QABA ABAT cheat sheet

Behavior is any observable, measurable action of a person; the dead man's test states that if a dead person could do it, it is not behavior.

Response = a single instance of behavior; stimulus = any environmental event or change that can affect behavior.

Three-term contingency: antecedent (SD) → behavior → consequence; it is the basic unit of operant analysis.

An SD signals that reinforcement is available for a response; an S-delta signals that the response will not be reinforced (extinction).

Reinforcement increases future frequency of behavior; punishment decreases it. Positive = stimulus added; negative = stimulus removed.

Motivating operations: an establishing operation increases reinforcer value and evokes the behavior; an abolishing operation decreases value and abates behavior.

Operant behavior is controlled by consequences; respondent (reflexive) behavior is elicited by antecedent stimuli and is not sensitive to consequences.

Extinction = withholding the reinforcer that previously maintained behavior; effects include a gradual decline, an extinction burst, and spontaneous recovery.

Seven dimensions of ABA (Baer, Wolf, & Risley): applied, behavioral, analytic, technological, conceptually systematic, effective, generality.

Continuous measures: frequency/rate (count ÷ time), duration (time engaged), latency (SD onset to response onset), IRT (time between consecutive responses).

Percent of opportunities = (number of correct responses ÷ number of opportunities) × 100.

Partial interval recording scores an interval if behavior occurs at any point (overestimates); whole interval requires behavior throughout (underestimates); momentary time sampling scores only at the interval's end.

Permanent product recording measures behavior through the tangible outcomes it leaves (e.g., completed worksheets, cleaned room) rather than direct observation.

Total count IOA = (smaller count ÷ larger count) × 100; interval-by-interval IOA = (agreements ÷ total intervals) × 100. Acceptable IOA is generally ≥80%, with ≥90% preferred for discrete behaviors.

Single-case designs rely on prediction, verification, and replication: reversal (A-B-A-B), multiple baseline across behaviors/settings/subjects, changing criterion, alternating treatments.

On a line graph the x-axis is time/sessions and the y-axis is the behavior measure; data paths are described by level (mean), trend (direction), and variability (fluctuation).

Treatment integrity (fidelity) data document whether the independent variable was implemented as written; without it, conclusions about behavior change are weakened.

Decisions to continue or modify an intervention are based on patterns across several data points (level, trend, variability), not on a single session.

Discrete trial training: repeated brief trials, each with a clear SD, a response (prompted as needed), a consequence, and a short intertrial interval.

Prompt hierarchies run least-to-most or most-to-least; progressive time delay and prompt fading transfer stimulus control from the prompt to the natural SD.

Natural environment training embeds trials in ongoing routines and uses the learner's current motivation rather than contrived materials.

Shaping reinforces successive approximations of a terminal response; chaining teaches a task analysis forward, backward, or as a total task.

Discrimination training reinforces responding in the presence of the SD and withholds reinforcement in the presence of the S-delta; generalization is promoted with multiple exemplars, loose training, and natural contingencies.

Maintenance is supported by thinning reinforcement schedules, fading to naturally occurring reinforcers, and periodic booster sessions.

Behavior is maintained by one or more functions: attention, escape/avoidance, access to tangibles, or automatic/sensory reinforcement.

DRA reinforces a specified alternative; DRI reinforces a behavior physically incompatible with the target; DRO reinforces the absence of the target for an interval; DRL reinforces lower rates.

Extinction, response cost (removal of reinforcers contingent on behavior), and time-out from reinforcement are reduction procedures; an extinction burst and spontaneous recovery are expected side effects.

Scope of competence: practitioners deliver only services for which they have documented training and credentialing, and seek supervision when a case falls outside it.

Informed consent requires explaining procedures, risks, benefits, and the right to refuse or withdraw, in language the client or guardian understands.

Confidentiality limits disclosure to authorized persons with a need to know; legal exceptions include suspected abuse or neglect and imminent danger.

Dual or multiple relationships are avoided whenever possible; when unavoidable, they are disclosed, documented, and managed to protect the client.

Supervision is competency-based: direct observation, written feedback, and documentation of dates, activities, and supervisee performance are required.

Data integrity requires accurate recording; fabricating, falsifying, or back-dating data or session notes is a serious ethical violation.

Intervention selection favors reinforcement-based, least restrictive procedures; restrictive or punishment-based procedures require justification, consent, and oversight.

Suspected abuse or neglect must be reported to the designated authority under mandated reporting law, and the supervisor is informed per agency policy.

Fees and billing must reflect services actually delivered; delegating tasks to unqualified persons or billing for undocumented services constitutes fraud.