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Applied Behavior Analysis Key Concepts

Feb 12, 2025

Lecture Notes: Applied Behavior Analysis Questions

Question 1: Targeting Response Dimension for John

  • Scenario: John, a 19-year-old with intellectual disability, works at Starbucks as a cashier.
  • Issue: John takes too long to respond to customers (longest response time was 12 seconds).
  • Goal: Reduce the time between customer's statement (SD) and John's response.
  • Focused Dimension: Latency, which is the time between a stimulus (SD) and the response.

Question 2: Establishing Contingencies

  • Scenario: Thanksgiving meal. John's mom insists he must eat green beans to have pumpkin pie.
  • Establishment: A contingency is being set, as seen in the "if-then" statement (if no green beans, then no pie).
  • Not a Punisher or Antecedent: It's a consequence setup.

Question 3: Replacement Behaviors

  • Concept: Removing a problem behavior requires replacing it with behavior serving the same function.
  • Term: Fair Pair Rule - when reducing a behavior, target another for increase.

Question 4: Dimension of Behavior Analysis

  • Scenario: Sally conducts parent training with non-technical language, adhering to ABA principles.
  • Dimension: Conceptually Systematic - following ABA principles in a non-technical manner.

Question 5: Advantage of Multiple Baseline Design

  • Research Design: Useful for observing changes across settings, participants, or behaviors.
  • Advantage: Establish experimental control without reversing the intervention.

Question 6: Measurement Procedure for a Waiter

  • Scenario: Measuring time between taking consecutive orders.
  • Best Measure: Inter-response Time (IRT) - time between responses.

Question 7: Explaining Changes in Joe's Behavior

  • Scenario: Joe's reinforcement schedule changes from FR4 to VR3.
  • Explanation: Ratio Strain - due to less frequent reinforcement.

Question 8: Reducing Maladaptive Behaviors

  • Scenario: Zach's behaviors occur consistently regardless of setting.
  • Best Approach: Reinforce absence of problem behaviors (DRO - Differential Reinforcement of Other behavior).

Question 9: Direct Instruction Classroom

  • Teaching Method: Direct instruction is characterized by fast-paced teaching and grouping based on skills.
  • Description: Frequent assessment and grouping based on those assessments.

Question 10: Verbal Operant Identification

  • Scenario: Dan reacts to a football play by yelling.
  • Verbal Operant: Tact - it's evoked by a nonverbal SD (the play observed on the field).

Note:

  • Study Tips: For BCBA exams, focus on understanding concepts thoroughly, reading all answer choices, and being aware of what evokes and reinforces verbal operants.