ABA Exam Study

ABC

ABC

Antecedent, Behavior, Consequence - also known as 3-term contingency

Abolishing Operations

Can decrease reinforcer effectiveness. Usually associated with satiation

Acquisition

A target that is in the process of being taught. This behavior is not yet a known skill.

Antecedent Intervention

Altering the environment to prevent any challenge behaviors from occurring; reduces triggers

Antecedent

events that occur before the behavior

Backwards Chaining

Teaching skill steps one at a time from the last step to the first and prompting all steps before the step being taught. Reinforcement after teaching step and at the end of the task.

Behavior Intervention Plan

After conducting an FBA, a plan is implemented to change the challenged behavior

Behavior Skills Training

Procedure that is used to teach new behaviors or skills. Consist of Instructions, model, behavioral rehearsal, and feedback

Behavior

anything a person does that can be observed and measured

4 Functions of Behavior

1. Automatic/Sensory: providing self-stimulation and is automatically reinforced

2. Escape: avoiding or escaping a demand or undesirable task

3. Attention: can be socially mediated and seeks attention in any way from others

4. Access: tangible, wanting a preferred item

Chaining

Used to teach multi-step skills in which the steps involved are defined through task analysis. Each separate step is taught to link together the total "chain".

Consequence

something that follows a behavior

Continuous Measurement

records every single occurrence of behavior. Examples include frequency, duration, rate, and per opportunity

Continuous Reinforcement

the target behavior occurs and is reinforced after every occurrence

Deprivation

not having something often enough and in return, increases the effectiveness of it when used as a reinforcer

Differential Reinforcement

A procedure in which desired behavior is reinforced while unwanted behaviors are extinguished

DRA (Differential Reinforcement of Alternative Behavior)

Reinforce behavior that is an appropriate alternative for the undesirable behavior

DRO (Differential Reinforcement of Other Behavior)

Reinforce any other behavior other than the undesirable behavior

DRI (Differential Reinforcement of Incompatible behavior)

alternative behavior you choose to reinforce is contradictory with the target behavior (ex: nail bitting → clap hands)

Discontinuous Measurement

Measure by instances of behavior but not all. Typically associated with partial and whole interval recording and momentary time sampling

Discrete Trial Training (DTT)

A technique used to break down a skill into smaller parts, teaching those part with reinforcement

Discrimination Training

reinforcing behavior in the presence of one stimulus but not the other. Beneficial for understanding how to respond to different environments

Discriminative Stimulus (SD)

a cue that signals reinforcement is available if the child makes a particular response (Demand or Instruction).

Dual Relationship

situation where multiple roles exist between a therapist and a parent or client. (Multiple Relatioships)

Duration

the amount of time that someone engages in a behavior

Echoic

verbal imitation, repeating the speaker

Correction (ECTER)

When a client makes a mistake on a target that has been previously mastered, do NOT acknowledge the mistake. Re-present the trial and be ready to prompt to get a correct answer

Errorless Teaching

prompt the correct response as soon as you give the Sd. Essentially, you are not giving the client a chance to make an error.

Establishing Operation

Increase the effectiveness of reinforcement. Usually, deprivation is associated with this operation

Ethics

Must follow the BCBA's code of ethics. Failure to follow the mandatory code of ethics can lead to loss of employment and certification. Please review the Code of Ethics outline.

Expressive Language

The ability to communicate. This can be identified as labeling, describing, manding, answering, and forming sentences

Extinciton

The withholding of reinforcement for a previously reinforced behavior, resulting in reduction of that behavior

Extinction Burst

The increase of frequency and/or intensity of behavior in the early stages of extinction

Fixed Interval (FI)

this schedule of reinforcement is used for a set amount of responses

Fixed Ratio (FR)

this schedule of reinforcement is used for a set amount of responses

Forward Chaining

Teaching skill steps one at a time from the first step to the last and prompting all steps after the step being taught. Reinforcement after teaching step and at the end of the task.

Frequency

the amount of times, or count, a behavior or response happens.

Functional Behavioral Assessment

This is the process by which behavioral interventions are created. A Functional Behavior Assessment involves thing in observation, interview, and collecting ABC data.

Functional Relationship

how a person's behaviors change the world around him/her, and how those changes affect the future likelihood on the same behaviors.

Functions of Behavior

Used when determining why an individual engages in certain behavior. ABA identifies 4 functions of a behavior

Generalization

when the behavior occurs outside of the learning environment. It can happen across settings, time and across people and exists when the behavior occurs in these various environments

HIPPA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act)

HIPPA provides federal protection for the individual health information, including the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of protected information

Imitation

Copying someone's motor movements

Incidental Teaching

a teaching technique used in naturally occurring environments and can create natural incidents of learning.

Instructional Control

Establishing a good working relationship with the client to help with the teaching processes (reinforcing compliance)

Intermittent Reinforcement

Schedule of reinforcing some but not all desirable behavior; delivering reinforcement at a irregular interval

Inter-Response Time

The time between two responses given

Intraverbal

Building blocks to conversation skills and it's the ability to discuss, describe, or answer a question about something that isn't physically present.

Latency

The time between when the Sd is presented, and the response is given

Listener Responding

Following a direction given. Receptive language goal.

Listener Responding Feature Function Class (LRFFC)

used to describe and receptively find an object by it’s given feature, function or class of that item.

Magnitude

the force or intensity with which a response is emitted

Maintenance

The ability of a child to demonstrate previously acquired skills over time and durations when the reinforcement has been faded

Mand

asking for something: a request that has motivation

Measurement

Collecting data on various skills or behaviors

Momentary Time Sample

looking for a behavior's occurrence during a specific part of the interval and recording if it is occurring at that precise moment. Ex: setting a timer to go off every minute for a 30-minute interval, only checking for behavior and marking it down as the timer goes off.

Motivating Operation

Change in environment that increases or decreases the effectiveness of a given reinforcer. Used with EO or AO.

Natural Environment Teaching

Naturalistic teaching is when the learner initiates a learning opportunity and the reinforcer is a result of the activity or learning opportunity

Negative Reinforcement

removing a stimulus to increase a behavior/ strengthen behavior

Operational Definition

Definitions of behavior that are measurable, objective and observable

Pairing

establishing yourself as a reinforcer or the deliverer of reinforcement while building positive relationship

Partial Interval Recording

involves checking off an interval if the behavior occurs at ANY point within the interval

Permanent Product

Any behavior that leaves an impact on the environment and can be recorded after the behavior occurs

Positive Reinforcement

Adding a stimulus to strengthen/ increase behavior

Preference Assessment

Assessment to determine what a child is motivated by

Primary Reinforcer (unconditioned)

items or activities that are naturally reinforcing

Deprivation

The withholding of a stimulus

Immediacy

How quickly a reinforcer is presented after a correct response is emitted

Size

The amount of reinforcement given after a correct response is emitted

Contingency

If ____ then ____ statements is used to set the expectation for reinforcement to occur

Prompt

any form of assistance added to evoke a correct response or behavior

Prompt Hierarchy

level of prompts used from greatest to least or least to greatest

Expressive Language Hierarchy

Full verbal → Partial verbal → Independent

Receptive Language Hierarchy

Full physical → Partial physical → Model → Gestural → Independent

Prompt Fading

gradually removing prompt levels needed or fading out the intrusiveness

Punishment

anything that is added or removed after a behavior that decreases it, make is less likely to happen again

Positive Punishment

A stimulus presented after a behavior occurs which decreases the behavior

Negative Punishment

A stimulus removed after a behavior occurs which decreases the behavior

Rate

calculates the number of times a behavior occurs in a specific time interval (more time based than frequency)

Reactive Strategies

Techniques used in an emergency or crisis situation to gain control of dangerous, out of control behaviors

Receptive Language

listener behavior and refers to tasks that require a non-vocal action or motor response such as imitation, or pointing

Reinforcement

Anything that is added or removed after a behavior that increases it, makes it more likely to occur

Positive Reinforcement

A stimulus presented after a behavior occurs which increases the behavior.

Negative Reinforcement

A stimulus removed after a behavior occurs which increases the behavior

Replacement Behavior

A behavior you want to replace an unwanted target behavior with

Response Prompt

something added directly to the response that assists the client to complete the correct response; gestural, model, or verbal prompt

Role of an RBT

program implementation, data collection, communicating w/ stakeholders, work directly with BCBA and following written program including BIP

Satiation

When a reinforcer loses its effectiveness due to overuse

Secondary Reinforcer (conditioned)

items or activities that acquire reinforcing properties when paired with primary reinforcers

Setting Events

The context or circumstance in which an environment-behavior relationship occurs. The event changes the strengths of stimuli and responses involved in an environment-behavior interaction.

Shaping

the process of reinforcing approximation of behavior to gradually work on the full response

Skill Acquisition

Developing of new skills, habits, quality

Spontaneous Recovery

The reappearance of the extinguished behavior after a period without reinforcing the behavior

Stimulus

anything that elicits a response followed the consequence

Stimulus Control

when a behavior occurs in the presence of a particular stimulus than its absence bc its predictive of a reinforcement (ex: Rings → check phone)

Stimulus Control Transfer

A process in which prompts are removed in order to bring the behavior under the control of the Sd and is achieved by prompt fading

Stimulus Prompt

something is added to the stimulus that signals the correct response; positional, redundancy (exaggerate), movement (pointing)

Tact

A form of verbal behavior where the speaker sees, hears, smells, tastes something and then comments about it

Task Analysis

The process of breaking a skill down into smaller, more manageable

Token Economy

a method used to try and reinforce (increase) the frequency of a target behavior