Behavior Modification: Principles and Procedures

Vocabulary flashcards generated from behavior modification practice quizzes covering fundamental concepts, behavioral assessment, graphing/research designs, and respondent conditioning.

Behavior

What people say and do.

Behavioral Excess

Too much of a particular behavior.

Behavioral Deficit

Too little of a particular behavior.

Frequency

The number of times a behavior occurs in an observation period.

Duration

How long a behavior lasts, measured from onset to offset.

Intensity

The amount of physical force involved in a behavior.

Latency

The time from some stimulus or event to the onset of the behavior.

Overt Behavior

A behavior that can be observed and recorded by another person.

Covert Behavior

A behavior that is private and not observable by others.

Behavior Modification

The field of psychology concerned with analyzing and modifying human behavior.

Behaviorism

The movement in psychology started by John B. Watson focusing on observable behavior.

Law of Effect

The principle demonstrated by Edward Thorndike stating that behavior producing a favorable effect on the environment is more likely to recur.

Direct Assessment

Behavioral assessment involving the direct observation and recording of the target behavior as it occurs.

Indirect Assessment

Behavioral assessment that relies on interviews, questionnaires, or rating scales to gather information about a target behavior.

Target Behavior

The specific behavior identified for observation, measurement, and change.

Behavioral Definition

A specific description using active verbs to define the precise target behavior a person exhibits.

Interobserver Agreement (IOA)

The measurement of reliability when two independent observers score the same behavior during the same observation period and calculate their agreement.

Observation Period

The specific timeframe during which an observer records instances of the target behavior.

Continuous Recording

A recording method in which the observer watches the client throughout the observation period and records every occurrence or continuous dimension of the target behavior.

Real-Time Recording

A continuous recording procedure where the exact time of each onset and offset of the target behavior is documented.

Product Recording

An indirect recording method where the target behavior is measured by its tangible physical outcome or permanent product.

Interval Recording

A recording method in which the observation period is divided into consecutive intervals of time and occurrences of behavior are scored within each interval.

Time Sample Recording

A recording method where the observation period is divided into intervals, but behavior is observed and scored during brief interval periods separated by longer non-observation periods.

Reactivity

The phenomenon in which the process of recording a behavior causes that behavior to change prior to any treatment intervention.

Abscissa (x-axis)

The horizontal axis on a behavior modification graph, showing units of time.

Ordinate (y-axis)

The vertical axis on a behavior modification graph, showing the level or dimension of the target behavior.

Baseline

The phase in a research design where the target behavior is measured before treatment is introduced.

Functional Relationship

A relationship demonstrated when a researcher shows that a specific treatment procedure causes a predictable change in a target behavior.

A-B Design

A basic design consisting of one baseline phase (A) and one treatment phase (B); it cannot prove a functional relationship because it lacks replication.

A-B-A-B Reversal Design

A research design in which baseline and treatment phases are repeated to rule out extraneous variables and confirm a functional relationship.

Multiple-Baseline-Across-Subjects Design

A research design in which a single treatment is applied to the same behavior of two or more subjects staggered across different points in time.

Multiple-Baseline-Across-Behaviors Design

A research design in which a single treatment is applied to two or more behaviors of the same subject staggered across different points in time.

Multiple-Baseline-Across-Settings Design

A research design in which a single treatment is applied to the same behavior of one subject in two or more settings staggered across different points in time.

Alternating-Treatments Design (ATD)

A research design in which two or more conditions/treatments are conducted in rapid succession and compared.

Changing-Criterion Design

A research design featuring a baseline phase followed by a treatment phase with successive, stepwise performance criterion levels.

Extraneous Variable

An uncontrolled event or variable that might cause a change in the target behavior independently of the treatment procedure.

Unconditioned Stimulus (US)

A stimulus that naturally elicits an unconditioned response without any prior learning history.

Unconditioned Response (UR)

An unlearned, innate reflex response elicited automatically by an unconditioned stimulus.

Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

A previously neutral stimulus that elicits a conditioned response after being paired with an unconditioned stimulus.

Conditioned Response (CR)

A learned reflex response elicited by a conditioned stimulus following respondent conditioning.

Neutral Stimulus (NS)

A stimulus that produces no specific automatic response prior to conditioning.

Trace Conditioning

A conditioning procedure where the neutral stimulus (NS) precedes the unconditioned stimulus (US) and terminates before the US is presented.

Delay Conditioning

A conditioning procedure where the neutral stimulus (NS) precedes the unconditioned stimulus (US) and overlaps with its onset.

Simultaneous Conditioning

A conditioning procedure where the neutral stimulus (NS) and unconditioned stimulus (US) are presented at exactly the same time.

Backward Conditioning

A conditioning procedure where the unconditioned stimulus (US) precedes the neutral stimulus (NS).

Conditioned Emotional Response (CER)

An emotional reflex (e.g., fear or autonomic arousal) produced as a conditioned response to a conditioned stimulus.

Respondent Extinction

The repeated presentation of a conditioned stimulus (CS) without the unconditioned stimulus (US), leading to the cessation of the conditioned response (CR).

Spontaneous Recovery

The reappearance of a conditioned response (CR) following respondent extinction when the conditioned stimulus (CS) is presented again after a period of time.

Higher-Order Conditioning

A respondent conditioning procedure in which a neutral stimulus (NS) is paired with an established conditioned stimulus (CS) to create a new CS.

Habituation

A reduction in the strength of an unconditioned response (UR) following repeated exposure to the unconditioned stimulus (US).