ABA Terms Flashcards
(116 cards)
Determinism
The assumption the universe is a lawful and orderly place in which phenomena occur as the results of other events
Empiricism
The Practice of Objective Observation of the phenomena of interest
Experimentation
A carefully conducted comparison of some measure of the phenomenon of interest under two or more different conditions in which only one factor at a time differs from one condition to another
Replication
Repeating experiments to determine the reliability and usefulness of findings
Parsimony
Simple, logical explanations must be ruled out, experimentally or conceptually, before complex or abstract explanations are considered
Philosophical Doubt
Continually questioning the truthfulness and validity of all scientific theory and knowledge
Behaviorism - Theoretical and Philosophical
A systematic approach to understanding the behavior of humans and other animals. Emphasizes the direct observation of the relationship between environmental stimuli and the response they evoke (S - R)
Experimental Analysis of Behavior - Basic Research
A natural science approach for discovering orderly and reliable relations between behavior and various types of environmental variables of which it is a function; discovers reliable relations
Radical Behaviorism
Attempts to explain all behavior, including private events, such as thinking and feeling
Mentalism
An approach to understanding behavior that assumed that a mental or inner dimension exists that differs from a behavioral dimension and that phenomena in this dimension either directly cause or at least mediate some forms of behavior
Methodological Behaviorism
A philosophical position that considers behavioral events that cannot be publicly observed to be outside the real of science
Applied Behavior Analysis - Applied Research
The science in which tactics derived from the principles of behavior are applied systematically to improve socially significant behavior and experimentation is used to identify the variables responsible for behavior change
Response
A specific instance of behavior
Response Topography
The physical shape or form of a behavior
Response Class
A group of responses of varying topography, which all produce the same effect on the environment
Stimulus Class
A group of stimuli that share specified common elements along formal, temporally, and functionally
Respondent Behavior
Elicited by antecedent stimuli
Operant Behavior
Selected by consequences
Ontogeny
Lifetime of an individual Organism
Phylogeny
History of Species
Function Based Definitions
Members in the response class have the same effect on the environment
Topography Based Definitions
Members in the response class have the same shape or form of the behavior
Repeatability (Measurable dimension of behavior)
Instance of a response class occur repeatedly through time (Behavior can be counted)
Temporal Extent (Measurable dimension of behavior)
Every instance of behavior occurs during some amount of time (the duration fo behavior can be measured)