Chapter 1 Definition And Characteristics Of Applied Behavior Analysis

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applied behavior analysis (ABA)

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The science in which methods derived from the principles of behavior are applied to improve socially significant behavior and experimentation is used to identify the environmental variables responsible for the improvement in behavior.

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behaviorism

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Behaviorism focuses on the idea that all behaviors are learned through interaction with the environment. This learning theory states that behaviors are learned from the environment, and says that innate (born with) or inherited (genetic) factors have very little influence on behavior.

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determinism

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The assumption that the universe is a lawful and orderly place in which phenomena (a fact or situation that is observed to exist or happen, especially one whose cause or explanation is in question) occur in relation to other events and not in a willy-nilly accidental fashion.

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empiricism

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The objective observation of the phenomena of interest. The idea that all learning comes from only experience and observations. The theory of empiricism attempts to explain how human beings acquire knowledge and improve their conceptual understanding of the world.

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experiment

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A carefully controlled comparison of some measure of the phenomenon of interest (dependent variable) under two or more different conditions in which only one factor at a time (independent variable) differs from one condition to another.

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experimental analysis of behavior (EAB)

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Founded by B.F. Skinner. Methodical features such as 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.

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explanatory fiction

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A mentalistic and mythical explanation for behavior that attributes unobservable processes to the occurrence of the behavior.

Ex: 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.

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functional analysis

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A functional assessment activity during which the antecedents and consequences in the client’s natural environment are arranged and systematically manipulated so that their individual effects on challenging behavior can be observed and measured.

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functional relation

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They establish cause-and-effect, that is, some change in one event (dependent variable) will bring about a corresponding change in a second event(independent variable). Also called functional relationships.

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hypothetical construct

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A presumed (suppose that something is the case on the basis of probability) but unobserved process or entity (existence; being ).

Ex: Freud's id, ego, and superego

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mentalism

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A performing art in which practitioners known as mentalists use their mental skills and intuitive abilities to interpret body language, behavior, and energy. A position that insists on the reality of explicitly mental phenomena, such as thinking and feeling.

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methodological behaviorism

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A philosophical position that views behavioral events that cannot be publicly observed. A strand of behaviorism which acknowledges the reality of conscious events but suggests the only way of studying them is through observing behavior.

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parsimony

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The practice of ruling out simple, logical explanations , experimentally or conceptually by testing them, before considering more complex or abstract explanations.

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philosophical doubt

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A philosophical assumption underlying the science of behavior analysis that the truth should always be questioned with healthy skepticism, which means viewing the results of studies and clinical work with a critical eye.

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pragmatism

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A philosophical assumption underlying the science of behavior analysis that focuses on practical solutions (e.g., if it works, don’t fix it), which at the level of behavior, involves the relation between the setting (A) and the behavior (B) is because of the consequence (C). Primary criterion analysts use to judge the value of their findings.

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radical behaviorism

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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).

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replication

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Repeating conditions within an experiment to determine the reliability of effects and increase internal validity. Repeating whole experiments to determine the generality of findings of previous experiments to other subjects, settings, and/or behaviors. A philosophical assumption that experiments should be repeated to determine the reliability and usefulness of their findings and to discover and correct mistakes.

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science

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A systematic approach to the understanding of natural phenomena (as evidenced by description, prediction, and control) that relies on determinism as its fundamental assumptions, 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.