BCB key terms

A group of different behaviors that share the same effect on the environment and therefore are strengthened or weakened together by the same consequence.

Behavior whose future frequency is controlled primarily by its consequences rather than by antecedent stimuli, so it is described as emitted rather than elicited.

Behavior elicited by an antecedent stimulus because of prior pairing of that stimulus with another stimulus, as in reflexive and conditioned emotional reactions.

A process in which a consequence delivered after a response increases the future frequency of that response under similar conditions.

A reinforcement process in which a stimulus is added after a response and the response becomes more frequent in the future.

A reinforcement process in which a stimulus is removed or reduced after a response and the response becomes more frequent in the future.

A consequence delivered contingent on a response that decreases the future frequency of that response under similar conditions.

Discontinuing the reinforcement that previously maintained a response, which typically produces an initial decrease in response rate along with temporary side effects.

A temporary increase in the rate, magnitude, or variability of a response shortly after reinforcement for that response has been discontinued.

An antecedent stimulus in the presence of which a response has been reinforced and in its absence the response has not, thereby signaling the availability of reinforcement.

The extent to which a response occurs more often in the presence of one stimulus than in its absence, resulting from a history of differential reinforcement.

The spread of a response to stimuli that resemble the trained discriminative stimulus along some physical or conceptual dimension.

An environmental event that alters the value of a consequence as reinforcement or punishment and simultaneously alters the momentary frequency of behaviors that have produced that consequence.

A procedure in which a neutral stimulus is repeatedly paired with an unconditioned stimulus until the neutral stimulus alone elicits a conditioned response.

A response that terminates an ongoing aversive stimulus, maintained by negative reinforcement, and typically occurring while the aversive event is present.

A response that prevents or postpones the onset of an aversive stimulus, maintained by negative reinforcement occurring before the aversive event begins.

A punishment procedure in which a specified amount of an already earned reinforcer is removed contingent on the occurrence of a target behavior.

A reinforcement system in which generalized conditioned reinforcers such as tokens are earned for target behaviors and later exchanged for backup reinforcers.

A change in the rate of a response in one setting or component that occurs in the direction opposite to a change produced in another setting or component.

An experimental design in which baseline and treatment conditions alternate at least twice, so that behavior is shown to change with each introduction and withdrawal of the independent variable.

An experimental design in which the independent variable is introduced sequentially across two or more behaviors, settings, or participants while baseline conditions continue for the untreated tiers.

The pre-intervention measurement of the target behavior under the conditions in effect before the independent variable is introduced, used as the standard for evaluating change.

The environmental variable or treatment the experimenter manipulates to determine whether it produces a change in the behavior of interest.

The behavior being measured in an experiment, whose value is expected to change as a function of manipulation of the independent variable.

The degree to which an experiment demonstrates a functional relation between the independent variable and the dependent variable rather than an effect of confounding variables.

A description of a target behavior in observable, measurable, and replicable terms, specifying what the behavior looks like and what does not count.

The degree to which two independent observers record the same values for the same behavior during the same observation period, usually expressed as a percentage.

A measurement method that counts each occurrence of a discrete response within a specified observation period and reports the total count.

A time-sampling method in which the observation period is divided into intervals and the response is scored if it occurs at any point during an interval.

A time-sampling method in which the response is scored only if it occurs continuously throughout the entire interval, yielding a conservative estimate of behavior.

A time-sampling method in which the observer records whether the response is occurring at the precise moment each interval ends.

A systematic process of identifying environmental events that reliably precede and follow a problem behavior in order to determine the variables maintaining it.

An experimental assessment in which antecedents and consequences are systematically manipulated to isolate the variables that maintain a problem behavior.

The process of informing a client or authorized representative about the purpose, procedures, risks, benefits, and alternatives of services, and obtaining voluntary agreement to proceed.

The ethical obligation to protect client information from unauthorized disclosure, sharing it only with those who have a legitimate need and legal right to receive it.

A teaching package combining instructions, modeling, rehearsal, and feedback that is used to build new skills in clients and supervisees.

Information provided to a person about the accuracy or quality of their performance, delivered so it can guide improvement on subsequent attempts.

Reinforcing successive approximations to a target behavior, beginning with a response already in the repertoire, until the terminal performance is reached.

Teaching a complex behavior by reinforcing the separate component responses in a specified sequence, such as forward, backward, or total-task presentation.

Breaking a complex skill into smaller, teachable component steps that are sequenced and then taught, often as part of a chaining procedure.