MHS 3204 Test 1 (1-3,8)

What is behavior?

what people say and do

Provide an example of a description of behavior and the label applied to that behavior

slamming the door, screaming at mom would be labelled as angry

identify and describe the 4 dimensions of behavior that can be observed and recorded

- frequency (the # of times a behavior occurs)

-duration (the time from when an instance of a behavior starts until it stops

-intensity (the physical force involved in the behavior

-latency (the speed of the behavior from some event to the start of the behavior

-provide an example of how a behavior has an impact on the physical environment.

-Provide an example of how a behavior has an impact on the social environment.

- turning a light switch on or off

- you raise your hand in class and the professor calls on you

-what does it mean to say that a behavior is lawful?

-what is a functional relationship?

-its occurrence is systematically influenced by environmental events

- how our behavior is influenced by , or occurs as a function of, environmental events

describe the distinction between overt behavior and covert behavior. Provide an example of each. Which type of behavior is the focus of this book?

-overt behavior can be observed and recorded by others (jumping up and down)

-covert behavior is not observable by others (thinking)

-overt behavior is the focus of this book

identify the 6 characteristics of human behavior

-behavior is what people say and do

-behaviors have dimensions that can be measured

-behaviors can be observed, described and recorded

-behaviors have an impact on the environment

-behavior is lawful

-behaviors may be overt and covert

what does it mean to say that behavior modification procedures are based on behavioral principles?

applied behavioral analysis

what causes human behavior? Describe how a label might be mistakenly identified as a cause of a behavior

human behavior is controlled by events in the immediate environment

-the label does not exist as a physical entity or event

why is it important to describe behavior modification procedures precisely?

researchers and other professionals make it more likely that the procedures will be used correctly each time

who implements behavior modification procedures?

-teachers

-parents

-job supervisors

-or others to help people change their behaviors

why is it important to measure behavior before and after behavior modification procedures are used?

to document the behavior change resulting from the behavior modification procedures

why doesn't behavior modification focus on the past as the cause of the behavior?

behavior modification places emphasis on recent environmental events as the cause of behavior. knowledge of the past also provides useful information about environmental events related to the current behavior

identify 9 defining characteristics of behavior modification

-focus on behavior

-guided by the theory and philosophy of behaviorism

-based on behavioral principles

-emphasis on current environmental events

-precise description of procedures

-implemented by people in everyday life

-measurement of behavior change

-de-emphasis on past events as cause of behavior

-rejection of hypothetical underlying causes of behavior

briefly describe the contributions of Pavlov, Thorndike, Watson, and Skinner to the development of behavior modification

Pavlov

-conducted experiments that uncovered the basic processes of respondent conditioning

-demonstrated that a reflex could be conditioned to a neutral stimulus

Thorndike

-major contribution was the description of the law of effect

-the law of effect states that a behavior that produces a favorable effect on the environment is more likely to be repeated in the future

Watson

-started the movement in psychology called behaviorism

Skinner

-his work is the foundation of behavior modification

identify at least 1 way in which behavior modification has been applied in each of the following areas: developmental disabilities; education; community psychology; business; industry, and human services; self-management; prevention; health-related behaviors; mental illness; rehabilitation; clinical psychology; child management; sports performance; and gerontology.

developmental disabilities

- teach a variety of functional skills to overcome serious behavioral deficits

mental illness

- has been used with patients in institutions

education

-developed procedures for reducing problem behaviors in the classroom

rehabilitation

-teach new skills that can replace skills lost through the injury or trauma

community psychology

-reducing littering

clinical psychology

-behavior therapy has been applied to the treatment of a wide range of human problems

business, industry, & human services

-improve work performance and job safety and to decrease tardiness

self-management

-control personal habilts

child behavior management

-help children overcome bed-wetting

prevention

-preventing child abduction

sports performance

-to improve athletic performance in a wide variety of sports during practice and in competition

health-related behaviors

-decreasing frequency and intensity of headaches

gerontology

-help deal with their declining physical abilities

why is it important to record the behavior you are trying to change when using behavior modification?

measuring the behavior before treatment provides info that can help you determine whether treatment is necessary

identify the 4 steps involved in a behavior recording plan

1. defining the target behavior

2. determining the logistics of recording

3. choosing a recording method

4. choosing a recording instrument

what is a behavioral definition? How does it differ from a label for a behavior?

a behavioral definition is objective and unambiguous & includes active verbs describing specific behaviors that a person exhibits.

a behavioral definition is different from a label because labels for behaviors are ambiguous; they can mean different things to different people.

provide a possible behavioral definition for politeness

politeness can be behaviorally defined as saying "please" and "thank you", opening the door for others, or letting others go first in an activity

why is it important to identify who will record a behavior?

the observer must be trained to identify the occurrence of the target behavior when it occurs and must have the time to observe and record the behavior and must be willing to function as an observer

what is meant by the term observation period?

the specific period of time when the observer records the target behavior

identify and define 4 dimensions of a behavior that may be recorded in a continuous recording method

frequency

-the number of times the behavior occurs in an observation period

-may be reported as rate (frequency/the time of the observation period)

duration

-is the total amount of time occupied by the behavior from start to finish (onset to its offset)

-may be reported as percentage of time (duration/the time of the observation period)

intensity

-the amount of force, energy, or exertion involved in it

-often recorded with a measurement instrument or by using a rating scale

latency

-the time from some stimulus or event to the onset of the behavior (how long it takes to start the behavior)

provide an example of a frequency recording, duration recording, intensity recording and latency recording

frequency

- the # of cigarettes someone smokes

duration

-the # of minutes a student studies per day

intensity

- a physical therapist might measure the strength of a person's grip to judge recovery from an injury

latency

-how long it takes a child to start putting toys away after being asked to do so

what is real-time recording? provide an example

a method in which the exact time of each onset and offset of the target behavior is recorded

ex: The child started screaming at 4:57pm and stoped screaming at 5:09pm

what is product recording? provide an example

an indirect assessment method that can be used when a behavior results in a certain tangible outcome that you are interested in. It's an indirect measure because you are not observing and recording the behavior as it occurs

ex: a teacher records the number of correctly completed homework problems

what is interval recording? provide an example

a type of recording procedure in which the observation period is divided into a number of consecutive time intervals and the behavior is recording as occurring or not occurring in each of the intervals

ex:

what is frequency-within-interval recording? provide an example

the observer records the frequency of the target behavior but does so within consecutive intervals of time in the observed

ex:

what is time sample recording? provide an example

the observation period is divided into intervals, and the behavior is recorded during a part of each interval. the observation intervals are discontinuous

ex: you might record the behavior for only 1 minute during each 15 min interval

provide examples of 3 different recording instruments

-data sheet

-stopwatch

-transferring a coin from one pocket to another to record frequency

why is it important to record a behavior immediately after it occurs?

the sooner the observer records the behavior after it occurs the less likely the observer is to record incorrectly

what is reactivity? describe 2 ways to reduce reactivity during direct observation

the phenomenon in which the process of recording behavior causes the behavior to change even before the treatment is implemented for the behavior

you can reduce reactivity

-wait until the people who are being observed become accustomed to the observer

-have the observer record the behavior without the people knowing that they are being observed

what is interobserver agreement, and why is it assessed?

when 2 observers independently observe and record a person's behavior at the same time and agree on the occurrence of the behavior.

you asses IOA to determine whether the target behavior is being recorded consistently

describe how you calculate interobserver agreement for frequency recording, duration recording, and interval recording

frequency recording

- smaller frequency / larger frequency

duration recording

- smaller duration / larger duration

interval recording

- # of intervals with agreement / total # of intervals

describe how you would calculate interobserver agreement for frequency-within-interval recording

you calculate a percentage of agreement between observers for each interval (smaller frequency / larger frequency), sum the percentages for all the intervals, and divide by the # of intervals in the observation period

why are graphs used in behavior modification to evaluate behavior change?

the graph makes it easier to compare the levels of the behavior before, during, and after treatment because the levels are presented visually for comparison

what two variables are illustrated in a behavior modification graph?

time and behavior

what is the y-axis? what is the x-axis?

y-axis: ordinate

x-axis: abscissa

what is labelled on the y-axis? on the x-axis?

y-axis: the behavior and dimension of the behavior that is recorded (ex: hours of studying)

x-axis: the unit of time during which the behavior is recorded (ex: days)

what is a phase?

a period in which the same treatment, or no treatment, is in effect

why are data points not connected across phase lines?

allows you to see differences in the level of the behavior in different phases more easily

what will you label the y-axis of a graph based on interval recording?

"percentage of intervals of (behavior)"

what is an A-B design?

a research design consisting of a baseline and a treatment phase. The A-B design is not a true experimental design because the treatment condition is not replicated. It is used mostly to document behavior change in clinical practice

What do A and B refer to ?

A = baseline

B = treatment

what is an A-B-A-B reversal design?

a research design consisting of a baseline and treatment phase followed by withdrawal of treatment (the second baseline) and a second implementation of the treatment

what is a multiple-baseline design?

have 2 baseline and 2 treatment phases that occur for different subjects, or for different behaviors, or in different settings

identify 3 types of multiple-baseline designs

multiple-baseline-across-subjects design

- there is a baseline and a treatment phase for the same target behavior of TWO OR MORE SUBJECT

multiple-baseline-across-behvaiors design

- there is a baseline and a treatment phase for TWO OR MORE BEHAVIORS of the same subject

multiple-baseline-across-settings design

-there is a baseline and treatment phase for TWO OR MORE SETTINGS in which the same behavior of the same subject is measured

what is an extraneous variable?

also called a confounding variable , is any event that the researcher did not plan that may have affected the behavior

how does an A-B-A-B design help you rule out extraneous variables as the cause of the behavior change?

doing the treatment phase and baseline phase twice lets you rule out behavior changes due to extraneous variables, and shows that the treatment is the actual cause of behavior change

what does it mean to say that treatment is staggered in a multiple-baseline design?

when treatment is implemented at different times

what is an alternating treatment design (ATD)?

a research design in which baseline and treatment conditions (or 2 treatment conditions) are conducted in rapid succession, typically alternating days or sessions. baseline and treatment phases can be compared with each other within the same time period

how do you judge the effectiveness of treatment in an ATD?

if there is a separation in the data, when the data are consistently higher in one condition than the other.

describe the change-criterion design

a research design in which a # of different criterion (goal) levels are set for the behavior during the treatment phase. When the behavior increases (or decreases) to the criterion level each time that the criterion changes, a functional relationship is established between the treatment and the target behavior

how do you determine that treatment is effective in a change-criterion design?

whether the subject's behavior changes to meet the changing performance criteria

what is a functional relationship?

a relationship between a behavior and an environmental event (or events) in which the occurrence of the behavior is controlled by the occurrence of the environmental event.

how do you determine that a functional relationship exists between a target behavior and a treatment procedure?

a functional relationship is demonstrated in a research design by manipulating the environmental event and showing that the behavior changes if and only if the environmental event occurs

identify the terms identified by the following abbreviations: US, UR, CS, & CR

US = unconditioned stimulus

UR = unconditioned responses

CS = conditioned stimulus

CR = conditioned responses

what is an unconditioned stimulus (US)? provide examples

a stimulus that naturally elicits an unconditioned response (UR) because the UR has survival value.

ex: meat powder in the mouth of Pavlov's dog

what is an unconditioned response (UR)? provide examples

the response that is elicited by an unconditioned stimulus

ex: Pavlov's dog's salivation, pupil constriction in response to bright light

describe how a neutral stimulus (NS) becomes a conditioned stimulus (CS)? What is this process called?

when a neutral stimulus (NS) is paired with an unconditioned stimulus (US), the NS becomes a conditioned stimulus (CS)

this is called respondent conditioning

what is the outcome of respondent conditioning?

a conditioned response (CR), or a respondent behavior

the timing of the NS and the US in respondent conditioning is important. There are 4 possible temporal relationships between the NS and the US, describe them.

delay conditioning

- the NS is presented and then the US is presented before the NS ends

trace conditioning

- the NS precedes the US, the the NS ends before the US is presented

simultaneous conditioning

- the NS and US are presented at the same time

backward conditioning

- the US is presented before the NS

identify the most effective and least effective of the 4 types of conditioning

most effective = trace & delay conditioning

least effective = backward conditioning

describe higher-order conditioning. provide an example

when an NS is paired with an already established CS and the NS becomes a CS.

ex: once a clicking sound was paired with a blast of air a # of times, the clicking sound became a CS for an eye-blink response

what is a CER? provide examples for both + and - CERs

conditioned emotional responses

positive ex: happiness, love, pleasant feelings

negative ex: fear, anger, disgust

describe respondent extinction and provide examples

the process by which, when a conditioned stimulus (CS) is no longer paired with an unconditioned stimulus (US), the CS gradually ceases to elicit the conditioned response (CR)

ex: if pavlov continued to present the sound of the metronome (CS) but never paired it with the delivery of meat powder (US), the dog would salivate less and less to the sound of the metronome; finally the dog would not salivate at all when it heard the metronome

what is spontaneous recovery of respondent behavior?

when the conditioned stimulus (CS) elicits the conditioned response (CR) after respondent extinction has taken place

ex: when pavlov presented the metronome later, the dog again salivated, although to a lesser extent than before respondent extinction occurred

how does taste aversion differ from other types of respondent conditioning?

the only case in which respondent conditioning can occur without temporal proximity of the NS and US

ex: tainted milk (US) caused overwhelming nausea and vomiting (UR) 15 min after drinking it. Since then milk does not taste good. because the US was paired with the taste of milk, the taste of milk became a CS that elicited a CR similar to nausea initially experienced, although sickness may not actually occur.

how is discrimination of respondent behavior developed?

when a particular stimulus (S1) is paired with the US, but similar stimuli (S2, S3, S4, etc) are presented without the US, only S1 elicits a CR.

ex: if a person is attacked by a german shepherd and since then is afraid by just the sight of the dog, but is okay when seeing other dogs. (afraid of one dog or breed)

how is generalization of respondent behavior developed?

if S1 is paired with the US but similar stimuli (S2, S3, S4, etc) are never presented in the absence of the US, the CR is more likely to generalize to these other stimuli

ex: if a person was attacked by the german shepherd but they never had encounters with friendly dogs, their fear response would be more likely to generalize to other dogs that are similar in some way to german shepherds (dogs of similar size, color, shape)

identify and define the 5 factors that influence respondent conditioning

The nature of the US & CS

-the intensity of a stimulus influences the effectiveness of the stimulus as a CS or a US

The temporal relationship between the CS and US

-for conditioning to be most effective, the NS should precede the US

contingency between the CS and US

-the NS and US are presented together on every trial

the # of pairings

- more pairings of the NS and US produce stronger conditioning in general

previous exposure to the CS

-a stimulus is less likely to become a CS when paired with a US if the person has been exposed to that stimulus in the past without the US

describe how respondent and operant behavior may occur together in the case of a student's fear of public speaking

the mention of speaking in public elicits an autonomic arousal which (respondent behavior) makes the student take deep breaths to calm themself down

how would you use respondent extinction to help a child overcome a fear of dogs?

presenting the dog numerous times without the US (whatever caused the fear response). eventually the presence of the dog would no longer elicit a fear response

what are the seven dimensions of applied behavior analysis? (GET A CAB)

Generality

Effective

Technological

Applied

Conceptual systems

Analytic

Behavioral