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BCBA Exam Study Guide Summary

May 25, 2025

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ABA Exam Review: 6th Edition BCBA Exam Study Guide

Overview

  • Review of 6th Edition BCBA Exam Study Guide
  • Focus on Task List Items A, B, C, and D for this session
  • Changes in the 6th Edition mainly in formatting and wording
  • Aim to simplify and explain for fluency in exam preparation

Section A: Behaviorism and Philosophical Foundations

A-1: Goals of Behavior Analysis

  • Description: Facts about behavior, antecedents, and consequences
  • Prediction: Correlations and hypotheses about behavior
  • Control: Experimentation and manipulation of variables

A-2: Philosophical Assumptions

  • Selectionism: Phylogenic (natural selection), Ontogenic (individual learning history), Cultural (behavior through imitation)
  • Determinism: Universe is lawful and orderly
  • Empiricism: Objective observation and data collection
  • Parsimony: Simplest and most logical explanation
  • Pragmatism: Choices based on anticipated outcomes
  • Philosophical Doubt: Questioning everything to avoid dogma

A-3: Radical Behaviorism

  • Coined by B.F. Skinner
  • SRS Contingency (Antecedent, Behavior, Consequence)
  • Private Events: Emotions, thoughts, and feelings considered but hard to observe
  • Avoid mentalism and explanatory fictions

A-4: Four Branches of Behavior

  • Behaviorism: Guiding philosophy
  • Experimental Analysis of Behavior: Research with animals
  • Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA): Applied settings with humans
  • Professional Practice: Implementation based on research

A-5: Dimensions of ABA

  1. Applied: Positive and meaningful change
  2. Analytic: Control over behavior
  3. Behavioral: Observable and measurable behavior
  4. Conceptually Systematic: Consistency with behavioral principles
  5. Effective: Significant level of change
  6. Generality: Behavior change in multiple settings
  7. Technological: Replicable interventions

Section B: Concepts and Principles

B-1: Behavior, Response, and Response Class

  • Behavior: Anything an organism does
  • Response: Single instance of behavior
  • Response Class: Set of responses with the same function

B-2: Stimulus and Stimulus Class

  • Stimulus: Change in environment that evokes a response
  • Stimulus Class: Group of stimuli sharing characteristics (topographical, functional, temporal)

B-3: Respondent vs Operant Conditioning

  • Respondent (Classical): Stimulus elicits reflex
  • Operant: Consequences affect future behavior

B-4: Positive/Negative Reinforcement

  • Reinforcement: Increases behavior
  • Positive Reinforcement: Adding a stimulus
  • Negative Reinforcement: Removing a stimulus

B-5: Positive/Negative Punishment

  • Punishment: Decreases behavior
  • Positive Punishment: Adding a stimulus
  • Negative Punishment: Removing a stimulus

B-6: Automatic vs Socially Mediated Contingencies

  • Socially Mediated: Involves another person
  • Automatic: No other person involved, e.g., self-stimulatory behavior

B-7: Unconditioned, Conditioned, and Generalized Reinforcers

  • Unconditioned: Primary, no learning history
  • Conditioned: Paired with unconditioned
  • Generalized: Paired with multiple reinforcers

B-8: Unconditioned, Conditioned, and Generalized Punishers

  • Similar to reinforcers, but decrease behavior

B-9: Simple Schedules of Reinforcement

  • Continuous: Every occurrence is reinforced
  • Intermittent: Some occurrences are reinforced (fixed/variable, ratio/interval)

B-10: Complex Schedules of Reinforcement

  • Concurrent: Choice between schedules
  • Multiple: Alternating schedules with SD
  • Mixed: Alternating schedules without SD
  • Chained: Specific order of schedules

B-11: Operant vs Respondent Extinction

  • Operant: Withholding reinforcement
  • Respondent: Unpairing conditioned stimulus

B-12: Stimulus Control

  • Behavior occurs more/less in presence of stimulus (SD)

B-13: Stimulus Discrimination

  • Differentiating between different stimuli

B-14: Stimulus vs Response Generalization

  • Stimulus Generalization: Same response to similar stimuli
  • Response Generalization: Different responses to same stimulus

B-15: Response Maintenance

  • Behavior persists after intervention stops

B-16: Motivating Operations

  • Alters value of a consequence and frequency of behavior

B-17: Motivating Operations vs Stimulus Control

  • MO: Alters value and frequency
  • SD: Signals availability

B-18: Rule-Governed vs Contingency-Shaped Behavior

  • Rule-Governed: Controlled by verbal statements
  • Contingency-Shaped: Controlled by direct consequences

B-19: Verbal Behavior and Operants

  • Mand: Evoked by MO
  • Tact: Labeling, evoked by nonverbal SD
  • Echoic: Repetition, verbal SD
  • Intraverbal: Verbal SD, no point-to-point

B-20: Multiple Control in Verbal Behavior

  • Single response influenced by multiple variables

B-21: Emergent Relations and Generative Performance

  • Emergent Relations: Untrained stimulus relationships
  • Generative Performance: Novel responses based on learned skills

Section C: Measurement Data Display and Interpretation

C-1: Operational Definitions

  • Descriptions must be observable, measurable, and repeatable

C-2: Direct, Indirect, and Product Measures

  • Direct: Observing as it happens
  • Indirect: Interviews, surveys
  • Product: Measuring outcome of behavior

C-3: Measure Occurrence

  • Count/Frequency: How often behavior occurs
  • Rate: Frequency over time
  • Percentage: Part of a whole

C-4: Temporal Dimensions

  • Duration: How long behavior lasts
  • Latency: Time between SD and response
  • Interresponse Time: Time between responses

C-5: Continuous vs Discontinuous Measurement

  • Continuous: Every instance recorded
  • Discontinuous: Sample of behavior

C-6: Discontinuous Measurement Procedures

  • Partial Interval: Behavior occurs at any point
  • Whole Interval: Behavior occurs throughout
  • Momentary Time Sampling: Behavior at end of interval

C-7: Measure Efficiency

  • Trials to Criterion: Number of tries to success
  • Cost Benefit Analysis: Weighing costs vs benefits

C-8 & C-12: Validity and Reliability

  • Accuracy: True reflection of what's measured
  • Validity: Measuring intended behavior
  • Reliability: Reproducibility of data

C-9: Selecting Measurement Systems

  • Consider environmental constraints

C-10: Graph Data

  • Line Graphs: Most common, shows behavior over time
  • Bar Graphs: Compare totals
  • Cumulative Records: Ever-increasing data path
  • Scatterplots: Distribution of data points

C-11: Visual Analysis

  • Level: Average of data points
  • Variability: Range around average
  • Trend: Direction of data path

Section D: Experimental Design

D-1/2/3: Variables and Confounds

  • Independent Variable: What is manipulated
  • Dependent Variable: Behavior targeted
  • Extraneous Variables: Potential confounds

D-4: Single Subject Design

  • Steady State Responding: Consistent behavior
  • Baseline Logic: Prediction, verification, replication

D-5: Single Case vs Group Designs

  • Single Subject: Focused on individual, sensitive to changes
  • Group Designs: Broader generalization, larger sample sizes

D-6/7/9: Analyzing Designs

  • Reversal/Withdrawal: Baseline-intervention cycles
  • Multiple Baseline: Across settings/behaviors/participants
  • Alternating Treatments: Compare interventions
  • Changing Criteria: Incremental changes

D-8: Analysis Types

  • Comparative Analysis: Compare treatments
  • Component Analysis: Analyze parts of a package
  • Parametric Analysis: Measure dosage

Conclusion

  • Part 1 covers A-D of the 6th Edition Task List
  • Part 2 will continue with additional sections and ethics
  • Regular updates and further BCBA videos available

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