Applied Behavior Analysis

Cards · 55

Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA)

An applied science that uses the principles of operant and respondent learning to change socially significant behavior.

Behavior

Any observable and measurable action or movement of an organism interacting with its immediate environment.

Response

A single specific instance or occurrence of a particular behavior.

Response Class

A collection of individual behaviors that look different but produce the same functional effect on the environment.

Stimulus

An energy change in the environment that affects the organism through its sensory receptors.

Stimulus Class

A group of stimuli that share common physical properties, temporal timing, or functional effects on behavior.

Three-Term Contingency

The foundational ABC unit of operant conditioning: Antecedent stimulus, Behavior, and Consequence.

Operant Conditioning

A learning process founded by B.F. Skinner where future behavior frequency is shaped by its post-action consequences.

Respondent Conditioning

Classical Pavlovian conditioning where an unconditioned reflex is paired with a neutral cue to elicit an involuntary response.

Positive Reinforcement

The addition of a stimulus immediately following a response that increases the future likelihood of that behavior.

Negative Reinforcement

The removal or avoidance of an aversive stimulus following a response that strengthens the future rate of that behavior.

Positive Punishment

The presentation of an unpleasant stimulus following a behavior that reduces its future occurrence.

Negative Punishment

The termination or removal of a preferred stimulus following an action that weakens the future rate of that behavior.

Unconditioned Reinforcer

A primary stimulus that naturally reinforces behavior without prior learning, rooted in biological survival needs.

Conditioned Reinforcer

A secondary stimulus that gains reinforcing value solely by being paired repeatedly with other established reinforcers.

Generalized Conditioned Reinforcer

A paired reinforcer such as money or praise that retains value across diverse conditions because it pairs with many reinforcers.

Extinction

The intentional cessation of reinforcing an established behavior, gradually decreasing its future frequency to pre-reinforcement levels.

Extinction Burst

A temporary, predictable spike in the frequency, intensity, or variability of a behavior immediately after reinforcement stops.

Spontaneous Recovery

The brief, sudden re-emergence of an extinguished operant behavior after some time has passed without reinforcement.

Discriminative Stimulus (Sd)

An environmental cue signaling that a specific response is currently available for reinforcement based on historical correlation.

Stimulus Delta (S-delta)

An environmental cue signaling that a specific response will not yield reinforcement or may yield extinction.

Motivating Operation (MO)

An environmental event that momentarily alters reinforcer effectiveness (value-altering) and alters current behavior rate (behavior-altering).

Establishing Operation (EO)

A motivating condition like deprivation that temporarily enhances the value of a reinforcer and evokes behaviors to obtain it.

Abolishing Operation (AO)

A motivating state like satiation that temporarily decreases the effectiveness of a reinforcer and abates related behaviors.

Continuous Reinforcement (CRF)

A schedule delivering reinforcement after every single occurrence of the target behavior, optimal for teaching new skills.

Intermittent Reinforcement (INT)

A schedule delivering reinforcement for only some correct responses, which effectively builds long-term resistance to extinction.

Fixed Ratio (FR) Schedule

A reinforcement schedule where a reinforcer is delivered strictly after a set, predictable number of completed responses.

Variable Ratio (VR) Schedule

A reinforcement schedule providing rewards after an unpredictable, average number of responses, yielding high steady rates.

Fixed Interval (FI) Schedule

Reinforcement provided for the first correct response emitted after a constant, specific duration of time has elapsed.

Variable Interval (VI) Schedule

Reinforcement delivered for the first correct response after an unpredictable, average amount of time has elapsed.

Prompt

An extra antecedent stimulus introduced alongside the natural cue to help guide the learner toward the correct response.

Prompt Fading

The gradual, systematic withdrawal of artificial prompts so the natural discriminative stimulus gains full behavioral control.

Stimulus Control

A behavioral state achieved when a specific response occurs reliably in the presence of an Sd and not in its absence.

Stimulus Generalization

When a learned response occurs in the presence of novel, untrained stimuli that share perceptual features with the training Sd.

Response Generalization

When a learner produces novel, untrained functional equivalents of a behavior in response to the same conditioned cue.

Shaping

Differentially reinforcing successive approximations toward a designated target terminal behavior while extinguishing earlier steps.

Differential Reinforcement

Providing reinforcement exclusively for desired responses meeting clear criteria while withholding it for other responses.

DRA (Differential Reinforcement of Alternative Behavior)

Reinforcing an appropriate replacement behavior that fulfills the same function while placing the problem behavior on extinction.

DRI (Differential Reinforcement of Incompatible Behavior)

Reinforcing a specific behavior that is physically impossible to execute at the same time as the targeted challenging behavior.

DRO (Differential Reinforcement of Other Behavior)

Delivering reinforcement whenever the targeted challenging behavior does not occur during a specified interval of time.

Task Analysis

The clinical breakdown of a complex behavioral sequence into its distinct, teachable, and chronological component steps.

Forward Chaining

Teaching a behavioral chain by training step one first and completing the rest for the learner until mastery builds onward.

Backward Chaining

Teaching a behavioral chain by assisting all initial steps and having the learner perform the final step to earn immediate reinforcement.

Total Task Chaining

Prompting and training the learner on every individual step of an entire task analysis during each single learning trial.

Discrete Trial Training (DTT)

A structured, adult-directed teaching method isolating single skills through explicit cues, prompted responses, and clear consequences.

Natural Environment Teaching (NET)

Teaching skills within natural play and functional daily contexts, capitalizing primarily on the learner's current child-led motivation.

Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA)

A multi-step assessment method to discover the specific environmental antecedents and consequences maintaining a problem behavior.

Mand

A Skinnerian verbal operant prompted by an establishing operation and reinforced by receiving the specific item requested.

Tact

A Skinnerian verbal operant evoked by a nonverbal sensory stimulus and maintained by generalized social reinforcement.

Echoic

A verbal operant evoked by an auditory verbal cue that is repeated with point-to-point correspondence and formal similarity.

Intraverbal

A verbal operant evoked by another verbal stimulus without point-to-point correspondence, underlying conversational interaction.

Behavioral Momentum

An antecedent strategy presenting high-probability compliance requests right before issuing a low-probability target request.

Premack Principle

A behavioral concept stating that engaging in a preferred high-frequency activity can serve as a reinforcer for a low-frequency task.

Token Economy

A generalized contingency system where conditioned tokens are earned for target behaviors and traded later for backup reinforcers.

Automatic Reinforcement

Reinforcement produced directly by the execution of the behavior itself, independent of external social delivery or intervention.