ABA Flashcards

A series of flashcards designed to aid in understanding key terms and concepts in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). Each flashcard consists of a term and its definition.

Abative Effect

A decrease in the current frequency of behavior that has been reinforced by a stimulus that is increased in reinforcing effectiveness by the same motivating operation.

Abolishing Operation

A motivating operation that decreases the reinforcing effectiveness of a stimulus, object, or event.

Adjunctive Behavior

Behavior that occurs as a collateral effect of a schedule of periodic reinforcement for other behavior.

Antecedent

Environmental condition or stimulus change existing or occurring prior to a behavior of interest.

Antecedent Intervention

A behavior change strategy that manipulates contingency independent antecedent stimuli.

Applied Behavior Analysis

The science in which tactics derived from the principles of behavior are applied to improve socially significant behavior.

Arbitrary Stimulus Class

Antecedent stimuli that evoke the same response but do not resemble each other in physical form.

Artifact

An outcome or result that appears to exist because of the way it is measured but does not correspond to what actually occurred.

Autoclitic

A secondary verbal operant in which some aspect of a speakers own verbal behavior functions as an Sd or MO for additional speaker verbal behavior.

Automatic Reinforcement

Reinforcement that occurs independent of the social mediation of others.

Automacity of Reinforcement

Refers to the fact that behavior is modified by its consequences irrespective of the person's awareness.

Aversive Stimulus

An unpleasant or noxious stimulus that functions to evoke behavior, act as a punisher, or as a reinforcer.

Backward Chaining

Treatment procedure in which a trainer completes all but the last behavior in a chain performed by the learner.

Back Up Reinforcers

Tangible objects, activities, or privileges that serve as reinforcers and can be purchased with tokens.

Baseline

Condition of an experiment in which the independent variable is not present.

Behavior

The activity of living organisms that results in measurable changes in at least one aspect of the environment.

Behavior Altering Effect

An alteration in the current frequency of a behavior that has been reinforced by a stimulus that has been altered.

Behavioral Contrast

A phenomenon where change in one component of a schedule is accompanied by a change in the other component in the opposite direction.

Behavioral Cusp

A behavior that has sudden and dramatic consequences that extend well beyond the idiosyncratic change itself.

Behavioral Momentum

A metaphor to describe the rate of responding and its resistance to change following an alteration in reinforcement conditions.

Behaviorism

The philosophy of a science of behavior, there are various forms of behaviorism.

Component Analysis

An experiment designed to identify the active elements of a treatment condition.

Concurrent Schedule

A schedule of reinforcement in which two or more contingencies operate independently and simultaneously.

Conditional Probability

The likelihood that a target behavior will occur in a given circumstance.

Conditioned Motivating Operation

A motivating operation whose value-altering effect depends on a learning history.

Conditioned Punisher

Previously neutral stimulus that functions as a punisher because of prior pairing with one or more other punishers.

Conditioned Reinforcer

Stimulus change that functions as a reinforcer because of prior pairing with one or more other reinforcers.

Conditioned Stimulus

The stimulus component of a conditioned reflex that elicits respondent behavior only after it has been paired with an unconditioned stimulus.

Conflict of Interest

A situation in which a person has competing interests that make it difficult to fulfill their duties impartially.

Confounding Variable

An uncontrolled factor known or suspected to exert influence on the dependent variable.

Consequence

A stimulus change that follows a behavior; it can be reinforcing, punishing, or neutral.

Contingency

Refers to dependent and/or temporal relations between operant behavior and its controlling variables.

Contingency Contract

A mutually agreed upon document specifying a contingent relationship between behaviors and reinforcers.