Terms & Definitions
What does ABC stand for?
Antecedent, Behavior, Consequence
Which famous experiments involved dogs, a metronome, and auditory tones?
Pavlov's physiological experiments on digestion
What are the two main goals of behavior analysis?
1) To accurately predict behavior
2) To discover functional variables to positively influence behavior
Which UF professor studies addiction, smoking cessation, and technology-based interventions to promote health behavior?
Who is Dr. Jesse Dallery?
Which type of observation is typically used in Behavior Analysis?
What is a Primary Reinforcer? Provide an example.
A consequence that functions as a reinforcer because it is important in sustaining the life of the individual or the continuation of the species.
Ex: food, water, oxygen, sleep, sexual contact, pain
What was the (stuffed) animal used in the Little Albert Experiment?
What is the purpose of the Dead Man's test?
To determine if an action or event is behavior.
Which UF professor studies OBM, burnout, and behavior-based safety?
Who is Dr. Nicole Gravina?
What dimensions of behavior are used to track responses?
Duration
Frequency
Magnitude
Latency
What is Negative Punishment?
The contingent removal, reduction, or prevention of a reinforcer; the effect of which decreases the future probability of the behavior below its no-punishment level
Which well-known researcher conducted the Little Albert Experiment which involved a loud noise paired with a neutral stimulus?
Who is John. B Watson?
Describe a mentalistic explanation for a behavior and describe an ABC for the same behavior.
Free Response
This UF professor focuses on translational research to understand lapses and relapses of behavior and make behavioral treatments for dangerous behavior more durable.
Who is Dr. Chris Podlesnik?
What are the four schedules of reinforcement?
Variable Ratio, Fixed Ratio, Variable Interval, Fixed Interval
What is a Motivating Operation? Provide an example.
MOs increase or decrease reinforcer value and behavior.
Observable events that alter current reinforcing effectiveness of a stimulus/object/event and alter the current behavior of all operant responses previously reinforced by the stimulus/object/event altered in value by that MO.
Which famous researcher proposed the Theory of Verbal Behavior?
Who is B.F. Skinner?
Describe operant extinction and provide an example
Responding that meets the reinforcement contingency no longer produces the reinforcer and, as a result, it falls to baseline levels in the absence of the reinforcer.
This professor received his Ph.D. from UF and helped to establish a social skills clinic for adolescents and adults on the autism spectrum.
Who is Dr. Faris Kronfli?
What are the weaknesses of Single-Subject Experimental Designs?
1) Suboptimal for summarizing research effectiveness in populations (sample size, effect sizes)
2) Replicating effects might not be possible with permanent behavioral changes (learning)
Define the four verbal operants using antecedents and consequences.
Antecedent --> Behavior --> Consequence
Verbal Stimulus --> Echoic --> Variety of socially mediated reinforcers
Establishing Operation --> Mand --> Mand-specified reinforcer
Nonverbal Stimulus --> Tact --> Variety of socially mediated reinforcers
Verbal SD --> Intraverbal --> Variety of socially mediated reinforcers
What are the four conditions used in the 1994 Iwata paper on the Functional Analysis of self-injury?
Social disapproval
Academic demand
Unstructured play
Alone
Describe the process of discrimination training
The operant response is reinforced in the presence of an SD and extinguished in the presence of an S”delta”
This famous UF professor and researcher died in 2023 and is well-known for his 1982 paper "Toward a Functional Analysis of Self-Injury"
Who is Dr. Brian Iwata?
Principles of Single-Subject Experimental Designs
1) The focus is on the behavior of individuals, not groups
2) Each subject experiences the baseline and experiment (intervention) phase
3) Behavior is measured repeatedly in each phase until confident predictions about behavior may be made
4) Internal validity is assessed through replication and evaluating the functional role of confounded variables