Basic Principles
A stimulus or event that precedes a target behavior
Antecedent
The stimulus or event occurring immediately after a behavior
Consequence
Behavior that can be observed and recorded by a person other than the one engaging in the behavior
Overt
Stimulus events that temporarily alter the value of a stimulus as a reinforcer and the frequency of a behavior reinforced by that stimulus
Motivating operations
A procedure in which antecedents are manipulated to influence the target behavior. May involve manipulating a discriminative stimulus or cues, establishing operations, or response effort for the target behavior or alternative behaviors
Antecedent control procedures
What a person says or does
Behavior
Contingent on the behavior, a stimulus or event is presented and the probability of the behavior increases in the future
Positive reinforcement
Behavioral assessment involving observation and recording of behavior as it occurs
Direct observation
A process for teaching chained skills where instruction begins by teaching the first step in the sequence, then proceeding to teach the second step once the first step is mastered, and so on
Forward chaining
Where one response is reinforced while withholding reinforcement for another response class, provides reinforcement contingent on the individual displaying the replacement behavior, and does not provide reinforcement when the problem behavior is present.
Differential reinforcement
An undesirable target behavior that a person seeks to decrease in frequency, duration, or intensity
Behavior excess
The process by which, when a previously reinforced behavior is no longer followed by the reinforcing consequences, the frequency of the behavior decreases in the future
Extinction
Information on the problem behavior, antecedents, and consequences is not derived from direct observation but from retrospective report in interviews and questionnaires
Indirect assessment
The stimulus that is present when a particular behavior is reinforced
Discriminative Stimulus
The initial stage of learning. When attempting the skill independently, the student is not accurate or fluent in the skill
Acquisition stage
A desirable target behavior that a person seeks to increase in frequency, duration, or intensity
Behavior deficit
The occurrence of a behavior is followed by the removal of a reinforcing stimulus resulting in a decrease in the future probability of the behavior
Negative punishment
Behavior that is not observable to others
Covert
Identification of the discriminative stimulus and response for each component of a behavior chain
Task analysis
A reinforcement system in which conditioned reinforcers are delivered to people for desirable behaviors and later exchanged for backup reinforcers. May include response cost
Token economy
A dimension of behavior, specifically the physical force or magnitude of the behavior
Intensity
Behavior that results in the termination of an aversive stimulus
Escape
A functional assessment method in which environmental events are manipulated to demonstrate a functional relationship between the environmental events and the behavior
Functional analysis
A stimulus that is present when a behavior is not reinforced
S-delta
Teaching a skill by starting with the most intrusive prompt in the hierarchy that is needed to ensure the student engages in correct responding
Most to least prompting