PSY 481 – S23
CH&H Chapter 1: Study Objectives
Definitions and Characteristics of ABA
1. List and describe the goals of behavior analysis as a science.
Goal: to achieve a thorough understanding of socially sig beh under study
Description: collection of facts about observed events that can be quantified, classified,
and examined
Prediction: when repeated observations reveal two events consistently ovary wit each
other
Control: highest level of understanding; ability to manipulate confounds; enables
functional relationship
2. List and describe the philosophical assumptions underlying behavior analysis.
Determinism: assumption that the universe is lawful and orderly; all phenomena occur as
result of other events
Empiricism: practice of objective observation and measurement
Experimentation: controlled comparison of DV to two or more IV
Replication: repeating exp. to determine reliability and usefulness
Parsimony: all simple, logical explanations should be ruled out before considering
complicated, complex ones. KISS
Philosophic doubt: continually questioning truthfulness to find new discoveries
3. Describe how Skinner improved upon Watson’s behaviorism.
Skinner expanded Watson’s view from S—R to two kinds: respondent beh and operant
beh.
Resp beh: reflexive, happens after stimulus; involuntary
Operant beh: not elicited by preceding stimuli; voluntary, influenced by what is
anticipated to happen after
Created three term contingency (SRS which became ABC)
4. State the distinguishing features of mentalistic and environmental explanations of
behavior.
Mentalism: belief that inner dimension exists separate from behavioral dimension; neural,
psychic, spiritual, etc. creates circular explanations
Methodological: denies existence of “inner variables” that cannot be observed, ignored
“private events:
Radical beh: includes and seeks to understand ALL human beh; includes cognitive
processes and thinking
5. List and describe the four primary domains of contemporary behavior analytic
practice.
Radical: theoretical, conceptual, widest scope, least precise
Experimental (EAB): determines if results demonstrated in laboratory with nonhuman
subjects could be replicated with humans
Applied (ABA): applied principles of beh to improve socially important beh
Professional: helps people be more successful; narrow scope, most precise
6. List and describe each of the dimensions of applied behavior analysis as discussed
by Baer, Wolf, and Risley in 1968.
Applied: improving socially sig beh
PSY 481 – S23
Behavioral: must choose correct target behavior; measurable; changed beh must be of
target person
Analytic: functional relationship: experiment or must be able to control the occupancy
and non occurrence of beh
Technological: all operative procedures must be identified and described with sufficient
detail and clarity for replication
Conceptually systematic: procedure for changing beh should be described in terms of the
relevant principles from which they were derived
Effective: practical; reach clinical or social significance
Generality: lasts over time, appears in different environments, and spreads to other
behaviors not directly treated by interventioon
7. Describe what is meant by a functional relation, and provide a concrete example for
a human organism.
A functional relationship is causal, meaning we can tell they are correlated and predict
one another, and can determine a time sequence in which we can say for certain that the
IV influences the DV. One example in humans would be eating and satisfaction: when
hungry, the act of eating (or not eating) predicts and CAUSES the end result of feeling
satisfied or not satisfied, respectfively.