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BCBA Exam Review: Key Concepts and Strategies

Feb 12, 2025

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ABA Exam Review Lecture Notes

Overview

  • Review of 6th Edition BCBA Exam Study Guide
  • Focus on Task List Items A, B, C, and D
  • Simplified changes from the 5th Edition
  • Emphasis on fluency for exam preparation

A: Behaviorism and Philosophical Foundations

A-1: Goals of Behavior Analysis

  • Description: Facts about events/behaviors without predictions.
  • Prediction: Hypotheses about event correlations.
  • Control: Experiments to manipulate/control behaviors.

A-2: Philosophical Assumptions

  • Selectionism: Behaviors evolve based on consequences.
    • Phylogeny: Natural selection over long periods.
    • Ontogeny: Individual learning history.
    • Cultural: Behavior passed through imitation.
  • Determinism: Universe is lawful; behaviors have explanations.
  • Empiricism: Objective observation and data collection.
  • Parsimony: Simple, logical explanations first.
  • Pragmatism: Practical, outcome-driven decisions.
  • Philosophical Doubt: Continuous questioning of findings.

A-3: Radical Behaviorism

  • Private Events: Internal events considered in behavior analysis.
  • Mentalism: Constructs like ego are nebulous; focus on environment.
  • Circular Reasoning: Faulty logic where cause and effect are confused.

A-4: Four Branches of Behavior

  • Behaviorism: Guiding philosophy.
  • Experimental Analysis: Controlled experiments, often with animals.
  • ABA: Applied studies in natural settings.
  • Professional Practice: Implementing research in real-world settings.

A-5: Dimensions of ABA

  • Applied: Socially significant change.
  • Analytic: Establishing functional relationships.
  • Behavioral: Behavior must be observable/measurable.
  • Conceptually Systematic: Consistent with behavioral principles.
  • Effective: Significant behavioral change.
  • Generality: Change across settings and stimuli.
  • Technological: Interventions replicable by others.

B: Concepts and Principles

B-1: Behavior, Response, and Response Class

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

B-2: Stimulus and Stimulus Class

  • Stimulus: Environmental change evoking a reaction.
  • Stimulus Class: Group of stimuli with similar characteristics.

B-3: Respondent vs. Operant Conditioning

  • Respondent: Stimuli elicit reflexive responses.
  • Operant: Behavior influenced by consequences.

B-4 & B-5: Reinforcement and Punishment

  • Reinforcement: Increases behavior.
    • Positive: Stimulus added.
    • Negative: Stimulus removed.
  • Punishment: Decreases behavior.
    • Positive: Stimulus added.
    • Negative: Stimulus removed.

B-6: Automatic vs. Socially Mediated Consequences

  • Socially Mediated: Involves another person.
  • Automatic: No other person involved.

B-7 & B-8: Unconditioned, Conditioned, Generalized Reinforcers/Punishers

  • Unconditioned: No learning history required (e.g., food).
  • Conditioned: Learned through association (e.g., money).
  • Generalized: Used in various contexts (e.g., tokens).

B-9 & B-10: Schedules of Reinforcement

  • Simple Schedules: Continuous (FR1) vs. Intermittent.
  • Complex Schedules: Concurrent, Multiple, Mixed, Chained.

B-11: Extinction

  • Operant Extinction: Withholding reinforcement.
  • Respondent Extinction: Unpairing stimuli.

B-12 & B-13: Stimulus Control and Discrimination

  • Stimulus Control: Behavior under the influence of a stimulus.
  • Discrimination: Differentiating between stimuli.

B-14: Stimulus vs. Response Generalization

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

B-15: Response Maintenance

  • Maintenance: Behavior persists after intervention.

B-16 & B-17: Motivating Operations vs. Stimulus Control

  • Motivating Operations: Alter value of a consequence.
  • Stimulus Control: Signals availability of reinforcement.

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

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

B-19 & B-20: Verbal Behavior and Multiple Control

  • Mands, Tacts, Echoics, Intraverbals: Different verbal operants.
  • Multiple Control: Single response influenced by multiple variables.

B-21: Emergent Relations and Generative Performance

  • Stimulus Equivalence: Untrained relationships between stimuli.
  • Generative Performance: Novel responses from learned skills.

B-22: Behavioral Momentum

  • High Probability Request Sequence: Building momentum with easy tasks.

B-23: Matching Law

  • Response Proportionality: Behavior proportionate to reinforcement.

B-24: Imitation and Observational Learning

  • Imitation: Immediate replication of a model.
  • Observational Learning: Learning through observation without immediate replication.

C: Measurement, Data Display, and Interpretation

C-1: Operational Definitions

  • Observability: Define behavior precisely and objectively.

C-2: Measurement Types

  • Direct: Observing behavior as it happens.
  • Indirect: Interviews, surveys.
  • Product Measures: Measuring the results of a behavior.

C-3: Measure Occurrence

  • Frequency, Rate, Percentage: Counting instances of behavior.

C-4: Temporal Dimensions

  • Duration, Latency, IRT: Time-related measurements.

C-5 & C-6: Continuous vs. Discontinuous Measurement

  • Continuous: Recording every instance.
  • Discontinuous: Sampling behavior.

C-7: Measure Efficiency

  • Trials to Criterion: Opportunities to reach success.
  • Cost-Benefit Analysis, Training Duration: Evaluating intervention efficiency.

C-8 & C-12: Validity and Reliability

  • Accuracy: Data truthfully reflects behavior.
  • Validity: Measuring intended behavior.
  • Reliability: Consistent data production.

C-9: Selecting Measurement Systems

  • Environmental Constraints: Choosing appropriate systems.

C-10: Graph Data

  • Line Graphs: Most common, shows trends over time.
  • Bar Graphs, Cumulative Records, Scatterplots: Used for specific data needs.
  • Visual Analysis: Level, variability, trend.

D: Experimental Design

D-1 to D-3: Variables and Analyses

  • Independent Variable: Manipulated variable.
  • Dependent Variable: Target behavior.
  • Confounds/Extraneous Variables: Control for these to ensure valid results.

D-4 & D-5: Single Subject vs. Group Designs

  • Single Subject: Focus on individual change.
  • Group Designs: Generalize to populations.

D-6, 7 & 9: Experimental Designs

  • Reversal/Withdrawal: Strong control demonstration.
  • Multiple Baseline: Across settings, behaviors, participants.
  • Alternating Treatments: Rapid comparison of treatments.
  • Changing Criterion: Incremental behavior changes.

D-8: Analysis Types

  • Comparative: Compare different treatments.
  • Component: Analyze parts of a treatment package.
  • Parametric: Measure dosage or amount needed.

This lecture concludes part one of the task list review. The next session will continue with additional task list items and focus on specific areas such as ethics.

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