Key Concepts in Behaviorism and Applied Behavior Analysis

Early Psychology: Focus on introspection and mental processes in the early 1900s.

Behaviorism Foundation (1913): James B. Watson emphasized objective study of behavior through direct observation of the environment's effect on behavior.

Stimulus Response Interaction: Behavior can be predicted and controlled by stimuli occurring prior to the behavior (e.g., child sees milk and says 'bottle').

BF Skinner (1938): Outlined behavior analysis in his book "The Behavior of Organisms." He introduced the importance of the consequences following behavior (operant behavior), moving beyond Watson's stimulus-response model to the three-term contingency:

• Antecedent (Stimulus)

• Behavior (Response)

• Consequence

Operant Behavior: Behavior learned as a result of environmental consequences, which is the focus of behavior analysts.

1950s/1960s Applications: Selected studies applied behavior analysis to human behavior, notably a study by Wolf, Risely, and Meese on a child with autism using positive reinforcement to encourage wearing glasses.

Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) Development: Established in 1968 with the start of the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, providing a formal definition and framework for the field.

Current Status of ABA: Recognized as an empirically supported method for addressing a variety of significant social issues.