction of treatment (the second B)

Multiple Baseline Design

Two or more behaviors are assessed to determine their initial, stable expression (i.e., baseline) and then IV is applied to one of the behaviors while the others are unaffected. Demostrates that behavior changes when the IV is introduced.

Multielement Design

Measures the effect of multiple treatments delivered one after the other & used to evaluate multiple IVs

Visual Analysis - Trend

Behavior might have changed w/o the IV or changed direction immediately following IV

Visual Analysis - Level

Small or large change in magnitude of behavior

Visual Analysis - Variability

Overlap between baseline & treatment or never desired but is always present

Visual Analysis - Immediacy & No Replication

Immediacy - undesireable trend, but behavior change immediately between conditions
No Replication - baseline levels did not return

Independent Variable (IV)

- variable research controls
- usually a treatment or internvention

Dependent Variable (DV)

the effect, it changes because of the independent variable

Antecedent - Discriminative Stimuli (SD)

signal that reinforcement is available
(ex. A therapist named Jenny, is working with Ben (4 y/o). Jenny brings an iPad that is fully charged to the session. Ben is learning to request. Ben asks for the iPad and Jenny let’s Ben play with the ipad. The iPad is an SD for Ben asking for the iPad because it signals that the iPad is available as a reinforcer. )

Antecedent - S-Delta (SΔ)

signal that reinforcement is UNavailable
(ex. A therapist named Jenny, is working with Ben (4 y/o). Jenny brings an iPad that has a dead battery to the session. Ben is learning to request. Ben asks for the iPad and Jenny shows Ben the iPad’s battery is dead. Ben stops asking for the iPad. The iPad is an SΔ for Ben asking for the iPad because it signals that the iPad is not available as a reinforcer.

Antecedent - Motivating Operations

- increase/decrease the power of reinforcement
- increase/decrease probability of behavior to access reinforcement

Hypothetical Construct

A conjectured entity, process, or event that is not observed directly but is assumed to explain an observable phenomenon

Circular Reasoning

The argument assumes what it is supposed to prove
(ex.18 y/os have the right to vote because it's legal for them to vote)