Pass the BIg ABA Exam

1st- Description 2- Prediction 3- Control DPC (Dana Priya Can)

The first level of scientific understanding which involves deriving quantifiable and classifiable facts (data) from systematically observed events.

When repeat observations show a consistent relationship between two events

The third and highest level of scientific understanding. Established through experimentation confirming that manipulating one event (the independent variable) results in a reliable change in another event (the dependent variable)

A verbal summary of results from experiment that describes the occurrence of the phenomena under study as a function of the operation of one or more controlled variables in the experiment in which a change in dependent variable can be produced by manipulating independent variable and that the change in the dependent variable was unlikely the confounding variables

DEPPS (Don't eat pink pig slime) Determinism Empiricism Pragmatism Parsimony Selectionism

Events that occur in the universe do not happen "out of the blue." Instead

Objective observation and measurement (5 senses) - Facts derived from experiments

Must rule out the simple and logical explainations

A practical approach to problems in which truth is found in the process of verification

All life forms naturally and continually evolve through their learning history and evolutionary development.

Requires the manipulation of the independent variable to see the effects on the dependent variable in order to demonstrate a functional relation.

repeating experiments

Healthy skepticism -Question the truth

A branch of behaviorism that includes private in addition to observable behavioral events

Events taking place inside the skin.
Thoughts & Feelings.

BEAP- Believe Everyone Allows Pranks
Behaviorism.
Experimental Analysis of Behavior.
Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA)
Professional Practice Guided by the Science of Behavior Analysis

AKA Conceptual Analysis of Behavior

theoretical

Controlled Settings
Human and Non human subjects
Research based on basic process and principles and conducted mainly in labs.

BA assess

teach

Many individuals in various fields. Not just BCBAs implementing ABA

BATCAGE

Behavioral
Applied
Technological
Conceptually Systematic
Analytical
Generality
Effective

1. Target behavior
2. Behavior must be measurable
3. Whose behavior has changed

The behavior targeted for change must be socially significant behavior that will improve the person's life and significant others

Procedures are completely identified

All procedures used should be tied to the basic principles of behavior analysis from which they were derived.

There is a functional relationship between the independent and dependent variable.

behavior change that persists across time across other settings

Improve behavior to make socially significant difference.

a presumed but unobserved process or entity
AKA- Imaginary construct

a fictitious variable that often is simply another name for the observed behavior that contributes nothing to an understanding of the variables responsible for developing or maintaining the behavior

Reasoning that ends and begins in the same place. No evidence is offered
Ex. Jimmy cried because he felt sad.

a reaction to a stimulus
Single instance of behavior

a group of responses with the same function

All the behaviors that you can do and collection of skills that you learned

elaborate always changing universe of events
Behavior cannot occur without an environment

Physical events that effect the behavior of the individual
external or internal

A group of antecedent stimuli that have a common effect on an operant class.

yet may vary across physical dimensions.

FTF - For the Fun

temporal (time)

physical features

refers to time

the effect of the stimulus on a behavior

Stimuli share:
common topographies
relative relations

INFINITE number of stimuli
developed through stimulus generalization

Stimuli that evoke the same response

LIMITED number of stimuli
Developed through stimulus equivalence.

Involuntary behavior (anxiety
Phylogenic- Gag Reflect

The natural evolution of a species which includes the inheritance of survival characteristics passed down from one generation to the next.

unconditioned stimulus is presented repeatedly over short time

but you get used to them as the show goes on.

New stimuli can acquire the ability to elicit responses.
Occurs through pairing of two stimuli.
Stimulus - Stimulus Pairing (S - S)

An unconditioned stimulus is a stimulus that leads to an automatic response

A neutral stimulus is a stimulus that at first elicits no response

a stimulus that elicits a response only after learning has taken place

in classical conditioning

in classical conditioning

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 conditioned reflex no longer appears in the individual's repertoire.

behavior determined and maintained by its history of consequences
Defined by function
Ontogeny

How the environment changes one individual over their lifetime.

a type of learning in which behavior is strengthened if followed by a reinforcer or diminished if followed by a punisher

AKA -ABC

PER

punishment
extinction
reinforcement

consequence of a behavior that strengthens the probability of the behavior

Present a stimulus

EATSS

Edible
Activity
Tangible
Social
Sensory

any stimulus or event the removal of which increases or maintains the rate of a response

Behavior that terminates an aversive stimulus and is maintained by negative reinforcement

A contingency in which responses at any time during an interval prior to the scheduled onset of an aversive stimulus delays the presentation of the aversive stimulus.
No SD

A contingency in which responding in the presence of a signal prevents the onset of a stimulus from which escape is a reinforcer.
SD present

Fixed Variable Interval or Ratio

a schedule of reinforcement requiring a fixed number of responses for reinforcement

A schedule of reinforcement requiring a varying number of responses for reinforcement.

reinforces a response only after a specified time has elapsed

reinforces a response at an average time

a pause in responding that typically occurs after the delivery of the reinforcer on FR and FI schedules of reinforcement

Gradually increasing the response ratio or the duration of the time interval

A result of abrupt increases in ratio requirements when moving from denser to thinner reinforcement schedules.

aggression

situation in which reinforcement is available only for a finite time following the lapse of an FI or VI interval--if the target response does not occur within the time limit

LPD2
Lag schedules of reinforcement
Progressive schedules of reinforcement
Delays to reinforcement schedule
Differential reinforcement of ratios of responding

SR delivered for a response that is different in topography
Do Something different

systematically thins each successive reinforcement opportunity independent of the participant's behavior
How far will the reinforcement go?

Delayed SR is delivered to teach self-control

CMCMTAC Cute Mothers Catapulted Many Toddlers Away Crying

Concurrent Schedules of Reinforcement
Multiple Schedules of Reinforcement
Chained Schedules of Reinforcement
Mixed Schedules of Reinforcement
Tandem Schedules of Reinforcement
Alternative Schedules of Reinforcement
Conjunctive Schedules of Reinforcement

Two or more reinforcement schedules that operate simultaneously and independently

Presents two or more basic schedule of reinforcement in an alternating

has 2 or more basic schedule requirements that occur successively and in order
SD with each independent schedule with 1 or more behaviors

2 or more basic schedules alternating or random

except the mixed schedule has no SD correlated with the independent schedulesixed

Has 2 or more basic schedule requirements that occur successively and does not have an SD correlated with each independent schedule with 1 or more behaviors

Given two choices you will engage in behavior that has highest reinforcement

an event that decreases the behavior that it follows

adding an undesirable stimulus to stop or decrease a behavior

the removal of a stimulus to decrease the probability of a behavior's recurring

a behavior that occurs less often (or not at all) in certain conditions (S0 p)

operant conditioning occurs automatically. Behavior is modified by consequences

(AKA self-stimming) The behavior itself is reinforcing and is not dependent on social interaction or receiving a tangible item.

punishment that occurs without the social mediation of others (others don't deliver the consequence at all)

which turns out to be very itchy

When another person controls your access to reinforcement/punishment
• Opposite of automatic reinforcement/punishment

• A stimulus change that can increase the future frequency of behavior without prior pairing with any other form of reinforcement • No learning history required • UCRs are products of phylogeny (all members of a species generally share the same UCRs) • Requires a state of deprivation to be a reinforcer (Motivating Operation)

Example: Food and water: you are born wanting and needing these things when deprived

When a previously neutral stimulus acquires the ability to function as a reinforcer through stimulus-stimulus pairing with 1 or more unconditioned or conditioned reinforcers

- Learning history required

• A type of conditioned reinforcer that has been paired with many unconditioned and conditioned reinforcers

No learning history required; products of phylogeny

extremely loud noise

A previously neutral stimulus that now functions as a punisher because of prior pairing with 1 or more other punishers
• Learning history required; products of ontogeny

Example: When a neutral sound is paired with burning yourself on a hot stove.

A type of conditioned punisher that' s been paired with many unconditioned and conditioned punishers (e.g. pain

PAN People act normal

P-Positive Reinforcement Extinction:
A-Automatic Reinforcement Extinction (AKA: Sensory Extinction)
N-Negative Reinforcement Extinction (AKA: Escape Extinction):

o Function of behavior= attention

so the form of EXT is no access to tangibles

Function of behavior= automatic reinforcement/sensory

Function of behavior= escape so the form of EXT is no escape

the ability of a stimulus to encourage some responses and discourage others

Acquired when a discriminated operant (learned behavior) occurs in the presence of the SD and doesn't occur in its absence or in the presence of other stimuli (Sdelta)

an irrelevant stimulus controls the correct behavior (and the relevant stimulus does not)

Pre-Attending Skills: looking at your teacher and the materials
• 1st step to teach
2. Stimulus Salience: prominence of the stimulus in your setting to make things easier to learn

Masking (AKA: Stimulus Blocking): though a stimulus has acquired stimulus control over a behavior

Overshadowing: the presence of 1 stimulus interferes with/overshadows the acquisition of stimulus control by another stimulus

A signal that tells you : reinforcement is available

A stimulus in the presence of which a given behavior has not produced reinforcement in the past

Something that has a set of shared features

any natural contingency of SR (or punishment) not created by the practitioner

contingency of SR or punishment created by the practitioners

the tendency to respond to a stimulus that is only similar to the original conditioned stimulus with the conditioned response

a differentiation between two similar stimuli when only one of them is consistently associated with the unconditioned stimulus

The extent to which your client exhibits novel behaviors that are functionally equivalent to the trained target response

but over the years

1. Establishing Operation (EO)
2. Abolishing Operation (EO)

A motivating operation that establishes (increases) the effectiveness

an environmental and/or biological event that (1) temporarily decreases the value of a specific reinforcer and (2) decreases the probability of behaviors yielding that reinforcer

An alteration (increase or decrease) in the momentary effectiveness of a reinforcer or punisher

An increase (evocative effect) or decrease (abative effect) in the current frequency of a behavior that has been reinforced by some stimulus

An increase in the momentary frequency of behavior

A decrease in the current frequency of behavior that has been reinforced by the stimulus that is increased in reinforcing effectiveness by the same motivating operation

refers to how the future behavior of a person changes because of the MO they are experiencing in the moment

For all organisms

1. Food Deprivation
2. Sleep Deprivation
3. Oxygen Deprivation
4. Water Deprivation
5. Activity Deprivation
6. Sex Deprivation
7. Becoming too warm
8. Becoming too cold
9. Increase in pain

Value-altering motivating effects that are a function of a learning history

Alters value of consequences that are under the control of an MO with which it has been paired.

PAIRING PROCESS WITH ANOTHER MO

Tip: does the question describe a pairing process?

A condition or object that acquires its effectiveness as an MO by preceding a situation that either is worsening or is improving.

Something is blocking access to an (un)conditioned reinforcer and problem-solving behaviors are needed

spoon for soup

behavior that has been generated through exposure to rules

When a behavior is directly controlled by a contingency

will immediately relieve the sting

behavior that is reinforced by others and includes vocal and non-vocal communication

o Emits the verbal behavior
o Gains access to SR
o Controls her environment though the behavior of the listener
o Plays an expansive role in VB

o An audience for the speaker's behavior
o Reinforces the speaker's verbal behavior
o Responds to the speaker's verbal behavior in specific ways o Plays a small role in VB

When the beginning

When the controlling stimulus (verbal sD) and the verbal response (e.g. echoic) have the same sense mode (both spoken

verbal behavior that shares formal similarity and point-to-point correspondence with its controlling stimulus. Think duplicate

verbal behavior that shares no formal similarity with its controlling stimulus

EMITTT

1.Mand
2. Tact
3. Echoic
4. Intraverbal
5. Textual
6. Transcription

Vocally imitatingepeating/echoing what you hear

The speaker asks for (or states

Magical Mand: mands in which the SR has never occurred in the past; wishing mands

Superstitious Mand: mands in which SR sometimes occurs incidentally or accidentally

An elementary verbal operant that is evoked by a verbal discriminative stimulus and that does not have point-to-point correspondence with that verbal stimulus.

CONTACT with through any of his sense modes (i.e. see

SMMG- Studying Makes Me Grim
S-Solecistic Extension:
M-Metaphorical Extension:
M-Metonymical Extension
G-Generic Extension:

Having to do with or based on a text.

The speaker converts spoken words (controlling stimulus/verbal S0 ) to written words

LISTENING to {and doing) whatever is asked

A secondary verbal operant in which some aspect of a speaker's own verbal behavior functions as an SD or an MO for additional speaker verbal behavior.

Hint: a secondary verbal operant with a secondary meaning about what the speaker is saying

Autoclitic Mand= supplemental control by a (related) MO

but I have to go

informs listener of some nonverbal aspect of the primary verbal operant and is therefore controlled by nonverbal stimuli

Responding indicating a relation (e.g.

A theory of derived stimulus relations proposing that stimulus relations are inherently verbal and that accumulated experience with relational exemplars creates generalized repertoires of relating.

a stimulus relation between 2 or more stimuli that function within that class

if a baseball (A) is smaller than a basketball (B)

if a baseball (A) is smaller than a basketball (B) and a golf ball (C) is smaller than a baseball (A)

(AKA: Generalized Identity Matching): easy matching-to-sample • Reflexive stimulus control = when your client matches 2 identical stimuli

the sample and comparison stimuli are reversed

a derived stimulus relation that results from the training of 2 other stimulus-stimulus relations. If there is an A = B relation and a B = C relation

ACRONYM: RSTS Reach Students This Spectacularly
Reflexivity
Symmetrical
Transitivity
Stimulus Equivalence

Data Display

1. O-Objective: identify the observable parts of the behavior and environment
2.C-Clear: readable and unambiguous
3. C-Complete: identify the specific margins for the ONSET and OFFSET of the behavior

Measuring the actual (focus of program) behavior as it is occurring

when it is happening

When behavior can't be or isn't measured as it is happening
• Behavior is measured in such a way that it produces a secondhand account of what
actually happened

• Measuring behavior after it has occurred by looking at the changes the behavior
produced on the environment
• Refers to time of measurement (after) and the effect of the behavior

• The material with which you work to empirically guide you
Quantitative results of

frequency

The# of occurrences in a given period of time
• Formula = count/time

Changes in rate over time
• Formula : count per unit of time/time or RATE/time

1. Percentage
2. Trials to criterion

• Considered an occurrence measurement
• Proportion or ratio formed by combining the same dimensional quantities (e .g. count

rate divided by rate

refers to the fact that every instance of behavior occurs during some amount of time

(n.) the length of time that something continues or lasts

refers to the fact that every instance of behavior occurs at a certain point in time with respect to other events

the elapsed time from the onset of a stimulus (e.g.

Amount of time that elapses between two consecutive instances of a response class

Measurable and changeable dimension of behavior
• The physical form and shape of behavior
AKA: Form

Greatness of size

Considered an occurrence measurement
• A measure of the# of response opportunities required to achieve a pre-specified level
of performance criteria

Example:# of opportunities to emit the behavior independently (%) or by blocks of a
certain# of trials required for the client to emit the correct response (count)

Direct methods for recording behavior during intervals or at specific moments in time
• Representations of behavior from the observation period

involves checking off the interval if the behavior occurs throughout the WHOLE interval.

a time sampling method in which the observer records whether the target behavior occurred at any time during the interval

a measurement method in which the presence or absence of behaviors are recorded at precisely specified time intervals

Variation of momentary time sampling for groups
Example: A teacher records data on the intervals of time his students are engaged in the
targeted activity by measuring their behavior at the end of each interval

Hint: measuring the right thing
Validity is reliant on 3 fundamentals:
a. Measuring the relevant dimension of the behavior
b. Directly measuring socially significant target behavior
c. A guarantee that the data represent the behavior occurring in the conditions of
interest

A description of how close a measurement is to the true value of the quantity measured.

• Dependability of measurement
• The degree to which repeating a measurement procedure produces the same result

Data that do not provide a meaningful representation of the behavior
• Unwarranted and misleading picture of behavior because of how it was measured

The degree to which two or more independent observers report the same observed values after measuring the same events

Divide smallest count amount by largest

1. Divide the observation period into equal smaller intervals
2. Record the# of target behaviors within each interval
3. Add up the counts for all the behaviors and divide by total
# of intervals

Identify the# of intervals with 100% IOA and divide by total # of intervals

Formula:
# of Trials of Agreement X 100%
_______________________
Total # of Trials

A relevant index of IOA for total duration measurement; computed by dividing the shorter of the two durations reported by the observers by the longer duration and multiplying by 100.

1. Record the duration for each occurrence of the target
behavior
2. Add up all the durations for all the behaviors and divide by
total # of behaviors

Identify the# of intervals with 100% IOA (scored or unscored) and divide by total # of intervals

1. Identify the# of intervals both observers scored an
occurrence (x)
2. Divide by total # of intervals in which 1 or both
observers recorded an occurrence (x)

1. Identify the# of intervals both observers scored
• Divide by total # of intervals in which 1 or both observers recorded a non-occurrence (o)

-Graphs in which the distance between any 2 consecutive points on both the x-axis and y-axis are always the same
-All intervals are the same size

Use for: communicating relevant quantitative relations over some dimension of time;

trend

Horizontal Axis (AKA: X-Axis; Abscissa): time passage and the presence
value of the IV

Vertical Axis (AKA: Y-Axis; Ordinate): the full range of values of the DV /the
quantifiable aspect of the target behavior

used to indicate a break in time

the vertical lines drawn upward from the x-axis to show
points in time at which changes in the IV occurred

a. A quantity recorded during a specific observation period
b. The time/experimental conditions when that measure was conducted

Use for: group summative performance; separate data sets that aren't related

• Skinner (of course) in EAB research; 1957
• Graph depicts rate of response
• Cumulative recorder= a device showing cumulative data

The average rate of response during a smaller period of time within a larger period for which an overall response rate has been given.

an average rate of response during periods of time smaller
than that for which an overall response rate has been given

but only using a small portion of the data on the graph

• Illustrates the relative distribution of each measure in your client's data set
• Unconnected data points; different symbols representing specific times

Standardized way of charting and analyzing how frequency of behavior changes over
time

4
• To measure/increase the# of correct answers and decrease the# wrong within the
set time

DLTV- Don't lower the volume
1. Data points
2. Level
3. Trend
4. Variability

• Identify and quantify the# of data points for each condition
• More data and more time = more confident measurement
• Amount depends on: new findings need more data; repeat measurements needs less
• Briefer is also acceptable for: dangerous behavior; subject can't perform behavior;
limited opportunity for behavior to happen
• High variability needs more data points to predict patterns; fewer needed with less
variability

• On a line graph
• A change in level is depicted when the data's average value changes
• Use for: examining how much has the behavior changed over time

you draw a horizontal line through the data on the y-axis equaling the average/mean value of the data

use when the client's data has extreme outliers

• Overall direction taken by the data path on a line graph
• Use for: assessing the direction of your client's data

decreasing
steep)
• Trend line: a line you draw through your line graph to depict the overall direction of
the data

• The degree to which data bounce around on a line graph
• Frequency and degree to which multiple measures of behavior yield different
outcomes
• Use for: determining how steady is your client's data

(AKA: Target Behavior)

being measured in an experiment

the variable that a researcher actively manipulates

The extent to which an experiment strongly shows that changes in behavior are a
direct result of the IV and not the result of some other uncontrollednknown
variables

MISS

may occur due to observer drift
I -IV confounds: complicated & usually given in a treatment package
S -Subject confounds: maturation (changes in subject of study over time)
S -Setting confounds: studies in natural settings more likely to have confounding variables

Refers to the number & the intricacy of the bxs you are targeting.
May occur due to:
-Observer Drift
-Reactivity
-Observer Bias

when an observer unknowingly changes the way a measurement system is applied
To reduce: randomized data collection and scoring

refers to the changes to client behavior due to being observed. Also refers to observers being affected by their data collection being monitored
• To reduce: maintain baseline conditions long enough for reactivity effects to run their course; unobtrusive measurement

your expectations that data will change in a particular direction
• To reduce: keep observers na'ive to expected outcomes of a study; use permanent product measures; consider probe data; double-blind control (subject and observer don't know treatment details)

IVs are complicated and given together usually in a treatment package
reduce: placebo control (in which your subject isn't aware if
the IV is present or not) or double-blind control procedures (in which the subject and observer don't know treatment details)

Maturation:
• Practice:
• Adaptation:
• Warm-up Effects:

• To reduce subject confounds: repeated measurement will detect any subject
confounds

changes in your subject over the course of the study

(especially during baseline) responding improves from repeating the behavior; this is also a measurement confound

when

(especially during baseline) responding is weaker at l51 due
to needing to get warmed up; this is also a measurement confound

Studies in natural settings are more prone to confounding variables than in controlled laboratories

may also occur in the natural environment: secretive SR
or access that isn't part of your IV

• The terms
• Both refer to when unknown or unintended variables have uncontrolled influence on your study (you should try to control these)

any variables other than the independent variable that seem likely to influence the dependent variable in a specific study

extent to which we can generalize findings to real-world settings

Using the same subject in a direct replication

Uses different but similar subjects to determine generality

researcher intentionally changes 1 (or more) features of a
prior experiment (demonstrates reliability of original experiment AND confirms the external validity of the original experiment by showing the same impact in different
conditions)

(AKA: Behavioral Package): a behavior plan with many IVs at the same time. If a researcher is conducting a design that looks at the whole package

Most experiments in ABA

but can be (typically 4-8)
• Each subject serves as his own control
• Each participant is graphed separately