Psu.edu Sped Aba I Ch. 1 & 2

Front 1

behaviorism

Back 1

the philosophy
of the science
of behavior

Front 2

determinism

Back 2

the world is a
lawful, orderly
place; not
accidental

Front 3

empiricism

Back 3

objective
observation of
the phenomena
of interest

Front 4

experiment

Back 4

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

Front 5

EAB

Back 5

emphasis on describing
functional relations
between behavior and
controlling variables in the
environment over formal
theory testing

Front 6

explanatory fiction

Back 6

a fictitious or hypothetical
variable for the observed
phenomenon it claims to
explain and contributes
nothing to a functional
account or understanding
of the phenomenon

Front 7

functional relation

Back 7

a verbal statement summarizing
the results of an experiment, the
occurrence of the phenomena
under study as a function or the
operation of one or more
specified and controlled variables
in which one influences the other

Front 8

hypothetical construct

Back 8

a presumed, but
unobserved
process or entity
(e.g., Freud's id,
ego,)

Front 9

mentalism

Back 9

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
cause or mediate some forms of
behavior

Front 10

methodological behaviorism

Back 10

a philosophical position
that views behavioral
events that cannot be
publicly observed as
outside the realm of
science

Front 11

parsimony

Back 11

the practice of ruliung out
simple, logical
explanations,
experimentally or
conceptually, before
considering more complex
or abstract explanations

Front 12

philosophical doubt

Back 12

an attitude that the
truthfulness and validity
of all scientific theory
and knowledge should
be continually
questioned

Front 13

radical behaviorism

Back 13

a thoroughgoing 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)

Front 14

replication

Back 14

repeating conditions
within an experiement to
determine the reliability
of effects and increase
internal validity

Front 15

science

Back 15

a systematic approach to the
understanding of natural
phenomena (as evidenced by
description, prediction, and
control) that relies on
determinism, empiricism,
experimention, replication,
parsimony, and philosophic doubt

Front 16

antecedent

Back 16

an environmental
condition or stimulus
change existing or
occurring prior to a
behavior of interest

Front 17

automaticity of reinforcement

Back 17

refers to the fact that
behavior is modified
by its consequences
irrespective of the
person's awareness

Front 18

aversive stimulus

Back 18

an unpleasant or noxious
stimulus: to evoke a behavior
that has terminated it in the
past; as a punisher when
presented following behavior;
and/or as a reinforcer when
withdrawn following behavior

Front 19

behavior

Back 19

a technologically
consistent method for
changing behavior
derived from one or
more principles of
behavior

Front 20

conditioned punisher

Back 20

a previously netral stimulus
change that functions as a
punisher because of prior
pairing with one or more other
punishers; sometimes called
secondary or learned
punisher.

Front 21

conditioned reflex

Back 21

a learned stimulus-response
functional relation consisting
of an antecedent stimulus
and the response it elicits;
everyone's is different based
upon experiences

Front 22

conditioned reinforcer

Back 22

a stimulus change that
functions as a reinforcer
because of prior pairing
with one or more other
reinforcers (sometimes
called secondary or
learned reinforcer)

Front 23

conditioned stimulus

Back 23

the stimulus component of a
conditioned reflex; a formerly
NEUTRAL stimulus change
that elicits respondent
behavior only after it has
been paried with an
unconditioned stimulus

Front 24

consequence

Back 24

a stimulus change that follows a behavior of
interest

Front 25

contingency

Back 25

refers to dependent and/or temporal relations between
operant behavior and its
controlling variables (3
term contingency)

Front 26

contingent

Back 26

describes reinforcement
(or punishment) that is
delivered ONLY after
the target behavior has
occurred.

Front 27

deprivation

Back 27

the state of an organism
with respect to how much
time has elapsed since it
has consumed or
contacted a type of
reinforcer (can be
withheld)

Front 28

descriminated stimulus

Back 28

a type of discriminated operant, it occurs more frequently when under a certain stimulus control. For example: answering the phone. We don't answer it until we hear it ring.

Front 29

environment

Back 29

the conglomerate of real
circumstances in which
the organism or part of it
exists; behavior cannot
occur in the absence of
environment

Front 30

extinction

Back 30

the discontinuing of a
reinforcement of a
previously reinforced
behavior; the primary
effect is a decrease in the
frequency of behavior

Front 31

behavior change tactic

Back 31

a technologically consistent method for changing behavior derived from one or more principles of behavior

Front 32

habituation

Back 32

a decrease in responsiveness to repeated presentations of a
stimulus

Front 33

higher order
conditioning

Back 33

development of a
conditioned reflex by
pairing of a neutral
stimulus with a
conditioned stimulus

Front 34

history of
reinforcement

Back 34

an inclusive term referring in
general to all of a person's
learning eperiences and past
conditioning with respect to
particular resonse classes or
aspects of a person's
repertoire

Front 35

motivating
operation

Back 35

an environmental variable that
increases or decreases the
reinforcing or punishing
effectivness of some stimulus,
object, or event; and the
frequency of all behavior that has been reinforced or punished by the stimulus

Front 36

negative
reinforcement

Back 36

a stimulus whose TERMINATION (or reduction in intensity) functions as reinforcement

Front 37

neutral
stimulus

Back 37

a stimulus change that DOES NOT elicit respondent
behavior

Front 38

ontogeny

Back 38

the history of the
development of an
individual organism
during its lifetime

Front 39

operant
behavior

Back 39

behavior that is
SELECTED,
maintained, and brought
under stimulus control
as a function of its
consequences

Front 40

operant
conditioning

Back 40

the basic process by which
operant learning occurs;
consequences result in an
increased or decreased
frequency of the same type of
behavior under similar
motivational and environmental
conditions in the future

Front 41

phylogeny

Back 41

the history of
the natural
evolution of a
species

Front 42

positive
reinforcement

Back 42

occurs when a behavior is
followed immediately by the
presentation of a stimulus
that INCREASES the
future frequency of the
behavior in similar
conditions

Front 43

principle of
behavior

Back 43

a statement describing a
functional relation between
behavior and one or more of
its controlling variables with
generality across organisms,
species, settings, behaviors,
and time

Front 44

punisher

Back 44

a stimulus change that
DECREASES the future
frequency of behavior
that immediately
precedes it

Front 45

punishment

Back 45

occurs when stimulus
change immediately
follows a resonse and
DECREASES the future
frequency of that type of
behavior in similar
conditions

Front 46

reflex

Back 46

stimulus-response
relation consisting of an
antecedent stimulus and
the respondent behavior it
elicits (Reflexes protect
the organism and promote
reproduction)

Front 47

reinforcement

Back 47

occurs when a stimulus
change immediately
follows a response and
INCREASES the future
frequency of that type of
behavior in similar
conditions

Front 48

reinforcer

Back 48

a stimulus change
that INCREASES the
future frequency of
behavior that
imediately precedes it

Front 49

repertoire

Back 49

all the behaviors a
person can do; or a
set of behaviors
relevant to a particular
setting or task

Front 50

respondent
behavior

Back 50

the response
component of a reflex;
behavior that is
elicited, or induced, by
antecedent stimuli

Front 51

respondent
conditioning

Back 51

a stimulus-stimulus PAIRING
procedure in which a NEUTRAL
stimulus is presented with an
unconditioned stimulus until the neutral one becomes a
conditioned one (CLASSICAL
CONDITIONING)

Front 52

respondent
extinction

Back 52

the repeated presentation of a
conditioned stimulus in the
ABSENCE of the unconditioned
stimulus; the CS gradually loses
its ability to elicit the conditioned
response until the ocnditioned
relex no longer appears in the
individual's repertoire

Front 53

response

Back 53

a single instance or
occurrence of a specific
class or type of behavior
(an action of an
organism's effector)

Front 54

response
class

Back 54

a group of responses
of varying topography,
all of which produce
the same effect on the
environment

Front 55

satiation

Back 55

a decrease in the frequency of
operant behavior presumed to be the result of continued contact with or consumption of a reinforcer that has followed the behavior; (reduces the effectiveness of the reinforcer)

Front 56

selection by
consequences

Back 56

fundamental principle underlying operant conditioning; all forms of operant behavior are selected,
shaped, and maintained by their consequences during an
individual's lifetime

Front 57

stimulus

Back 57

an energy change
that affects an
organism through
its receptor cells

Front 58

stimulus
class

Back 58

a group of stimuli that
share specified common
elements along formal,
temporal, and/or
functional dimensions

Front 59

stimulus
control

Back 59

a situation in which the
frequency, latency,
duration, or amplitude of a
behavior is altered by the
presence or absence of an
antecedent stimulus

Front 60

stimulus-stimulus
pairing

Back 60

a procedure in which two
stimuli are presented at the
same time, usually repeatedly
for a number of trials, which
often results in one stimulus
acquiring the function of the
other one

Front 61

three-term
contingency

Back 61

the basic unit of analysis in
the analysis of operant
behavior; encompasses the
temporal and possibly
dependent relations among
an antecedent stimulus,
behavior, and consequence

Front 62

unconditioned
punisher

Back 62

a stimulus change that
DECREASES the frequency of
any behavior that immediately
PRECEDES it irrespective of the organism's learning history with the stimulus. (these are products of the evolutionary development of the species)

Front 63

unconditioned
reinforcer

Back 63

a stimulus change that
INCREASES the frequency of
any behavior that immediately
PRECEDES it irrespective of the organism's learning history with the stimulus. (products of evolutionary development of the species)

Front 64

unconditioned
stimulus

Back 64

the stimulus component of
an unconditioned reflex; a
stimulus change that elicits
respondent behavior
without any prior learning