BCBA SAFMEDS QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS WITH SOLUTIONS 2024
Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) - ANSWER The science in which tactics derived from the principles of
behavior are applied to improve socially significant behavior and experimentation is used to identify the
variables responsible for the improvement in behavior.
Behaviorism - ANSWER The philosophy of science of behavior; there are various forms of behaviorism.
Determinism - ANSWER The assumption that the universe is lawful and orderly place in which
phenomena occur in relation to other events and not in a willy-nilly, accidental fashion.
Empiricism - ANSWER The objective observation of the phenomena of interest; objective observations
are "independent of the individual prejudices, tastes, and private opinions of the scientist... Results of
empirical methods are objective in that they are open to anyone's observation and do not depend on
the subjective belief of the individual scientist.
Experiment - ANSWER A carefully controlled comparison of some measure of the phenomenon of
interest (the dependent variable) under two of more different conditions in which only one factor at a
time (independent variable) differs from one condition to another.
Experimental Analysis of Behavior (EAB) - ANSWER A natural science approach to the study of behavior
as a subject matter in its own right founded by B.F. Skinner; methodological features include rate of
response as a basic dependent variable, repeated or continuous measurement of clearly defined
response class, within-subject experimental comparisons instead of a group design, visual analysis of
graphed data instead of statistical inference, and an emphasis on describing functional relations between
behavior and controlling variables in the environment over formal theory testing.
Explanatory Fiction - ANSWER A fictitious or hypothetical variable that other takes the form of another
name for the observed phenomenon it claims to explain and contributes nothing to a functional account
or understand of the phenomenon, such as "intelligence" or "cognitive awareness" as explanations for
why an organism pushes the level when the light is on and food is available but does not push the level
when the light is off and no food is available.
Functional Relation - ANSWER A verbal statement summarizing the results of an experiment (or group of
related experiments) that describes the occurrence of the phenomena under study as a function of the
,operation of one or more specified and controlled variables in the experiment in which a specific change
in one event (the dependent variable) can be produced by manipulating another event (the independent
variable), and that the change in the dependent variable was unlikely the result of other factors
(confounding variables); in behavior analysis expressed as b=f (x1), (x2)... where b is the behavior and x1,
x2, etc... are environmental variables of which the behavior is a function.
Hypothetical Construct - ANSWER A presumed but unobserved process or entity (e.g) Freud's id, ego,
and superego)
Mentalism - ANSWER An approach to explaining behavior that assumes that a mental, or "inner,"
dimension exists that differs from a behavioral dimension and that phenomena in this dimension either
directly cause or at least mediate some forms of behaviors, if not all.
Methodological Behaviorism - ANSWER A philosophical position that views behavioral events that
cannot be publicly observed as outside the realm of science.
Parsimony - ANSWER The practice of ruling out simple, logical explanations, experimentally or
conceptually, before considering more complex or abstract explanations.
Philosophic Doubt - ANSWER An attitude that the truthfulness and validity of all scientific theory
knowledge should be continually questioned.
Radical Behaviorism - ANSWER A thoroughgoing form of behaviorism that attempts to understand all
human behaviors, including private events such as thoughts and feelings, in terms of controlling
variables in the history of the person (ontogeny) and the species (phlogeny).
Replication - ANSWER (a) Repeating conditions within an experiment to determine the reliability of
effects and increase internal validity (see baseline logic, prediction, verification.) (b) Repeating whole
experiments to determine the generality of findings of previous experiments to other subjects, settings,
and/or behaviors (see direct replication, external validity, systematic replication).
Science - ANSWER A systematic approach to the understanding of natural phenomena (as evidenced by
description, prediction, and control) that relies on determinism as it fundamental assumption,
empiricism as its primary rule, experimental as its basic strategy, replication as a requirement for
believability, parsimony as a value, and philosophic doubt as its guiding conscience.
, Clicker training - ANSWER Reinforcement is paired with the sound of a clicker until the sound of the
clicker becomes a conditioned reinforcer, which is then used to shape behavior.
Differential reinforcement - ANSWER A procedure in which reinforcement is provided only for responses
that meet a predetermined criterion.
Response differentiation - ANSWER Occurs when differential reinforcement is applied to a response
class. Responses that obtain reinforcement form a new response class.
Shaping - ANSWER The process of systematically and differentially reinforcing successive approximations
to a terminal behavior.
Successive approximation - ANSWER Gradually changing the criterion for a response to become closer to
the terminal response.
Antecedent intervention - ANSWER A behavior change strategy that manipulates contingency-
independent antecedent stimuli (motivating operations) such as NCR, high-p request sequence, FCT,
enriched environment.
Behavioral momentum - ANSWER Used to describe the high-p request procedure.
Fixed-time schedule (FT) - ANSWER An NCR procedure in which the stimuli are delivered at the end of a
fixed amount of time.
Functional communication training (FCT) - ANSWER Establishes an appropriate communicative behavior
to compete with problem behaviors evoked by an establishing operation. FCT develops alternative
behaviors that are sensitive to EOs.
High-probability (high-p) request sequence - ANSWER The instructor presents a series of easy to follow
requests for which the participant has a history of compliance. When the participant complies with the
sequence of requests, the instructor immediately gives the target request (a low-p request).
ANSWERS WITH SOLUTIONS 2024
Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) - ANSWER The science in which tactics derived from the principles of
behavior are applied to improve socially significant behavior and experimentation is used to identify the
variables responsible for the improvement in behavior.
Behaviorism - ANSWER The philosophy of science of behavior; there are various forms of behaviorism.
Determinism - ANSWER The assumption that the universe is lawful and orderly place in which
phenomena occur in relation to other events and not in a willy-nilly, accidental fashion.
Empiricism - ANSWER The objective observation of the phenomena of interest; objective observations
are "independent of the individual prejudices, tastes, and private opinions of the scientist... Results of
empirical methods are objective in that they are open to anyone's observation and do not depend on
the subjective belief of the individual scientist.
Experiment - ANSWER A carefully controlled comparison of some measure of the phenomenon of
interest (the dependent variable) under two of more different conditions in which only one factor at a
time (independent variable) differs from one condition to another.
Experimental Analysis of Behavior (EAB) - ANSWER A natural science approach to the study of behavior
as a subject matter in its own right founded by B.F. Skinner; methodological features include rate of
response as a basic dependent variable, repeated or continuous measurement of clearly defined
response class, within-subject experimental comparisons instead of a group design, visual analysis of
graphed data instead of statistical inference, and an emphasis on describing functional relations between
behavior and controlling variables in the environment over formal theory testing.
Explanatory Fiction - ANSWER A fictitious or hypothetical variable that other takes the form of another
name for the observed phenomenon it claims to explain and contributes nothing to a functional account
or understand of the phenomenon, such as "intelligence" or "cognitive awareness" as explanations for
why an organism pushes the level when the light is on and food is available but does not push the level
when the light is off and no food is available.
Functional Relation - ANSWER A verbal statement summarizing the results of an experiment (or group of
related experiments) that describes the occurrence of the phenomena under study as a function of the
,operation of one or more specified and controlled variables in the experiment in which a specific change
in one event (the dependent variable) can be produced by manipulating another event (the independent
variable), and that the change in the dependent variable was unlikely the result of other factors
(confounding variables); in behavior analysis expressed as b=f (x1), (x2)... where b is the behavior and x1,
x2, etc... are environmental variables of which the behavior is a function.
Hypothetical Construct - ANSWER A presumed but unobserved process or entity (e.g) Freud's id, ego,
and superego)
Mentalism - ANSWER An approach to explaining behavior that assumes that a mental, or "inner,"
dimension exists that differs from a behavioral dimension and that phenomena in this dimension either
directly cause or at least mediate some forms of behaviors, if not all.
Methodological Behaviorism - ANSWER A philosophical position that views behavioral events that
cannot be publicly observed as outside the realm of science.
Parsimony - ANSWER The practice of ruling out simple, logical explanations, experimentally or
conceptually, before considering more complex or abstract explanations.
Philosophic Doubt - ANSWER An attitude that the truthfulness and validity of all scientific theory
knowledge should be continually questioned.
Radical Behaviorism - ANSWER A thoroughgoing form of behaviorism that attempts to understand all
human behaviors, including private events such as thoughts and feelings, in terms of controlling
variables in the history of the person (ontogeny) and the species (phlogeny).
Replication - ANSWER (a) Repeating conditions within an experiment to determine the reliability of
effects and increase internal validity (see baseline logic, prediction, verification.) (b) Repeating whole
experiments to determine the generality of findings of previous experiments to other subjects, settings,
and/or behaviors (see direct replication, external validity, systematic replication).
Science - ANSWER A systematic approach to the understanding of natural phenomena (as evidenced by
description, prediction, and control) that relies on determinism as it fundamental assumption,
empiricism as its primary rule, experimental as its basic strategy, replication as a requirement for
believability, parsimony as a value, and philosophic doubt as its guiding conscience.
, Clicker training - ANSWER Reinforcement is paired with the sound of a clicker until the sound of the
clicker becomes a conditioned reinforcer, which is then used to shape behavior.
Differential reinforcement - ANSWER A procedure in which reinforcement is provided only for responses
that meet a predetermined criterion.
Response differentiation - ANSWER Occurs when differential reinforcement is applied to a response
class. Responses that obtain reinforcement form a new response class.
Shaping - ANSWER The process of systematically and differentially reinforcing successive approximations
to a terminal behavior.
Successive approximation - ANSWER Gradually changing the criterion for a response to become closer to
the terminal response.
Antecedent intervention - ANSWER A behavior change strategy that manipulates contingency-
independent antecedent stimuli (motivating operations) such as NCR, high-p request sequence, FCT,
enriched environment.
Behavioral momentum - ANSWER Used to describe the high-p request procedure.
Fixed-time schedule (FT) - ANSWER An NCR procedure in which the stimuli are delivered at the end of a
fixed amount of time.
Functional communication training (FCT) - ANSWER Establishes an appropriate communicative behavior
to compete with problem behaviors evoked by an establishing operation. FCT develops alternative
behaviors that are sensitive to EOs.
High-probability (high-p) request sequence - ANSWER The instructor presents a series of easy to follow
requests for which the participant has a history of compliance. When the participant complies with the
sequence of requests, the instructor immediately gives the target request (a low-p request).
