ABA 515 Cumulative Terminology Exam

Question 1

What is an A-B Design

Answer 1

A simple single-subject design consisting of a baseline phase (A) followed by a treatment phase (B), without reversal or replication. It demonstrates a correlation but not a functional relation.

Question 2

What is an abative effect?

Answer 2

A change in behavior where the current frequency of a behavior is decreased due to a motivating operation decreasing the effectiveness of a reinforcer.

Question 3

What is an abolishing operation (AO)?

Answer 3

A motivating operation that decreases the effectiveness of a reinforcer or punisher and reduces the frequency of the behavior associated with it.

Question 4

What are adjunctive behaviors?

Answer 4

Excessive or irrelevant behaviors that appear as a side effect of certain schedules of reinforcement, such as behavior that occurs at a predictable time between reinforcers.

Question 5

What is affirmation of the consequent?

Answer 5

A logical fallacy where the occurrence of a behavior following an intervention is incorrectly interpreted as proof that the intervention caused the behavior change.

Question 6

What is an alternative schedule (alt)?

Answer 6

A compound schedule where reinforcement is provided when either a ratio or interval schedule requirement is met, whichever comes first.

Question 7

antecedent stimulus class?

Answer 7

A group of stimuli that share a common relationship to a response and evoke the same operant behavior due to a shared function.

Question 8

arbitrary stimulus class?

Answer 8

A set of stimuli that evoke the same response but do not share a common physical feature, such as the spoken word ‘dog’ and a picture of a dog.

Question 9

Artifact

Answer 9

An outcome or result that appears to be due to the procedure but is actually due to an extraneous or uncontrolled variable.

Question 10

ascending baseline?

Answer 10

A pattern of responding that shows an increasing trend in the target behavior before any intervention is applied

Question 11

autoclitic?

Answer 11

A secondary verbal behavior that modifies the effects of a primary verbal operant, providing additional information about the speaker’s behavior.

Question 12

automatic contingencies?

Answer 12

Reinforcement or punishment that occurs independent of the mediation of others; the response itself directly produces the consequence.

Question 13

automatic reinforcement?

Answer 13

Reinforcement that occurs directly as a result of the behavior itself, without the involvement of another person (e.g., hand flapping for sensory input).

Question 14

aversive stimulus?

Answer 14

A stimulus that functions as a negative reinforcer or punisher; its presentation increases the likelihood of escape or avoidance behavior.

Question 15

avoidance contingency?

Answer 15

A contingency in which a response prevents or postpones the presentation of an aversive stimulus, increasing the likelihood of the response.

Question 16

Bar graph?

Answer 16

A graphic format used to display categorical data with rectangular bars representing the frequency or magnitude of data points.

Question 17

baseline?

Answer 17

A condition in which no intervention is applied, serving as a control to compare against intervention phases in experimental design.

Question 18

baseline logic,

Answer 18

The reasoning used to determine experimental control through prediction, verification, and replication in single-subject designs.

Question 19

behavior change tactic,

Answer 19

A technologically consistent method derived from basic principles of behavior used to alter behavior effectively and ethically.

Question 20

behavior trap,

Answer 20

A powerful reinforcement contingency that can catch, sustain, and expand new behaviors once entered, often found in natural settings.

Question 21

compound schedule of reinforcement,

Answer 21

A reinforcement schedule combining two or more basic schedules (e.g., FR, FI, VI, VR) operating simultaneously or successively, with or without discriminative stimuli.

Question 22

concurrent schedule (conc),

Answer 22

A schedule of reinforcement where two or more contingencies operate independently and simultaneously for two or more behaviors.

Question 23

conditioned negative reinforcer,

Answer 23

A previously neutral stimulus that has become a reinforcer by being paired with the removal or prevention of an aversive stimulus.

Question 24

conditioned reflex,

Answer 24

A learned stimulus-response functional relation consisting of an antecedent stimulus and the response it elicits due to conditioning history.

Question 25

conditioned reinforcer,

Answer 25

A stimulus that gains its reinforcing power through its association with a primary reinforcer or another conditioned reinforcer.

Question 26

contingency-shaped behavior,

Answer 26

Behavior that is directly controlled by a history of reinforcement or punishment rather than verbal instruction or rules.

Question 27

data,

Answer 27

The results of measurement, usually in the form of quantifiable counts or rates of behavior, which serve as the basis for analysis and decision making.

Question 28

data path,

Answer 28

The line connecting successive data points in a graph, representing the level and trend of behavior across time.

Question 29

dependent variable,

Answer 29

The target behavior that is measured in an experiment to determine the effects of an independent variable.

Question 30

discriminated avoidance,

Answer 30

A type of avoidance behavior that occurs in the presence of a warning stimulus signaling the impending presentation of an aversive stimulus.

Question 31

discriminated operant,

Answer 31

An operant behavior that occurs more frequently under some antecedent conditions than others; controlled by a discriminative stimulus.

Question 32

duplicate,

Answer 32

A verbal operant involving a response that has point-to-point correspondence and formal similarity with the antecedent stimulus (e.g., echoic, copying text).

Question 33

escape contingency,

Answer 33

A contingency in which a response terminates an ongoing aversive stimulus, increasing the future probability of the response.

Question 34

escape extinction,

Answer 34

The procedure of no longer allowing escape or avoidance following a problem behavior that previously resulted in removal of demands or stimuli.

Question 35

establishing operation (EO),

Answer 35

A motivating operation that increases the effectiveness of a reinforcer and increases the frequency of behavior that has produced that reinforcer in the past.

Question 36

experimental control,

Answer 36

A condition in which a predictable change in behavior can be reliably produced by the manipulation of an independent variable.

Question 37

experimental design,

Answer 37

The type of arrangement in an experiment that allows for testing the effects of the independent variable on the dependent variable.

Question 38

extinction,

Answer 38

The discontinuation of reinforcement for a previously reinforced behavior, leading to a decrease in that behavior over time.

Question 39

extinction burst,

Answer 39

A temporary increase in the frequency, duration, or intensity of a behavior when reinforcement is initially withheld.

Question 40

extinction-induced variability,

Answer 40

The emergence of novel or previously infrequent forms of behavior during the extinction process.

Question 41

free-operant avoidance,

Answer 41

A type of avoidance behavior in which responses can be made at any time to postpone the presentation of an aversive stimulus without a warning signal.

Question 42

function-altering effect

Answer 42

A change in the organism’s repertoire caused by a motivating operation that modifies the future functional relations of behavior and environmental events.

Question 43

general case analysis,

Answer 43

A strategy for promoting generalization by teaching a range of response variations across relevant stimulus situations.

Question 44

generalization across subjects,

Answer 44

Behavior change that spreads from one individual to another without direct teaching.

Question 45

generalization probe,

Answer 45

A measurement taken to determine whether a behavior taught in one setting or context also occurs in another untrained setting or context.

Question 46

generalization setting,

Answer 46

Any environment or context other than the instructional setting in which the behavior is expected to occur after training.

Question 47

generalized behavior change,

Answer 47

A behavior change that maintains, transfers to other environments or situations, or spreads to related behaviors.

Question 48

generalized conditioned reinforcer,

Answer 48

A conditioned reinforcer that is effective because it has been paired with many unconditioned and conditioned reinforcers.

Question 49

graph,A visual format for displaying data over time, often used to evaluate the effectiveness of behavior interventions.

Question 50

habituation,A decrease in responsiveness to repeated presentations of a stimulus, typically observed in respondent behavior.

Question 51

higher-order conditioning,A process in which a neutral stimulus is paired with a conditioned stimulus to produce the same conditioned response.

Question 52

independent variable,The variable that is systematically manipulated by the researcher to determine its effect on the dependent variable.

Question 53

intermittent schedule of reinforcement (INT),A reinforcement schedule in which some, but not all, occurrences of the behavior are reinforced.

Question 54

interresponse time,The elapsed time between two successive responses, often used in schedules like DRL or DRH.

Question 55

internal validity,The degree to which an experiment shows that changes in behavior are due to the independent variable and not to confounding variables.

Question 56

joint control,A phenomenon in which two verbal responses (e.g., echoic and tact) jointly control a third verbal response, often seen in complex verbal behavior tasks.

Question 57

lag schedule,A reinforcement schedule where reinforcement is contingent on a response differing in form from the previous response by a specified number of trials.

Question 58

latency,The time that elapses between the onset of a stimulus and the initiation of a response.

Question 59

level,The value on the vertical axis around which a series of data points converge, reflecting the magnitude of behavior.

Question 60

line graph,A common graph used in behavior analysis to display data across time with lines connecting data points to show trends.

Question 61

Front,Back

Question 62

local response rate,The rate of response during a specific portion of a session, calculated by dividing the number of responses by the time between two successive reinforcers.

Question 63

magnitude,The physical force or intensity of a behavior, often measured in terms of volume, duration, or impact.

Question 64

matching law,A principle stating that the relative rate of responding on two concurrent schedules matches the relative rate of reinforcement obtained on those schedules.

Question 65

measurement,The process of assigning numbers and units to particular features of behavior using a consistent set of rules.

Question 66

mixed schedule of reinforcement (mix),A compound schedule with two or more basic schedules presented in alternation, usually randomly, and without discriminative stimuli.

Question 67

most-to-least response prompts,A prompting strategy that begins with the most intrusive prompt and gradually fades to the least intrusive to encourage independent responding.

Question 68

multiple schedule (mult),A compound schedule in which two or more component schedules alternate, each with a unique discriminative stimulus.

Question 69

natural contingency,A reinforcement or punishment contingency that occurs in the everyday environment without any programming or intervention.

Question 70

negative reinforcement,The removal or reduction of an aversive stimulus following a behavior, which increases the future likelihood of that behavior.

Question 71

ontogeny,The developmental history of an individual organism; the learned behaviors that result from environmental interaction.

Question 72

overall response rate,The total number of responses emitted during a measurement period divided by the total time in that period.

Question 73

parametric analysis,An experimental design strategy that evaluates a range of values for an independent variable to determine its effect on the dependent variable.

Question 74

permanent product,A lasting change in the environment that results from a behavior and can be used to measure the occurrence of that behavior.

Question 75

phylogeny,The evolutionary history of a species; behavior that is inherited genetically across generations.

Question 76

planned activity check (PLACHECK),A momentary time sampling procedure in which an observer records whether each person in a group is engaged in the target activity at specific time intervals.

Question 77

point-to-point correspondence,A feature of verbal behavior where each part of the verbal stimulus corresponds exactly to a part of the verbal response.

Question 78

positive reinforcement,The presentation of a stimulus immediately following a behavior that results in an increase in the frequency of that behavior.

Question 79

Positive reinforcer,A stimulus that, when presented following a behavior, increases the future frequency of that behavior under similar conditions.

Question 80

post reinforcement pause,A pause in responding that typically occurs after reinforcement in fixed ratio schedules before the next response begins.

Question 81

precision teaching,A teaching method that uses frequent measurement and charting of performance to make instructional decisions, often involving the standard celeration chart.

Question 82

Front,Back

Question 83

preference assessment,A procedure used to identify stimuli that a person prefers, by observing choice behavior or measuring engagement with various items.

Question 84

prediction,A statement of the anticipated outcome of a measurement based on prior observations, often used in baseline logic.

Question 85

private events,Internal experiences such as thoughts and feelings that are not accessible to others but are still subject to behavioral principles.

Question 86

progressive-ratio (PR) schedule of reinforcement,A schedule in which the response requirement for reinforcement increases systematically, often used to determine the strength of reinforcers.

Question 87

progressive schedule of reinforcement,A reinforcement schedule where the response requirement increases incrementally with each reinforcement, often used in reinforcer assessment.

Question 88

rate,A measure of frequency expressed in ratio form with time, often responses per minute or per session.

Question 89

ratio scale,A measurement scale that has a true zero point and equal intervals, allowing for meaningful comparisons of absolute quantities.

Question 90

ratio strain,A breakdown in responding due to an abrupt increase in ratio requirements, leading to pauses, aggression, or avoidance.

Question 91

reflex,An unlearned, involuntary response to a stimulus, typically involving a direct link between stimulus and response.

Question 92

reinforcer assessment,A procedure used to determine the relative effectiveness of stimuli as reinforcers under specific conditions.

Question 93

reinforcer-abolishing effect,A motivating operation that decreases the effectiveness of a stimulus as a reinforcer and reduces behavior maintained by that reinforcer.

Question 94

reinforcer-establishing effect,A motivating operation that increases the effectiveness of a stimulus as a reinforcer and evokes behavior associated with it.

Question 95

repeatability,A dimension of behavior that refers to the behavior’s ability to occur repeatedly through time (i.e., countability).

Question 96

replication,Repeating an experiment or treatment condition to assess the reliability and generality of findings.

Question 97

resistance to extinction,The degree to which behavior persists after reinforcement is discontinued.

Question 98

resurgence,The reappearance of a previously reinforced behavior when reinforcement for an alternative behavior is discontinued.

Question 99

response-deprivation hypothesis,A theory suggesting a behavior can serve as a reinforcer if access to that behavior is restricted below its baseline level.

Question 100

response generalization,The occurrence of a behavior that is different from the trained behavior but serves the same function.

Question 101

response maintenance,The continued performance of a learned behavior after intervention has been reduced or removed.

Question 102

respondent behavior,Behavior that is elicited by antecedent stimuli and is typically reflexive or involuntary.