Test 1 study guide

1. What is a behavior- Anything a person says or does

2. Definition of ABA- involves the systematic application of learning principles and techniques to
assess and improve individuals cover and over behaviors in order to enhance their functioning
3. Operant conditioning- any behavior that is reinforced will occur more frequently. Three term
contingency ABC (antecedent, behavior, consequence)
4. Four functional reinforcement classes- avoidance: of unpleasant tasks, attention: to receive any
reinforcement from another person, you must first have their attention, acquisition of other
reinforcers: food, items, privileges etc. Self-stimulation
5. Function and topography- doesnt matter what it looks like or what you think it should do. Its
only a reinforcer if it increases the frequency of the given target behavior. Sometimes desirable
things arent reinforcers, sometimes undesirable things are. Ex: negative attention can be
reinforcing for a child; compliments can be punishing; things a child says he wants may not be
reinforcing.
6. Principles of reinforcement- reinforcement works best when delivered immediately after the
target behavior occurs. Reinforcement works best when the behavior being reinforced is
specified. Principles should be used to teach appropriate replacement behaviors as well as to
reinforce naturally occurring appropriate behaviors.
7. Undesirable features of punishment- punishment typically doesnt teach you how to behave,
only how not to behave. Generally models problematic behavior (yelling, aggression, threats,
insults, etc.) you can expect a child to exhibit more of the behaviors you model for them.
8. Types of mild punishment acceptable for use- time out and response cost
9. Differential reinforcement- reinforcing appropriate or desired behaviors while withholding
reinforcement for inappropriate or problematic behaviors.
10. Condition, unconditioned, and backup reinforcers- conditioned: classical conditioning,
secondary. Unconditioned: primary and unlearned. Backup reinforcers- the specific reinforcers
on which a conditioned reinforcer is based or backed up by.
11. Catch kids being good- refers to noticing when a child is behaving appropriately, reinforcing
them as quickly as possible and specifying precisely what she is being reinforced for. Do this
especially when not related to child engaging in challenging behavior. Ex: look at you! Youre
playing so quietly, and youre being so nice to your brother. Great job!
12. Optimal ratio between reinforcement and punishment- for every one punishment given, be sure
to have given 5 or 7 reinforcements before another punishment is given
13. Prompts, and transition prompts- giving specific instructions with a reinforcer included. Ex:
Johnny, I need you to stay close to me so you can earn that can of juice. Transition prompt- to
be given prior to the end of an activity.
14. Roleplaying, modeling- practicing what you preach. Showing the child appropriate behaviors and
modeling what should be done via actions and roleplaying scenarios.
15. Antecedent interventions- arranging the environment so that problematic behaviors do not
occur, intervening early in a chain of behavior that leads up to problematic behavior, providing
consistent reinforcement for appropriate behavior, providing clear prompts about what will
happen next, what specific behavior is expected in order for reinforcement to be received, and
what reinforcement can be received, having clear expectations set well in advance of
problematic situations, decreasing demands
16. Operant extinction- the disappearance of a previously learned behavior when the behavior is
not reinforced. Extinction can occur in all types of conditioning, but the term is most often
associated with its occurrence in operant conditioning.
17. Continuous and intermittent reinforcement- continuous- when reinforcement is given after
every correct response from a student. Intermittent- fr- fixed ratio (every 2 response gets
reinforced fr2) vr- variable ratio (reinforcement will vary, but must average out to a specific
number) fi- fixed interval (reinforcement is available after a fixed amount of time) VI-
reinforcement times may vary, but must average out to a specific number
18. See above.
19. Differential reinforcement of lower rates- the delivery of reinforcement when the number of
responses in a specific period of time is less than or equal to a prescribed limit. DRL procedures
reduce, but do not eliminate behaviors.
20. Differential reinforcement of zero behavior- reinforced if the specified period has elapsed ex:
reward a child if she has not sucked thumb in 60 seconds
21. Differential reinforcement of incompatible behavior- reinforcement of performing a specific
behavior that is incompatible with the target behavior
22. Differential reinforcement of alternate behavior- reinforcement of an alternative behavior while
withholding reinforcement for the inappropriate behavior
23. Stimulus discrimination, stimulus generalization, stimulus control- discrimination: responding to
certain stimuli but not to those that similar. Generalization: the tendency for the condition
stimulus to evoke similar responses after the response has been conditioned. Control: term used
to describe stimulations in which a behavior is triggered by the presence or absence of some
stimulus.
24. Discriminative stimulus- stimuli or event indicating that a particular behavior is likely to be
reinforced; the stimuli indicates that the reinforcer is available.
25. Shaping- development of a new behavior by successive reinforcement of closer approximations
and extinguishing of preceding approximations of behavior (6 aspects: topography: specific
movements, frequency: number of instances, duration: length of time a response lasts, latency:
time between occurrence of stim and response to stim, intensity: force of a response; physical
effect the response has on the environment.)
26. Behavioral chaining- a sequence of discriminative stimuli and responses in which: each response
except the last produces the Sd for the next response, and the last response is followed by
reinforcer
27. Forward and backward chaining- forward: initial step first, then first, and second etc. on each
trial, last step is reinforced. Backward: last step first. Trainer performs all previous steps, then
has subject perform last step, starts over having subject then perform last two steps and so on