BCBA key terms

A philosophy that treats all behavior, including private events such as thoughts and feelings, as subject matter to be explained with the same principles used for observable actions, emphasizing environmental influence over hypothetical inner causes.

Explaining behavior by appealing to unobservable inner processes, such as beliefs, expectations, or drives, as if these were the cause of the action. Behavior analysis instead looks to measurable environmental variables.

The view that behavior, like anatomy, develops through selection by consequences operating at three levels: the history of the species, the learning history of the individual, and cultural practices that persist because they produced advantages.

Stimuli and responses that occur within the skin, such as thoughts, images, and physiological sensations. They follow the same behavioral principles as public behavior but are directly accessible only to the person experiencing them.

The basic unit of operant analysis: an antecedent stimulus sets the occasion for a response, the response occurs, and a consequence follows. It shows how antecedents and consequences jointly shape behavior.

An environmental event that changes the value of a consequence as a reinforcer or punisher and, at the same time, alters the momentary frequency of behaviors that have produced that consequence, such as deprivation or satiation.

A stimulus in the presence of which a response has been reinforced and in whose absence it has not. Its presence increases the likelihood of the response because it signals that reinforcement is available.

The situation in which a behavior occurs more often in the presence of a particular stimulus because that stimulus has reliably predicted reinforcement in the past, as when a child asks for food only when a parent is in the kitchen.

A stimulus that acquires reinforcing power by being paired with, or otherwise associated with, already-effective reinforcers. Praise, tokens, and money work this way rather than through unlearned biological value.

A temporary increase in the rate, intensity, or variability of a response, sometimes including aggression or novel behavior, when reinforcement is first discontinued. The burst often precedes a gradual decline.

Reinforcing successive approximations of a target behavior while withholding reinforcement for earlier or less similar forms. Used to build new skills that never appear in the person's current repertoire.

Teaching a complex sequence of behaviors by linking smaller steps, with each step serving as a cue for the next. Forward, backward, and total-task arrangements differ in the order steps are taught.

When a behavior change spreads to responses that are similar to the trained response but were not themselves directly taught, as when a child taught to say please begins using it in new requests.

A time-sampling method in which the observer records whether a behavior occurred at any point during each interval. It tends to overestimate behavior when intervals are long relative to the behavior's duration.

A time-sampling method in which the observer records whether a behavior is occurring at the exact instant each interval ends. Efficient for continuous behaviors and groups but inaccurate for short, high-rate behaviors.

The degree to which two independent observers record the same behavior using the same measurement system, usually reported as a percentage. High agreement supports the credibility of the data collected.

The rate of change in response rate over time, expressed as how quickly a behavior accelerates or decelerates per unit of time. On a standard celeration chart it appears as the slope of the data path.

An experimental tactic in which a treatment is introduced, removed, and then reintroduced to show that behavior changes only when the treatment is present. Also called a reversal design.

Treatment is applied sequentially across behaviors, settings, or participants while measurement continues on all baselines. Improvement appears only after treatment begins for each baseline, which demonstrates experimental control.

Two or more conditions are rapidly alternated within the same time period so their effects can be compared while controlling for confounds such as time and order. Sometimes called a multielement design.

After a stable baseline, the criterion for reinforcement is shifted in steps and behavior must follow each new criterion. Experimental control is shown by stepwise changes tied to each criterion change.

The extent to which changes in the dependent variable can reasonably be attributed to the independent variable rather than to confounds such as maturation, history, repeated testing, or observer drift.

Obtaining a person's voluntary agreement to participate or receive services after disclosing purpose, procedures, risks, benefits, alternatives, and the right to withdraw. Required before assessment or treatment begins.

A situation in which a behavior analyst holds more than one role with a client or supervisee, for example therapist and business partner, in a way that could impair objectivity or exploit the relationship.

The ethical obligation to protect client information from unauthorized disclosure. Limits and exceptions, such as risk of serious harm or legal requirements, are explained to clients at the outset.

A process of gathering information to identify the environmental events that occasion and maintain problem behavior, typically combining indirect methods, direct observation, and in some cases systematic manipulation of variables.

An experimental procedure in which antecedents and consequences are systematically arranged in test and control conditions to identify the variables maintaining a behavior. It is the most rigorous form of functional assessment.

A structured procedure for identifying stimuli likely to function as reinforcers, such as asking the client, presenting one item at a time, or offering pairs of items to choose between.

Gathering information about behavior without directly observing it, using interviews, rating scales, and questionnaires completed by caregivers or the client. Fast but vulnerable to memory and reporting bias.

A procedure in which reinforcement is delivered for a specified alternative response while reinforcement for the problem behavior is withheld. The alternative must be easier or more efficient than the problem behavior.

Delivering a known reinforcer on a time-based schedule regardless of what the client does, usually to reduce problem behavior maintained by attention or escape from demands.

A punishment procedure in which a specified amount of a reinforcer is removed contingent on a behavior, such as losing tokens for aggression. Effective but easily misapplied when the removal is vague or inconsistent.

A system in which tokens are earned for target behaviors and later exchanged for backup reinforcers. It works best when tokens are delivered immediately after the behavior and exchange rates are clearly stated.

The extent to which consumers judge intervention goals as important, procedures as acceptable, and outcomes as meaningful. Typically measured with questionnaires or interviews completed by clients and stakeholders.

The degree to which an intervention is implemented as designed, sometimes called procedural fidelity. Low integrity threatens conclusions about effectiveness and must be measured directly rather than assumed.

A teaching package for building new skills that includes instruction, modeling, rehearsal, and feedback, repeated until the learner performs the skill competently in the natural setting.

Providing supervisees with specific information about their performance, often praising correct steps and correcting errors, delivered soon after the observed session so the information can be acted on.

Withholding the reinforcer that previously maintained a response, which produces a gradual decline in that response. It works best when the maintaining reinforcer has been identified and alternative behavior is reinforced.

Breaking a complex skill into smaller, teachable component steps that can be observed and recorded. It provides the sequence used in chaining and the unit for measuring progress.