PSYC 3530 ABA Revew Flashcards

What is an SD?

An SD is a cue that tells you a behavior is likely to be reinforced.

Example:
A waiter is nearby, so you ask for a menu. The waiter’s presence signals that asking will probably work.

What is an S-delta?

An S-delta is a cue that tells you a behavior is not likely to be reinforced.

Example:
A store has a “closed” sign. Pulling the door will not get you inside.

What is an MO?

An MO, or motivating operation, changes how valuable a consequence is and changes how likely behavior is.

Example:
Being hungry makes food more valuable and makes food-seeking behavior more likely.

How do you tell an SD from an MO?

• SD: Does this signal I can get the reinforcer?

• MO: Does this change how much I want the reinforcer?

How do you tell an SD from an S-delta?

Both are cues, but they signal opposite things.

• SD: Behavior will probably work.

• S-delta: Behavior probably will not work.

What is extinction?

Extinction happens when a behavior that used to be reinforced no longer gets that reinforcer, so the behavior decreases.

Example:
A child whines for attention. The parent stops giving attention after whining. Whining decreases.

What is attention extinction

Attention extinction means the behavior no longer gets attention.

Example:
A child makes silly noises to get the parent to look, laugh, or scold. The parent stops giving attention after the noises.

What is escape extinction?

Escape extinction means the behavior no longer lets the person escape or avoid a task, demand, or situation.

Example:
A student cries when math starts. The teacher keeps the math task present instead of removing it.

What is access extinction?

Access extinction means the behavior no longer gets access to a preferred item or activity.

Example:
A child screams for an iPad. The parent does not give the iPad after screaming.

What is automatic extinction?

Automatic extinction means the behavior no longer produces the sensory reinforcement it used to produce.

Example:
A behavior that feels good is blocked so it no longer creates that sensory feeling.

What does “automatic” mean in automatic extinction?

The behavior is reinforced by its own sensory consequence.

Example:
A child rocks because the movement feels good.

What is punishment?

Punishment happens when a consequence causes behavior to decrease in the future.

Example:
A child loses TV after yelling, and yelling decreases.

Can extinction and punishment both decrease behavior?

They decrease behavior for different reasons.

Extinction removes the old payoff. Punishment adds or removes a consequence.

What does “applied” mean?

The behavior matters in real life.

Example:
Teaching a child to ask for help is applied because it improves daily life.

What does “behavioral” mean?

he target must be actual measurable behavior.

What does “analytic” mean?

The data show the intervention caused the behavior change.

Example:
Behavior changed only after the reinforcement plan started.

What does “technological” mean?

The procedure is described clearly enough that someone else can copy it.

What does “conceptually systematic” mean?

The procedure is based on behavioral principles.

Example:
A token system is based on reinforcement.

What does “generality” mean?

The behavior change lasts, spreads to other settings, or spreads to related behaviors.

What is respondent conditioning?

Respondent conditioning involves involuntary behavior elicited by a stimulus.

Example:
Blinking when air hits your eye.

What is operant conditioning?

Operant conditioning is learning controlled by consequences.

Example:
A child says “please,” gets juice, and says “please” more often.

What is the main difference between respondent and operant behavior?

Respondent behavior is elicited automatically.
Operant behavior is influenced by consequences.

What is continuous reinforcement?

Every correct response gets reinforced.

Example:
Every time a child says “help,” the teacher helps.

What is intermittent reinforcement?

Only some responses get reinforced.

Example:
A student sometimes gets praise for raising their hand, not every time.

What is fixed ratio?

Reinforcement after a set number of responses.

Example:
Sticker after every 5 math problems.

What is variable ratio?

Reinforcement after an unpredictable number of responses, based on an average.

Example:
Slot machines or sales calls.

What is fixed interval?

Reinforcement after a set amount of time.

Example:
Checking the oven when the timer reaches 20 minutes.

What is variable interval?

Reinforcement after changing amounts of time.

Example:
Checking email because messages arrive unpredictably.

What is the three-term contingency?

SD → response → consequence.

Example:
Teacher shows dog picture → child says “dog” → teacher praises.

Memory aid:
Cue → do → consequence.

What is mentalism?

Mentalism explains behavior by using internal states as causes instead of analyzing observable environmental variables.

Example:
“She did not work because she lacked motivation.”

What is an explanatory fiction?

An explanatory fiction is a circular explanation where a label is treated as the cause of behavior.

How did Skinner view private events?

Private events are behavior, but they should not replace environmental analysis.

Example:
Thinking and feeling can be real private events, but ABA still looks for environmental variables.

What is discrimination training?

Teaching a response to happen in the presence of one stimulus and not another by reinforcing only the correct response.

Example:
Reinforce saying “dog” when shown a dog, not when shown a donut.

What is stimulus discrimination?

The learner responds when the SD is present and does not respond when the S-delta is present.

Example:
Says “dog” to dog, not to cow.

What is stimulus generalization?

The learner responds to stimuli similar to the original SD.

What is overt behavior?

Behavior that others can observe.

Example:
Crying, walking, talking, writing.

What is covert behavior?

Behavior only the person doing it can observe.

Example:
Thinking, silently reading, feeling pain.

What is positive reinforcement?

Something is added after behavior, and behavior increases.

What is negative reinforcement?

Something aversive is removed after behavior, and behavior increases.

In ABC terms, what is the antecedent?

What happens before the behavior.

In ABC terms, what is the behavior?

What the person does.

In ABC terms, what is the consequence?

What happens after the behavior.

What is attention-maintained behavior?

Behavior maintained by getting attention from others.

What is escape-maintained behavior?

Behavior maintained by getting out of or delaying something unpleasant or difficult.

Example:
A student puts their head down, an

hat is tangible/access-maintained behavior?

Behavior maintained by getting access to an item, activity, or preferred thing.

Example:
A child screams, gets an iPad, and screams more next time.

What is automatic or sensory reinforcement?

The behavior is maintained by the sensory consequence it produces, not by another person.

Example:
A person rocks because it feels calming.

What is latency?

Latency is how long it takes for a behavior to start after a cue, instruction, or event.

Example:
Teacher says, “Begin your worksheet.” The student starts writing after 12 seconds.

What is duration?

Duration is how long a behavior lasts from beginning to end.

Example:
A tantrum lasts 8 minutes.

What is IRT?

IRT, or interresponse time, is the time between one response and the next response.

Example:
A student raises their hand at 10:01 and again at 10:06. The IRT is 5 minutes.

How do you tell latency from IRT?

Latency = time from cue to behavior.
IRT = time between behaviors.

How do you tell latency from duration?

Latency is before the behavior starts.
Duration is after the behavior starts and until it ends.

What is event recording?

counting each time a behavior happens as it happens.

Example:
Counting each time a student talks out during class.

What is permanent product recording?

counting the result

Example:
Counting completed worksheets after class.

How do you tell event recording from permanent product recording?

Event recording = count behavior while it happens.
Permanent product = count the result later.

What is whole interval recording?

The behavior must happen for the entire interval to count.

Example:
Student must be on task for all 30 seconds to mark “yes.”

What is partial interval recording?

The behavior counts if it happens at any point during the interval.

Example:
If yelling happens once during a 1-minute interval, mark “yes.”

What is momentary time sampling?

You check whether the behavior is happening at one exact moment, usually when the timer goes off.

Which interval system can overestimate behavior?

Partial interval recording.

Why:
One quick behavior can make the whole interval count as occurrence.

Which interval system can underestimate behavior?

Answer:
Whole interval recording.

Why:
The behavior must occur for the entire interval, so brief behaviors may get missed.

What is a phase change line?

A vertical line on a graph showing when conditions change.

What is a data path?

The line connecting data points within the same phase.

What does level mean on a graph?

Level means the overall height or value of the data.

What does trend mean?

Trend is the direction the data are moving over time.

What does variability mean?

Variability means how much the data bounce around.

What is immediacy of effect?

How quickly behavior changes after intervention starts.

Example:
Behavior drops from 20 to 5 right after treatment begins.

What is overlap?

Overlap is when data points in baseline and intervention have similar values.

Is high overlap strong or weak evidence of treatment effect?

Weak evidence.

What graph pattern suggests a strong treatment effect?

Little overlap

clear level change

low variability

change after intervention.

What is a single-case design?

A design that measures behavior repeatedly over time to see whether an intervention changes behavior for an individual or small number of cases.

Why do single-case designs use repeated measurement?

To see patterns in behavior before, during, and sometimes after intervention.

What is the goal of single-case design?

To show a functional relation between the intervention and behavior change.

What is a reversal design?

A design where baseline and intervention phases are repeated, often ABAB.

Why can reversal designs show strong experimental control?

Because behavior should change when treatment is added and reverse when treatment is removed.

What is a multielement design?

A design that rapidly alternates conditions or treatments to compare their effects.

What is a possible problem with multielement designs?

Carryover or confusion between conditions.

What is multiple-baseline design?

A design where intervention starts at different times across behaviors, settings, or participants.

What can multiple baseline be used across?

Behaviors, settings, or participants.

What is changing criterion design?

A design where the required level of behavior changes step by step.

When should you avoid reversal design?

When removing treatment is unsafe, unethical, or when behavior is unlikely to reverse.

What design can be better if reversal is unethical?

Multiple baseline.

What is frequency?

Frequency is the number of times a behavior happens

What is rate?

Rate is frequency divided by time.

What is reliability?

Reliability means measurement is consistent.

What is Interobserver Agreement / IOA?

IOA is when two observers record the same behavior and compare their data to see how much they agree.

What is experimental control in single-case design?

Evidence that the intervention, not something else, caused the behavior change.

What is a functional relation?

A demonstrated relationship showing that changes in the intervention are connected to reliable changes in behavior.

What is shaping?

teaching a behavior by reinforcing small steps that get closer and closer to the final behavior.

What are successive approximations?

small steps that look more and more like the final behavior.

What is the terminal behavior?

The terminal behavior is the final behavior you want the learner to perform.

Why is differential reinforcement important in shaping?

Because shaping works by reinforcing better responses and not reinforcing weaker responses.

When should shaping be used?

Use shaping when the behavior does not exist yet or is too complex to teach all at once.

When should shaping NOT be used?

Do not use shaping if the learner already does the behavior or if the behavior can be taught quickly with instructions or modeling.

What is a prompt?

extra help added to increase the chance of a correct response.

What are response prompts?

Response prompts directly help the learner do the behavior.

What are stimulus prompts?

Stimulus prompts change or highlight the cue to make the correct answer easier.

What is most-to-least prompting?

Physical → modeling → gestural → verbal → none.

What is prompt fading?

gradually removing prompts so the learner responds to the natural cue

What is prompt delay?

Prompt delay means waiting before giving help so the learner has a chance to respond independently.

What is prompt dependency?

Prompt dependency happens when the learner waits for prompts instead of responding to the natural cue.

What is transfer of stimulus control?

The learner shifts from responding to the prompt to responding to the natural cue or SD.