Applied Behavior Analysis (Cooper) Terms: Chapter 1 Flashcards
(18 cards)
applied behavior analysis (ABA)
The science in which tactics derived
from the principles of behavior are applied to improve socially significant
behavior and experimentation is used to identify the variables responsible for
the improvement in behavior.
behaviorism
The philosophy of a science of behavior; there are various forms of behaviorism.
explanatory fiction
A fictitious or hypothetical variable that often takes the form of another name for the observed phenomenon it claims to explain and contributes nothing to a functional account or understanding of the phenomenon, such as “ intelligence” or “cognitive awareness” as explanations for why an organism pushes the lever when the light is on and food is available but does not push the lever when the light is off and no food is available.
functional analysis
A term with two meanings in contemporary behavior analysis literature. In its original and most fundamental usage, functional
analysis denotes demonstrations of functional relations between environmental variables and behavior. In the context of determining the purposes (functions) of problem behavior for an individual.functional analysis entails experimentally arranging antecedents and consequences representing those in the person’s natural routines so that their separate effects on problem behavior can be observed and measured.
functional relation
A verbal statement summarizing the results of an experiment (or group of related experiments) that describes the occurrence of the phenomena under study as a function of the operation of one or more specified and controlled variables in the experiment in which a specific change in one event (the dependent variable) can be produced by manipulating another event
(the independent variable), and that the change in the dependent variable was
unlikely the result of other factors (confounding variables); in behavior analysis expressed as b = f (x 1 ), (x2), . . . , where b is the behavior and x l, x2, etc., are
environmental variables of which the behavior is a function.
hypothetical construct
A presumed but unobserved process or entity (e.g., Freud’s id, ego, and superego).
mentalism
An approach to explaining behavior that assumes 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, if not all.
parsimony
The practice of ruling out simple, logical explanations, experimentally or conceptually, before considering more complex or abstract explanations.
philosophic doubt
An attitude that the truthfulness and validity of all scientific theory and knowledge should be continually questioned.
determinism
The assumption that the universe is a lawful and orderly place in which phenomena occur in relation to other events and not in a willy-nilly,
accidental fashion
empiricism
The objective observation of the phenomena of interest; objective
observations are “independent of the individual prejudices, tastes, and private
opinions of the scientist. . . . Results of empirical methods are objective in that
they are open to anyone’s observation and do not depend on the subjective belief
of the individual scientist” (Zuriff, 1985, p. 9)
experiment
A care fully controlled comparison of some measure of the phenomenon of interest (the dependent variable) under two or more different conditions in which only one factor at a time (the independent variable) differs from one condition to another.
experimental analysis of behavior (EAB)
A natural science approach
to the study of behavior as a subject matter in its own right founded by B. F. Skinner; methodological features include rate of response as a basic dependent variable, repeated or continuous measurement of clearly defined response classes, within-subject experimental comparisons instead of group design, visual analysis of graphed data instead of statistical inference, and an emphasis on describing functional relations between behavior and controlling variables in the environment over formal theory testing
methodological behaviorism
A philosophical position that views behavioral events that cannot be publicly observed as outside the realm of science.
pragmatism
A philosophical position asserting that the truth value of a statement is determined by how well it promotes effective action; pragmatism is a primary criterion by which behavior analysts judge the value of their findings.
radical behaviorism
A form of behaviorism that attempts to understand all human behavior, including private events such as thoughts and feelings, in terms of controlling variables in the history of the person (ontogeny) and the species (phylogeny).
replication
(a) Repeating conditions within an experiment to determine the
reliability of effects and increase internal validity. (See also baseline logic,
prediction, and verification.) (b) Repeating whole experiments to determine
the generality of findings of previous experiments to other subjects, settings, and/or behaviors
science
A systematic approach to the understanding of natural phenomena (as evidenced by description, prediction, and control) that relies on determinism as its fundamental assumption, empiricism as its primary rule, experimentation as its basic
strategy, replication as a requirement for believability, parsimony as a value, and
philosophic doubt as its guiding conscience.
