ABCs of Behavior
Antecedent, Behavior, Consequence
What is a schedule of reinforcement?
A rule describing how and when reinforcement is delivered for a behavior
What is shaping?
Reinforcing successive approximations toward a target behavior
What is the term for counting how many times a behavior occurs?
Frequency
Who developed the concept of verbal behavior?
B.F. Skinner
Give an example of an antecedent that might trigger a behavior.
A teacher gives a direction, a peer teases, etc.
Reinforcement is provided after a fixed number of responses. What schedule is this?
Fixed Ratio (FR)
What is chaining?
Teaching complex behaviors by linking smaller, teachable units together
Measuring how long a behavior lasts is called what?
Duration
What verbal operant is controlled by motivation and results in specific reinforcement?
Mand
The consequence that increases the likelihood of a behavior reoccurring is called what?
Reinforcement
Reinforcement is delivered after an unpredictable number of responses. What schedule is this?
Variable Ratio (VR)
In forward chaining, which step is taught first?
The first step in the task sequence
What is interobserver agreement (IOA) used for?
To ensure data reliability between observers
What verbal operant involves labeling items or events in the environment?
Tact
What type of control occurs when a behavior is more likely in the presence of a specific antecedent?
Stimulus control
Reinforcement is provided after a fixed amount of time, as long as the behavior occurs. What schedule is this?
Fixed Interval (FI)
What is the main difference between shaping and chaining?
Shaping develops a new behavior; chaining connects known behaviors in sequence
On a graph, what does baseline represent?
The performance/skill level without any intervention
Saying “What’s your name?” and responding “Sarah” is an example of what operant?
Intraverbal
When collecting ABC data, what is the purpose of identifying the consequence?
To determine what maintains or reinforces the behavior
Which schedule produces the most steady and consistent rate of responding, and why?
Variable Ratio (VR) — because reinforcement is unpredictable
Describe how you would use shaping to teach a child to say “ball.”
Reinforce approximations: any vocalization → “ba” → “ball”
What type of responding do we want before we intervene on a behavior?
Steady state responding
How does an echoic differ from a textual response?
Echoic is repeating what is heard; textual is reading aloud from written words