Psychology – analyzing behaviour

Behavior is recorded continuously- Behavior can be over or under estimated

Which is true about time-sampling methods?

– Duration measures from the beginning of the response to the end of the response, while latency measures from the end of a stimulus onset to the beginning of a response- Duration only measures a response, while latency measures include antecedent events

The difference between latency and duration is that ______.

estimate

All time sampling methods provide only a(n) ______ of the actual occurrence of the behavior.

the practitioner’s effectiveness, and thus a client’s right to effective treatment, is compromised when data are not collected

Ethics relates to measurement in that ______.

Measurement

____ enables comparisons of a person’s behavior within and between different environmental conditions, thereby affording the possibility of drawing empirically based conclusion about the effects of those conditions on behavior.

[a] IRT (Interresponse Time)[b] Percentages

– Applied behavior analysts measure ___[a]___ when the time between instances of a response class is important.- However, ___[b]___ are often used improperly and frequently misunderstood.

When there is a clear beginning and end to the response

When is event recording the recommended method of measuring behavior?

note the observation period

When using count as a measure of behavior one should ______.

topography

That ______ is a malleable aspect of behavior is evidenced by the fact that responses of varying form are shaped and selected by their consequences.

They are based on other basic measures

Why are percentages and trials-to-criterion considered derivative measures?

permanent products

Measuring ______ is an ex post facto method of data collection because measurement takes place after the behavior has occurred.

– When each instance of the behavior produces the same permanent product- When the permanent product is only produced by the target behavior- When real-time measurements are not needed

When is permanent product recording an excellent option?

When the responses are free-operants

When should rate be used as a measure?

[a] observation intervals[b] whole intervals

The longer the ___[a]___, the greater the degree to which ___[b]___ recording will underestimate the actual occurrence of the behavior.

[a] accelerates[b] decelerates

Rate of response __[a]__ when a participant responds faster over successive counting periods and __[b]__ when responding slows over successive observations.

temporal extent

Of the 3 properties, or dimensional qualities of behavior, which describes the fact that behavior occurs during some amount of time?

[a] unit[b] rate

As long as the __[a]__ is standard within or across experiments, __[b]__ measures can be compared.

It is always an accurate reflection of what is being observed

Which of the following is NOT true about measurement?

Event recording

_______ measures repeatability, whereas duration recording measures temporal extent.

identify target behavior

Goal of behavior assessments:

– Directly (tests and direct observations)- Indirectly (interviews and checklists)

assessment measures:

Habilitation

Degree to which a person’s behavior repertoire maximizes short and long term reinforcers and minimizes short and long term punishers

Behavior Cusp

Behaviors that open person’s world to new contingenciese.g., crawling, reading

Pivotal behaviors

Once learned, produces changes in other untrained behaviorse.g., self-initiation, joint attention

– Functionally (designated according to the effect on environment)- Topographically based (shape or form of behavior)

Ways to define target behavior:

comprehensive behavioral assessment

In addition to identify behavior(s) to change, ______ will discover resources, assets, significant others, competing contingencies, maintenance and generalization factors, and potential reinforcers and/or punishers that may inform or be included in intervention plans to change the target behavior.

Habilitation

Judgments about how much a particular behavior change will contribute to a person’s overall ______ (adjustment, competence) are difficult to make.

[a] anecdotal[b] natural

With __[a]__ observation the observer records a descriptive, temporally sequenced account of all behavior(s) of interest and the antecedent conditions and consequences for those behaviors as those events occur in the client’s __[b]__ environment.

objective, clear, and complete

A good behavior definition should be ____, _____, and ____.

replication

Without ______, the usefulness or meaningfulness of data cannot be determined beyond the specific participants themselves, thereby limiting the orderly development of the discipline as a useful technology.

Cusp

Which of the following is a type of behavior that exposes the individual to new environments, contingencies, reinforecers, responses and stimulus controls?

definition

An objective ______ increases the likelihood of an accurate and believable evaluation of program effectiveness.

ABC recording

Which is the preferred method of behavioral assessment to determine which behaviors to target for change?

Normalization

___ is not a single technique, but a philosophical position that holds the goal of achieving the greatest possible physical and social integration of people with disabilities into the mainstream of society.

[a] unobtrusive[b] reactive effects

Behavior analysts should use assessment methods that are as __[a]__ as possible, repeat observations until apparent __[b]__ subside, and take possible reactive effects into account when interpreting the results of observations.

cusp

What makes a behavior change a ______ is that it exposes the individual’s repertoire to new environments, especially new reinforcers and punishers, new contingencies, new responses, new stimulus controls and new communities of maintaining or destructive contingencies.

Funnel

The progression of behavioral assessment can be conceptualized as having which shape?

hypotheses

Identifying environmental events that correlate with behavior provides valuable information for formulating ______ about the controlling function of these variables and for planning interventions.

Ranking matrix

Which is a method for priority ranking various potential target behaviors?

takes precedence

When prioritizing behaviors for change, a chronic behavior ______ when compared to a more recently acquired behavior.

Who has the authority and skill to intervene with the behavior?

Which of the following is a fundamental question to answer before initiating behavioral assessment?

Increased likelihood of behavioral change

Which of the following is NOT a reason why explicit behavior definitions are important to the practitioner of applied behavior analysis?

Pivotal

Which of the following is a type of behavior that produces corresponding modifications or co-variations in other adaptive, untrained behaviors?

[a] Functional[b] topography based

__[a]__ definitions are often simpler and more concise than __[b]__ definitions, which leads to easier and more accurate and reliable measurement and sets the occasion for the consistent application of intervention.

Because academic grades do not specify the behaviors required to achieve the goal

Why is “improving academic grades” not a good target behavior?

[a] A behavior is a larger set or class of responses sharing certain:• Topography (physical characteristics)• Functions• Responses
[b] A response is a specific instance of a behavior

What is the difference between a behavior and a response?

Stimulus class

Any group of stimuli sharing a predetermined set of common elements inone of more of these dimensions

Formal dimensions of stimuli

Descriptions, measurements, manipulations based on• Size, color, intensity, etc.• Stimuli can be Social/Nonsocial

[a] elicited[b] emitted

Respondent: __[a]__Operant: __[b]__

Selection by Consequences

All forms of life, from single cells to complex cultures, evolve as a result of selection with respect to function

Ontogeny

Operates during the lifetime of the individual; Operant behaviors

Phylogeny

Natural selection in the evolution of a species; Respondent (reflexive) behaviors

[a] discriminate operant[b] stimulus control

Because a __[a]__ occurs at a higher frequency in the presence of a given stimulus than it does in the absence of that stimulus, it is said to be under __[b]__

discriminate operant

Tim’s dad usually gives him money when he asks for it. Tim’s mother usually does not give him money when he asks for it. As a result, Tim asks dad for money more often than he asks his mom for money. Tim’s differential asking behavior is an example of which of the following?

environment

The ______ is a complex, dynamic universe of events that differs from instance to instance.

directly

Events that are delayed more than a few seconds after the response do not ______ increase its future frequency.

Operant

Behavior that is maintained by stimuli that that follow it is called what?

repertoire

The ______of behaviors each person brings to any situation has been selected, shaped and maintained by his or her unique history of reinforcement.

dependency

Perhaps the most common connotation of contingency refers to the ______ of a particular consequence on the occurrence of the behavior.

events outside the skin, events inside the skin, everything except the moving parts of the organism involved in behavior

The definition of environment includes ______.

A stimulus

What is an event outside of the body that can be detected by one or more of our senses called?

[a] conditioned reinforcers[b] punishers

__[a]__ and __[b]__ are not related to any biological need or anatomical structure; their ability to modify behavior is a result of each person’s unique history of interactions with his or her environment (ontogeny).

negative

The term ______ refers only to the termination of the stimulus.

US (unconditioned stimulus)

In Pavlovian conditioning, the NS (neutral stimulus) acquires the ability to produce the CR (controlled response) by being paired with which of the following?

Respondent

____ behavior is induced, or brought out, by a stimulus that precedes the behavior; nothing else is required for the response to occur.

Respondent behavior

Which of the following is behavior that is brought about by stimuli that proceed?

Operant

Unlike respondent behavior, which is elicited by antecedent events, ______ behavior is selected, shaped, and maintained by the consequences that have followed it in the past.

The words hi, hello, and hey

Which of the following is an example of a response class?

does, thinks, feels, says

The complete definition of human behavior includes what a person ______.

[a] elicited[b] evoked

Respondent behaviors are __[a]___ while operant behaviors are __[b]___.

Negative reinforcement

Which of the following is the removal of a stimulus contingent on a behavior that results in the future increase of that behavior?

Description

Collection of facts about observed events that can be quantified, classified, & examined for possible relations with other known facts. Often suggests hypotheses or questions for additional research

Prediction

Relative probability that when one event occurs, another event will or will not occurBased on repeated observation revealing relationships between various eventsDemonstrates correlation between eventsNo causal relationships can be interpretedEnables preparation

Control

Highest level of scientific understandingFunctional relations can be derivedSpecific change in one event (dependent variable), can reliably be produced by specific manipulations of another event (independent variable)…And the change in the dependent variable was unlikely to be the result of other extraneous factors (confounding variables).

Determinism

The assumption that the universe is a lawful and orderly place in which phenomena occur in relation to other events and not in an accident form.

Empiricism

Practice of objective observation of phenomena of interest. What all scientific knowledge is built upon. Objective is the key to gaining a better understanding of what is being studied.

Experimentation

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.

Replication

The repetition of experiments to determine the reliability and usefulness of findings.

Parsimony

Idea that simple, logical explanations must be ruled out, experimentally or conceptually, before more complex or abstract explanations are considered

Philosophic Doubt

The continuous questioning of the truthfulness and validity of all scientific theory and knowledge

3 branches of Behavior Analysis

1) Behaviorism: Philosophy of the science of behavior2) Experimental Analysis Behavior: Basic research3) Applied behavior analysis: Development of a technology for improving behavior; Can only be understood in the context of the philosophy & basic research traditions & findings

Watson

Stimulus-Response psychology, Respondent behavior (reflexive behavior), created foundation for the study of behavior as a natural science. Argued that subject matter for psychology should be the study of observable behavior, not states of mind or mental processes.

Skinner

Father of EAB, radical behaviorism (Attempts to explain all behavior, including private behavior), SRS model (3 term contingency), operant behavior (Behavior is shaped through the consequences that immediately follow it)

1968

What is the birth year of behavior analysis?

Applied

(7 dimensions of applied behavior analysis):Applied interventions deal with problems of demonstrated social importance.

Behavioral

(7 dimensions of applied behavior analysis):Applied interventions deal with measurable behavior (or reports if they can be validated).

Analytic

(7 dimensions of applied behavior analysis):Applied interventions require an objective demonstration that the procedures caused the effect.

Technological

(7 dimensions of applied behavior analysis):Applied interventions are described well enough that they can be implemented by anyone with training and resources.

Conceptual Systems

(7 dimensions of applied behavior analysis):Applied interventions arise from a specific and identifiable theoretical base rather than being a set of packages or tricks.

Effective

(7 dimensions of applied behavior analysis):Applied interventions produce strong, socially important effects.

Generality

(7 dimensions of applied behavior analysis):Applied interventions are designed from the outset to operate in new environments and continue after the formal treatments have ended.

S–R Paradigm

Skinner found that the ______ could not explain a great deal of behavior, particularly behaviors for which there were no apparent antecedent cues in the environment.

Skinner’s view that both public and private events are subject to the same principles of behavior

Which of the following is the purpose of science?

Applied Behavior Analysis

______ can be fully understood only in the context of the philosophy and basic research traditions and findings from which it evolved and remains connected today.

When behavior change continues after the treatment has ended

When is the principle of generality evident?

hypothetical constructs

– Free will, readiness, innate releasers, language acquisition devices, storage and retrieval mechanisms for memory, and information processing are all examples of ______ that are inferred from behavior.- A presumed but unobserved process or entity.

Behaviorism

The philosophical domain of behavior analysis called?

experimental analysis of behavior EAB

a natural science approach to the study of behavior as a subject matter in its own right founded by Skinner.

Optimistic

The notion that all individuals have potential and poor outcomes originate from the environment and experience rather than internal characteristics, represents which characteristic of behavior analysis?

[a] necessary[b] sufficient

A fully parsimonious interpretation consists only of those elements that are __[a]__ and __[b]__ to explain the phenomenon at hand.

Science

A systematic approach to the understanding of natural phenomena (as evidence 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.

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.

Functional Relation

A verbal statement summarizing the results of an experiment, that describes the occurrence of the phenomena understudy as a function of the operation of one or more specified and controlled variables in the experiment.

That two events consistently covary with each other

What does the second level of scientific understanding show?