BACB Task List 5th Edition questions n answers rated A+ 2023/2024

BACB Task List 5th EditionA-1: Identify the goals of behavior analysis as a science (i.e., description, prediction, control) - correct answer Description Definition: A collection of facts about the observed event(s) that can be quantified, classified and examined for possible similarities to other known facts. ("I know what the behavior looks/sounds like.") EX: description of the events that are associated with self-injurious and aggressive behavior exhibited by the child. Prediction Definition: Repeated observations reveal that observing other events can consistently result in accurately anticipating an outcome. ("I know when the behavior will occur.") Control Definition: A specific change in one event can be reliably produced by scientific manipulation of another event. This change is not due to other factors or variables. ("I can turn this behavior on and off like a faucet.") A-2: Explain the philosophical assumptions underlying the science of behavior analysis (e.g., selectionism, determinism, empiricism, parsimony, pragmatism) - correct answer Selectionism (Phylogeny and Ontogeny) Definition: All life forms naturally and continually evolve through their learning history and evolutionary development. This happens at an individual level, and also on a species level. Example in everyday context: An ultra-marathoner may be able to run without stopping for many hours, without any harm to their health. Environmental variables related to exercise behaviors shaped this ability over the person's lifetime. Phylogeny: The natural evolution of a species which includes the inheritance of survival characteristics passed down from one generation to the next. Example in everyday context: Humans long ago evolves to be bipeds (walk on two legs). The vast majority of human individuals ambulate this way, and prefer walking to other forms of forward movement (such as crawling or slithering). The preference for walking, and physical adaptation to it, was shaped by millions of years of evolution. Determinism Definition: Events that occur in the universe do not happen "out of the blue." Instead, they occur in an orderly and predictable manner. Example in everyday context: It is springtime and the rain showers have begun. The flowers in your garden begin to grow. Rather than thinking the seeds germinated by accident, you should assume that something (the frequent rain and change of seasons) was the catalyst which resulted in vegetation growth. Empiricism Definition: Objective observation of events in our environment, using information from (and only from) one or more of our five senses. Empiricism rejects the option of accepting things as truth that are only "known" through channels outside of our five senses (such as mystical powers) or someone "feeling" a certain way and presenting that as evidence for claims outside of their own experience. EX: The parents share that they believe their child engages in problem behavior due to "having a condition called Pathological Demand Avoidance." You respectfully listen to their concerns, then explain that your role focuses on developing understanding of variables contributing to problem behavior, developing treatment interventions, and evaluating the effects of treatment in an ongoing manner using objective criteria. Experimentation Definition: Requires the manipulation of the independent variable to see the effects on the dependent variable in order to demonstrate a functional relation. EX: You introduce the use of a visual calendar to show your client what day of the week their parent comes to visit. Before you begin your therapy sessions, you start by reviewing the visual calendar with your client. The client does not ask when their parents are coming to visit for the entirety of your session. Then, you remove the visual calendar and the target behavior returns. You then reintroduce it, and the target behavior goes down once more. The introduction of the visual schedule (independent variable) appeared to have an effect on the amount of time the client spends perseverating on their parent visits (dependent variable). Replication