Module 3
Advanced Terms & Definitions
Applied Behavior Analysis (a more scientific definition) – The science of
behavior that focuses on producing socially significant improvements and
establishing new behavior-environment relations through systematic application
of the principles of behavior analysis. It involves continuous and repeated
measurement, identification of functional relations between behavior and
procedures and protocols and systematic analysis of outcomes.
Verbal Behavior Analysis – A subfield devoted to identifying functional verbal
repertoires and the teaching procedures to produce them. It is a way of analyzing
language according to the various functions served to the speaker and the
listener. It has an emphasis on the importance of language instruction in all of the
places and situation in which you want the language to occur in the future and
focuses on capturing and contriving situations that will increase the person’s
motivation to learn.
Verbal Operants:

Mand – A request. There is an MO for an item, a mand for the item and a
specific consequence/reinforcement, namely the item, for example,
wanting to read, seeing a book, saying book and getting the book to read.

Tact – Verbal behavior that is reinforced by generalized reinforcement. A
nonverbal stimulus causes a verbal (vocal, sign, gestural, written)
response. Example seeing a book and saying “book.”

Echoic – Verbal stimulus with point-to-point correspondence, for example
hearing “book” and saying “book.”

Intraverbal – Verbal stimulus without point-to-point correspondence. For
example, hearing “Something we read” and saying “Book.”

Autoclitics- Autoclitics are the adjectives and verbs that modify the
effects that mands and tacts have on the listener by specifying,
quantifying, affirming and negating these operants, i.e. the red ball vs. the
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blue ball. Autoclitics are also used to avoid negative consequences from
the listener, i.e. “please” when asking for something or “some people say”
when presenting something controversial.
Other Operants:

Imitation- Point-to-point correspondence between the teacher and child’s
behavior, i.e. Teacher says “do this” and claps and student claps.

Receptive – Following instructions or complying with a demand (point,
give, show me), i.e. “put on your shoes” or “find the blue ball.”

Textual Responding – Defined by Skinner as a verbal operant under the
control of printed verbal stimuli. In other words, reading words. For
example, when a reader sees the word “book” and reads it out loud.

Transcription – Writing and spelling words spoken to you. For example,
writing “book” because you hear the word “book”
Motivational Operation/Establishing Operation:

Transitive EO – Using the EO for an activity to establish the EO for
another activity. For example, a hungry person is motivated to eat and
thus becomes motivated to prepare a sandwich.

Deprivation – Increases the MO/EO. When access is denied to a
reinforcer, the value of the reinforcer increases. For example, if you never
get to play the computer but love the computer, the value of the computer
increases the longer you are denied access to the item.

Satiation – Decreases the MO/EO. If exposed to the item/activity in
unlimited quantities satiation might occur in which case the item looses its
reinforcing value. For example, if you are reinforced by M&Ms and get to
eat as many M&Ms as you want, you will eventually no longer want
M&Ms.
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Instructional Control – Defined by Skinner as the control of verbal stimuli for a
listener who has the capability to respond fluently and discriminatively to the
auditory properties of speech. In other words, a student who is under
instructional control attends to his/her instructor and emits accurate responses
when addressed by the instructor, i.e. “Sit down” is followed by the student
sitting, “Say dog” is followed by “dog.” When there is no instructional control you
cannot make an accurate assessment of the student’s mastered repertoires.
Stimulus:
SD – The discriminative stimulus is an event or condition in response to which the
teacher would like the child to exhibit a particular behavior.
SΔ – Stimulus delta: the absence of the stimulus and/or presence of another
stimulus. Stimulus control occurs when a behavior occurs in the presence of the
stimulus (SD) and does not occur in the absence of the stimulus or presence of
the other stimulus (SΔ).
Stimulus-stimulus Pairing – Pairing a new stimulus with a stimulus that
functions as a reinforcer. For example pairing new sounds with tickles or pairing
oneself with positive reinforcement. You are basically using items/activities that
are reinforcing to pair yourself as a reinforcer.
Joint stimulus control – When a single stimulus controls two or more
topographically dissimilar behavior. For example when someone can point to a
car and say car when shown a car.
Teaching Techniques:
NET – Natural Environment Teaching: The technique involves using the
environment the child interacts with on a daily basis. It focuses on using the
child’s MO/EO in the natural environment to teach target behaviors.
IT – Intensive Teaching: The technique focuses on teaching at the table in a
one-on-one setting. Skills are presented in discrete trials in a systematic way
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(usually a mixture of 20-25% acquisition and 75-80% mastered skills). Targets
are presented around an average VR, which is based on the child’s current
capabilities.
Variable Ratio- The number of operants presented before reinforcement
is provided. It can vary but should average around the set VR. The VR is
used so that he does not always know when to expect reinforcement and
so that reinforcement can be given for superb performance even if it’s only
after presenting a few operants.
Errorless Learning: A prompting method in which the rate of learner error is
reduced to near-zero level. An antecedent is presented and if a response is not
given, the correct response is prompted. Using a transfer trial the prompts are
faded using less-intrusive prompts until an independent response is emitted.
Schedule of Reinforcement: Determines the rate of reinforcement
Fixed Ratio– The schedule of reinforcement requires the completion of a fixed
number of responses to produce a reinforcer.
Variable Ratio – The schedule of reinforcement requires the completion of a
variable number of responses (based on an average) to produce a reinforcer.
Variable ratios produce a steady rate of responding and unlike fixed ratios do not
produce a postreinforcement pause (non-responsiveness post reinforcement)
because the moment of reinforcement cannot be predicted.
References:
Vail, T. & Freeman, D. (2002) Mariposa Employee Manual.
Greer, R. D. & Ross, D. (2008) Verbal Behavior Analysis
Cooper, J.O., Heron, T.E. & Heward, W.L. (2007) Applied Behavior Analysis
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