Applied Behavior Analysis – SAFMEDS
UPDATED ACTUAL Questions and
CORRECT Answers
A-B design - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- a two-phase experimental design consisting of a
pretreatment baseline condition (A) followed by a treatment condition (B)
A-B-A design - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- a three-phase experimental design consisting of
an initial baseline phase (A) until steady state responding, an intervention phase (B) in which
the treatment condition is implemented until the behavior has changed and steady state
responding is obtained, and a return to baseline conditions (A) by withdrawing the
independent variable to see whether responding "reverses" to levels observed in the initial
baseline phase
abative effect (of a motivating operation) - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- A decrease in the
current frequency of behavior that has been reinforced by the stimulus that is increased in
reinforcing effectiveness by the same motivating operation. For example, food ingestion
abates (decreases the current frequency of) behavior that has been reinforced by food.
Abolishing operation - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- A motivating operation that decreases the
reinforcing effectiveness of a stimulus, object, or event. For example, the reinforcing
effectiveness of food is abolished as a result of food ingestion
Accuracy (of measurement) - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- The extent to which observed
values, the data produced by measuring an event, match the true state, or true values, of the
event as it exists in nature
Alternative schedule (ALT) - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- Provides reinforcement when the
response requirements of any of two or more simultaneously available component schedules
are met.
anecdotal observation - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- (ABC Recording) a form of direct,
continuous observation in which the observer records a descriptive, temporally sequenced
account of all behavior(s) of interest and the antecedent conditions and consequences for
those behaviors as those events occur in the client's natural environment
,antecedent - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- An environmental condition or stimulus change
existing or occurring prior to a behavior of interest.
antecedent intervention - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- A behavior change strategy that
manipulates antecedent stimuli based on (A) motivating operations (evocative & abative
effects) (B) stimulus control and (C) contingency-independent interventions (protective
equipment, restraint)
Applied Behavior Analysis - CORRECT 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.
arbitrary stimulus class - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- antecedent stimuli that evoke the same
response but do not resemble each other in physical form or share a relational aspect such as
bigger or under (e.g., peanuts, cheese, coconut milk, and chicken breasts are members of this
if they evoke the response "source of protein"
artifact - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- an outcome or result that appears to exist because of the
way it is measured but in fact does not correspond to what actually occurred
ascending baseline - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- A data path that shows an increasing trend
in the response measure over time.
audience - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- Anyone who functions as a discriminative stimulus
evoking verbal behavior.
autoclitic - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- The autoclitic relation involves two interlocking
levels of verbal behavior emitted in one utterance. One level is a primary response (e.g., "The
ice is solid"), while the other type is the secondary autoclitic response (e.g., adding "I think").
Autoclitic behavior benefits the listener by providing additional information regarding the
primary response.
automatic punishment - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- Punishment that occurs independent of
the social mediation by others (i.e., a response product serves as a punisher independent of
the social environment).
, automatic reinforcement - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- reinforcement that occurs independent
of the social mediation of others
automaticity of reinforcement - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- Refers to the fact that behavior is
modified by its consequences irrespective of the person's awareness; a person does not have
to recognize or verbalize the relation between her behavior and a reinforcing consequence, or
even know that a consequence has occurred, for reinforcement to "work."
aversive stimulus - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- In general, an unpleasant stimulus; more
technically, a stimulus change or condition that functions (a) to evoke a behavior that has
terminated it in the past; (b) as a punisher when presented following behavior, and/or (c) as a
reinforcer when withdrawn following behavior.
avoidance contingency - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- A contingency in which a response
prevents or postpones the presentation of a stimulus.
backup reinforcer - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- preferred items, activities, or privileges that
participants obtain by exchanging earned tokens in a token economy
backward chaining - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- a teaching procedure in which a trainer
completes all but the last behavior in a chain, which is performed by the learner, who then
receives reinforcement for completing the chain. When the learner shows competence in
performing the final step in the chain, the trainer performs all but the last two behavior in the
chain, the learner emits the final two steps to complete the chain to receive reinforcement.
This sequence is continued until the learner completes the entire chain independently.
backward chaining with leaps ahead - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- a backward chaining
procedure in which some steps in the task analysis are skipped; used to increase the
efficiency of teaching long behavior chains when there is evidence that the skipped steps are
in the learner's repertoire
bar graph - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- A simple and versatile graphic format for
summarizing behavioral data; shares most of the line graph's features except that it does not
have distinct data points representing successive response measures through time. Also called
a histogram.
UPDATED ACTUAL Questions and
CORRECT Answers
A-B design - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- a two-phase experimental design consisting of a
pretreatment baseline condition (A) followed by a treatment condition (B)
A-B-A design - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- a three-phase experimental design consisting of
an initial baseline phase (A) until steady state responding, an intervention phase (B) in which
the treatment condition is implemented until the behavior has changed and steady state
responding is obtained, and a return to baseline conditions (A) by withdrawing the
independent variable to see whether responding "reverses" to levels observed in the initial
baseline phase
abative effect (of a motivating operation) - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- A decrease in the
current frequency of behavior that has been reinforced by the stimulus that is increased in
reinforcing effectiveness by the same motivating operation. For example, food ingestion
abates (decreases the current frequency of) behavior that has been reinforced by food.
Abolishing operation - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- A motivating operation that decreases the
reinforcing effectiveness of a stimulus, object, or event. For example, the reinforcing
effectiveness of food is abolished as a result of food ingestion
Accuracy (of measurement) - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- The extent to which observed
values, the data produced by measuring an event, match the true state, or true values, of the
event as it exists in nature
Alternative schedule (ALT) - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- Provides reinforcement when the
response requirements of any of two or more simultaneously available component schedules
are met.
anecdotal observation - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- (ABC Recording) a form of direct,
continuous observation in which the observer records a descriptive, temporally sequenced
account of all behavior(s) of interest and the antecedent conditions and consequences for
those behaviors as those events occur in the client's natural environment
,antecedent - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- An environmental condition or stimulus change
existing or occurring prior to a behavior of interest.
antecedent intervention - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- A behavior change strategy that
manipulates antecedent stimuli based on (A) motivating operations (evocative & abative
effects) (B) stimulus control and (C) contingency-independent interventions (protective
equipment, restraint)
Applied Behavior Analysis - CORRECT 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.
arbitrary stimulus class - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- antecedent stimuli that evoke the same
response but do not resemble each other in physical form or share a relational aspect such as
bigger or under (e.g., peanuts, cheese, coconut milk, and chicken breasts are members of this
if they evoke the response "source of protein"
artifact - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- an outcome or result that appears to exist because of the
way it is measured but in fact does not correspond to what actually occurred
ascending baseline - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- A data path that shows an increasing trend
in the response measure over time.
audience - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- Anyone who functions as a discriminative stimulus
evoking verbal behavior.
autoclitic - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- The autoclitic relation involves two interlocking
levels of verbal behavior emitted in one utterance. One level is a primary response (e.g., "The
ice is solid"), while the other type is the secondary autoclitic response (e.g., adding "I think").
Autoclitic behavior benefits the listener by providing additional information regarding the
primary response.
automatic punishment - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- Punishment that occurs independent of
the social mediation by others (i.e., a response product serves as a punisher independent of
the social environment).
, automatic reinforcement - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- reinforcement that occurs independent
of the social mediation of others
automaticity of reinforcement - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- Refers to the fact that behavior is
modified by its consequences irrespective of the person's awareness; a person does not have
to recognize or verbalize the relation between her behavior and a reinforcing consequence, or
even know that a consequence has occurred, for reinforcement to "work."
aversive stimulus - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- In general, an unpleasant stimulus; more
technically, a stimulus change or condition that functions (a) to evoke a behavior that has
terminated it in the past; (b) as a punisher when presented following behavior, and/or (c) as a
reinforcer when withdrawn following behavior.
avoidance contingency - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- A contingency in which a response
prevents or postpones the presentation of a stimulus.
backup reinforcer - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- preferred items, activities, or privileges that
participants obtain by exchanging earned tokens in a token economy
backward chaining - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- a teaching procedure in which a trainer
completes all but the last behavior in a chain, which is performed by the learner, who then
receives reinforcement for completing the chain. When the learner shows competence in
performing the final step in the chain, the trainer performs all but the last two behavior in the
chain, the learner emits the final two steps to complete the chain to receive reinforcement.
This sequence is continued until the learner completes the entire chain independently.
backward chaining with leaps ahead - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- a backward chaining
procedure in which some steps in the task analysis are skipped; used to increase the
efficiency of teaching long behavior chains when there is evidence that the skipped steps are
in the learner's repertoire
bar graph - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- A simple and versatile graphic format for
summarizing behavioral data; shares most of the line graph's features except that it does not
have distinct data points representing successive response measures through time. Also called
a histogram.
