CONCEPTS AND PRINS CHAPS 2, 3, 4, 5

POSITIVE REINFORCER

A stimulus that increases the frequency of a response it follows.

POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT CONTINGENCY (REINFORCEMENT)

The response-contingent presentation of a reinforcer in an increased frequency of that response.

NEGATIVE REINFORCER (AVERSIVE STIMULUS)

A stimulus that increase the future frequency of a response that its removal (termination) follows.

NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT CONTINGENCY (ESCAPE)

The response-contingent removal of a negative reinforcer resulting in an increased frequency of that response.

PUNISHER (AVERSIVE STIMULUS)

A stimulus that decreases the future frequency of a response that its presentation follows.

POSITIVE PUNISHMENT CONTINGENCY (PUNISHMENT)

Response-contingent presentation of a punisher resulting in a decreased frequency of that response.

NEGATIVE PUNISHMENT CONTINGENCY (PENALTY)

Response-contingent removal of a reinforcer resulting in a decreased frequency of that response.

BEHAVIORAL CONTINGENCY

The occasion for a response, the response, and the outcome of that response.

EXTINCTION

Stopping the positive or negative reinforcement contingency for a previously reinforced response causes the response frequency to decrease.

RULE

A description of a behavioral contingency.

RULE GOVERNED BEHAVIOR

Behavior under the control of a rule.

CONTINGENCY SHAPED BEHAVIOR

Behavior under the control of a direct-acting contingency.

OPERANT CONDITIONING

Reinforcing or punishing consequences immediately following a response increase or decrease its future frequency.

OPERANT BEHAVIOR

Behavior that operates on the environment and is influenced by its reinforcing or punishing consequences.

THE LAW OF EFFECT

The effects of our actions determine whether we will repeat them.

INDEPENDENT VARIABLE

The variable the experimenter systematically manipulates to influence the dependent variable.

DEPENDENT VARIABLE

A measure of the participant’s behavior.

BASELINE

The phase of an experiment or intervention where the behavior is measured in the absence of an intervention.

OPERATIONAL DEFINITION

An explicit definition that makes it possible for two or more observers to identify the same behavior when it occurs.

INTEROBSERVER AGREEMENT

Agreement between observations of two or more independent observers.

EXPERIMENTAL GROUP

A group of participants exposed to the presumed crucial value of the independent variable.

CONTROL GROUP

A group of participants not exposed to the presumed crucial value of the independent variable.

SINGLE SUBJECT EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN

Individuals serve as their own controls.

GROUP EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN

A separate group of individuals seres as the control for the experimental group.

SOCIAL VALIDITY

The goals, procedures, and results of an intervention are socially acceptable to the client, the behavioranalyst, and society.

TARGET BEHAVIOR

The behavior being measured, the dependent variable.

CONFOUNDED VARIABLES

Two or more independent variables have changed at the same time; so it is not possible to determine which of those variables caused the changes in the dependent variable.

INTERNAL VALIDITY

Lack of confounding variables.

TREATMENT (INTERVENTION) PACKAGE

The addition or change of several independent variables at the same time to achieve a desired result, without testing the effects of each variable individually.

CONTROL CONDITION

A condition not containing the presumed crucial value of the independent variable.

EXTERNAL VALIDITY

The extent to which the conclusions of an experiment apply to a wide variety of conditions.

BEHAVIORISM

The philosophy that the subject matter of psychology is the study of the effects of environmental variables on behavior, largely through experimental analysis.

METHODOLOGICAL BEHAVIORISM

The philosophy that behaviorism should only deal with events that two or more scientists can observe.

RADICAL BEHAVIORISM

The philosophy that behaviorism can consider many private events as behavior to which the principles of behavior apply.

MENTALISM

The philosophy that the mind controls behavior.

MIND

The source of cognitive skills or those cognitive skills themselves.

EMPIRICISM

Knowledge comes from our senses.

DETERMINISM

All events and all things have a cause.

PARSIMONY

The use of no unnecessary concepts, principles, or assumptions.

EXPERIMENTATION

The manipulation of events or conditions to evaluate their effects.

PRAGMATISM

Research should have useful results.

SELECTIONISM

Characteristics of species, behavior, and societies are selected by their consequences.

DEAD-MAN TEST

If a dead man can do it, it probably is not a behavior.

BEHAVIOR

A muscular, glandular, or neuroelectric activity.

REPETOIRE

A set of skills.

7 DIMENSIONS OF ABA

1. Applied.

2. Behavioral.

3. Analytic.

4. Technological.

5. Conceptually Systematic.

6. Effective.

7. General.