LIBERTY UNIVERSITY PSYC 320 FINAL EXAM STUDY GUIDE | BEHAVIOR
MODIFICATION PRACTICE QUESTIONS & ANSWERS 2026/2027
behavior - ✔✔what people do and say; involves a person's actions
behavioral assessment - ✔✔measurement of the target behavior; provides info to the
necessity of treatment, helps identify the best treatment, helps determine if treatment was
effective
behavior excess - ✔✔undesirable target behavior the person wants to decrease in frequency,
duration, or intensity; ex: smoking
behavioral deficit - ✔✔desirable target behavior the person wants to increase in frequency,
duration, or intensity; ex: exercise and studying
behavior modification - ✔✔the applied science and professional practice concerned with
analyzing and modifying human behavior
dimensions of behavior - ✔✔-frequency: number of times a behavior occurs
-duration: time from when an instance of the behavior starts until it stops
-intensity: physical force involved in the behavior
-latency: speed of the behavior
covert behavior - ✔✔private events, i.e., thinking; it cannot be observed and recorded by
another person
overt behavior - ✔✔an action that can be observed and recorded by another person other
than the one engaging in the behavior
, direct observation - ✔✔person observes and records the target behavior as it occurs;
preferred over indirect observation
indirect observation - ✔✔involves using interviews, questionnaires, and rating scales to obtain
info on the target behavior from the person exhibiting the behavior or from others.
interobserver agreement - ✔✔when two people independently observe the same behavior
and both record that the behavior occurred
natural setting - ✔✔consists of the places in which the target behavior typically occurs
continuous sampling - ✔✔observer observes the client continuously throughout the
observation period and records each occurrence of the behavior
time sampling - ✔✔you divide the observation period into intervals of time, but you observe
and record the behavior during only part of each interval
interval sampling - ✔✔recording whether the behavior occurred during consecutive time
periods
product recording - ✔✔indirect assessment method that can be used when a behavior results
in a certain tangible outcome that you are interested in
A data point on a graph - ✔✔tells you when the behavior was recorded (time) and the level of
the behavior at that time
X axis - ✔✔abscissa, horizontal axis, indicates time
MODIFICATION PRACTICE QUESTIONS & ANSWERS 2026/2027
behavior - ✔✔what people do and say; involves a person's actions
behavioral assessment - ✔✔measurement of the target behavior; provides info to the
necessity of treatment, helps identify the best treatment, helps determine if treatment was
effective
behavior excess - ✔✔undesirable target behavior the person wants to decrease in frequency,
duration, or intensity; ex: smoking
behavioral deficit - ✔✔desirable target behavior the person wants to increase in frequency,
duration, or intensity; ex: exercise and studying
behavior modification - ✔✔the applied science and professional practice concerned with
analyzing and modifying human behavior
dimensions of behavior - ✔✔-frequency: number of times a behavior occurs
-duration: time from when an instance of the behavior starts until it stops
-intensity: physical force involved in the behavior
-latency: speed of the behavior
covert behavior - ✔✔private events, i.e., thinking; it cannot be observed and recorded by
another person
overt behavior - ✔✔an action that can be observed and recorded by another person other
than the one engaging in the behavior
, direct observation - ✔✔person observes and records the target behavior as it occurs;
preferred over indirect observation
indirect observation - ✔✔involves using interviews, questionnaires, and rating scales to obtain
info on the target behavior from the person exhibiting the behavior or from others.
interobserver agreement - ✔✔when two people independently observe the same behavior
and both record that the behavior occurred
natural setting - ✔✔consists of the places in which the target behavior typically occurs
continuous sampling - ✔✔observer observes the client continuously throughout the
observation period and records each occurrence of the behavior
time sampling - ✔✔you divide the observation period into intervals of time, but you observe
and record the behavior during only part of each interval
interval sampling - ✔✔recording whether the behavior occurred during consecutive time
periods
product recording - ✔✔indirect assessment method that can be used when a behavior results
in a certain tangible outcome that you are interested in
A data point on a graph - ✔✔tells you when the behavior was recorded (time) and the level of
the behavior at that time
X axis - ✔✔abscissa, horizontal axis, indicates time
