Term
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Definition
| acquisition, maintenance, and change of an organism's behavior as a result of lifetime events (ontogeny). |
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Definition
| Everything that an organism does(observable behavior and private events) |
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Term
| Experimental analysis of behavior |
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Definition
| the method of investigation most commonly used in behavior analysis. The method involves breaking down complex environment-behavior relations into component principles of behavior. The analysis is verified by arranging experimental procedures that reveal the underlying basic principles and controlling variables. This involves intensive experimentation with a single organism over an extended period, rather than statistical assessment of groups exposed to experimental treatments. |
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Definition
| An increase in the rate of operant behavior as a function of it's consequences. Reinforcement also refers to the procedure of presenting a reinforcing event when a response occurs. |
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| A comprehensive experimental approach to the study of the behavior of organisms. Primary objectives are the discovery of principles and law that govern behavior, the extension of these principles over species, and the development of an applied technology |
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Definition
| today, a science of behavior is called behavior analysis |
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| Applied behavior analysis |
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Definition
| A branch of behavior analysis that uses behavior principles to solve practical problems such as the treatment of autism or improvement of teaching methods. Applied behavioral analysis is also referred to as behavioral engineering. |
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Definition
| When an US elicits an UR (US-->UR) the relationship is called a reflex |
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Definition
| This refers to behavior that increases or decreases by the presentation of a CS that PRECEDES the CR. Respondent behavior is elicited, in the sense that it reliably occurs when the CS is presented. |
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Definition
| This occurs when an organism responds to a new event based on a history of pairing with a biologically important stimulus. The Russian pysiologist Ivan Pavlov discovered this form of conditioning at the turn of the century. He showed that dogs salivated when he placed food in their mouths. This relationship between the food stimulus and the salivation is called a reflex,and it occurs because the animal's biological history. When Pavlov rang a bell just before feeding the dog, it began to salivate at the sound of the bell. In this way, new features (sound of bell) controlled the dog's respondent behavior (salivation). Thus, presenting stimuli together in time (typically CS and then US) is the procedure for respondent conditioning. If a CS come to regulate the occurrence of a CR, respondent conditioning has occured |
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Definition
| An increase or decrease in operant response as a function of the consequences that have followed the response |
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Definition
| An operant is behavior that operates on the environment to produce a change, effect, or consequence. These environmental changes select the operant appropriate to a given setting or circumstance. That is, particular responses increase or decrease in a situation as a function of the consequences that they produced in the past. Operant behavior is said to be emitted (rather then elicited) in the sense that the behavior may occur at some frequency before any known conditioning. |
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Definition
| From a behavioral viewpoint, the principle of causation for biology, behavior, and culture is a selection by consequences. These are the 3 levels that selection by consequence is applied by: (1) selection over generations for genes related to survival and reproduction (natural or darwinian selection); (2) the selection for behavior within the lifetime of an individual organism (selection by operant conditioning); and (3) the selection for behavior patterns (practices, traditions, rituals) of groups of human beings that endure beyond the lifetime of a single individual (cultural selection). In all three cases it is the consequences arranged by the environment that select for (or against) the frequency of genetic, behavioral, and cultural forms. |
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Definition
| Refers to the kind of mechanism studied by physics and chemistry; the "billiard ball" sort of process where we try to isolate a chain of events that directly result in some effect. For example, chemical reactions are explained by describing molecular interactions. In the study of behavior, an immediate causal explanation might refer to the physiology and biochemistry of an organism. |
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Definition
| Involves explaining a phenomenon by pointing to remote events that made it likely. Thus, the causal explanation of a species characteristic (e.g. size, color, exceptional vision, etc.) involves the working of natural selection on the gene pool of the parent population. AN evolutionary account of species coloration, for example, would involve showing how this characteristic improved the reproductive success of organisms in a given ecological environment. That is, natural selection for coloration explains the current frequency of the characteristic in the population |
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Definition
| In respondent conditioning, contigency refers to a correlation between the CS and the US. Rescorla (1972) suggested that a positive correlation between the CS and the US, rather then the mere pairing of these stimuli, is necessary for conditioning. For operant conditioning, see contingency of reinforcement. |
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Definition
| A scientific area that integrates the science of behavior (behav. analysis) with the science of the brain (neuroscience). Areas of interest include the effects of drugs on behavior (behav. pharmacology), neural imaging and complex stimulus relations, choice of neural activity, and the brain circuitry of learning and addiction. |
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Definition
| Usually defined in terms of the ideas and values of a society. However, behavior analysts define it as all the conditions, events, and stimuli arranged by other people that regulate human action. |
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Definition
| see conditioned response and conditioned stimulus |
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| The scientific philosophy of behavior analysis |
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Definition
| A term coined by Thorndike (1898, 1911), which he used to describe the results of his puzzle-box and laze-learning experiments. Animals were said to make fewer and fewer errors over repeated trials, learning by trial and error |
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Definition
| As originally stated by Thorndike, this law refers to stamping in (or out) some response. For example, a cat opened a puzzle box door more rapidly over repeated trials. Currently the law is stated as the principle of reinforcement--operants may be followed by consequences that increase (or decrease) the probability or rate of responses. |
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Definition
| As used in respondent conditioning, the percentage of conditioning trials in which the CS is followed by the US, and the percentage of trials in which the CS is not followed by the US. See also contingency |
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Definition
| Researchers and practitioners of behavior analysis. |
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Definition
| Behavior that is only accessible to the person who emits it (e.g. thinking) |
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Term
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Definition
| This is the most basic single-subject research design. It is ideally suited to shot that specific features in the environment regulate organisms behavior. The A-phase, or baseline, is used to measure behavior before the researcher introduces an environmental change. During baseline, the experimenter takes repeated measures of the behavior under study, and this establishes a criterion against which any changes (attributed to the indep. variable) may be assessed. After baseline phase, an environmental condition is changed (B-phase) and behavior is measured repeatedly. If the indep. variable, or the environmental condition, has an effect, then the behavioral measure (dep. variable) will change (i.e., increase or decrease). Next, the baseline phase is reintroduced (A) and behavior is again measured. Since the treatment is removed, behavior should return to baseline levels. Finally, the indep. variable is introduced again and behavior is reassessed (B). According to the logic of this design, behavior should return to a level observed in the initial b-phase of the experiment. The second application of the indep. variable helps to ensure that the behavioral effect is caused by the manipulated condition. |
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Definition
| The base rate of behavior against which an experimental manipulation is measured. An uncontrolled baseline is the rate of an operant before any known conditioning. |
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Term
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Definition
| The phenomenon whereby a low dose of a drug can cause substantial changes in baseline behavior. More generally, a behavioral baseline that varies with small increases in the independent variable is said to show sensitivity. |
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Definition
| This refers to the fact that environment-behavior relationships are always conditional--depending on other circumstances |
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Term
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Definition
| The variable that is measured in an experiment, commonly called an effect. In behavior analysis, the dependent variable is measured of the behavior of an organism. One common dependent variable is the rate of occurrence of the operant (e.g., the rate of level pressing for food) |
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Definition
| Repeating the procedures and measures of an experiment with several subjects of the same species (e.g., pigeons). |
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Definition
| When an organism’s behavior is reinforced, those events that reliably precede responses come to have a discriminative function |
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Term
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Definition
| stimulus that signals availability of reinforcement for a response |
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Term
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Definition
| Respondent (CR) and reflexive (UR) behavior are elicited in the sense that the behavior is made to occur by the presentation of a stimulus (CS or US) |
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Term
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Definition
| Operant behavior is emitted in the sense that it occurs at some probability in the presence of a discriminative stimulus, but the S^d does not force its occurrence. |
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Term
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Definition
| The functional environment is all the events and stimuli that affect the behavior of an organism. This includes private events, such as thinking, hormonal changes, and pain stimulation |
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Term
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Definition
| Formally, an EO is defined as any change in the environment that alters the effectiveness of some stimulus or event as reinforcement and simultaneously alters the momentary frequency of the behavior that has been followed by that reinforcement. Thus, an EO has 2 main effects: 1.) Momentarily increases the effectiveness of reinforcement supporting an operant behavior, and (2.) Momentarily increases responses that have produced such reinforcement in the past |
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Term
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Definition
| An experimental result has generality when it is observed in different environments, organisms, and so on. |
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Term
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Definition
| The reinforcement contingencies that an organism has been exposed to during its lifetime, including the changes in behavior due to such exposure. |
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Term
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Definition
| The variable that is manipulated, changed, or controlled in an experiment, commonly called the cause. In behavioral analysis, it is a change in the contingencies of reinforcement, the arrangement of events that precede and follow the behavior of an organism (e.g., changing the rate of reinforcement) |
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Term
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Definition
| To capture both the establishing and aboloshing effects of events that precede reinforced behavior (or punishment), it is useful to introduce a more inclusive concept. MO refers to any event that alters the reinforcement effectiveness of behavioral consequences and changes the frequency of behavior maintained by those consequences. |
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Term
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Definition
| Any event or stimulus that increases the probability (rate of occurrence) of an operant that removes or prevents it. |
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Term
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Definition
| Any event (or stimulus) that follows a response and increases its frequency is said to have a reinforcement function. If an infant's babbling increases due to touching by the mother, we can say that maternal touching has a reinforcement function |
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Term
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Definition
| Used to enhance both the internal and the external validity of an experiment. If the results replicate over time and place, it is likely that the original findings were due to the experimental variable and not due to extraneous conditions (internal validity). Replication also establishes that the findings have generality in the sense that the effects are not limited to specific procedures, behaviors, or species (external validity). |
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Term
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Definition
| All the forms of the performance that have a similar function (e.g. putting on a coat the keep warm). In some cases, the responses in a class show close physical resemblance, but this is not always the case. For example, saying "please open the door" and physically opening the door are members of the same response class if both result in an open door. |
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Term
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Definition
| Experimental research that is concerned with discovering principles and conditions that govern the behavior of single or individual organisms. Each individual's behavior is studied to assess the impact of a given experimental variable. In behavioral research, a change in the contingencies of reinforcement is assessed for each bird, rat or human (e.g., changing the schedule of reinforcement, the operant, or the discriminative stimuli). |
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Term
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Definition
| Schedule-controlled behavior that is stable and does not change over time. For example, after an extensive history on VI 30 s, a rat may press a lever at approximately the same rate day after day |
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Term
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Definition
| Stimuli that vary across physical dimensions but have a common effect on behavior belong to the same stimulus class |
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Term
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Definition
| When the occurence of an event changes the behavior of an organism, we may say that the event has a stimulus function. Both respondent and operant conditioning are ways to create stimulus functions. During respondent conditioning, an arbitrary event such as a tone comes to elicit a particular response, such as salivation. In the absence of a conditioning history, the tone may have no specified function and does not affect the specified behavior. |
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Term
| Structural approach to classifying behavior |
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Definition
| behavior is classified in terms of its form or topography. For example, many development psychologists are interested in the intellectual growth of children. These researchers often investigate what a person does at a given stage of development. The structure of behavior is emphasized because it is said to reveal the underlying stage of intellectual development. |
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Term
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Definition
| Refers to increasing the generality of an experimental finding by conducting other experiments in which the procedures are different but are logically related to the original research. EX- an experiment is conducted with rats to find out what happens when food pellets are presented contingent on lever pressing. The observation is that lver pressing increases when followed by food pellets. In a systematic replication, elephants step on a treadle to produce peanuts. The observation is that treadle pressing increases. Both experiments are said to show the effects of positive reinforcement contingencies on operant behavior |
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Term
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Definition
| The physical form or characteristics of the response (e.g., the way that a rat presses a level with the left paw, the hind right foot, etc). The topography of response is related to the contingencies of reinforcement in the sense that the form of response can be broadened or restricted by the contingencies. |
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Term
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Definition
| A systematic decline or rise in the baseline values of the dependent variable. A drift in baseline measures can be problematic when the treatment is expected to produce a change in the same direction as the trend |
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Term
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Definition
| The US comes on before the CS. The general consensus has been that backward conditioning is unreliable, and many researchers question whether it occurs at all. There is evidence that backward conditioning can occur when the CS has biological significance (e.g., the sight of a predator) |
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Term
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Definition
| In respondent conditioning, a CS that has been associated with an US blocks a subsequent CS-US association. A CS-1 is paired with a US until the conditioned response reaches max strength. Following this conditioning, a second stimulus or CS-2 is presented at the same time as the original CS-1, and both are paired with the US. On test trials, the original CS-1 elicits the CR but the second CS-2 does not. |
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Term
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Definition
| In respondent conditioning, 2 (or more) contitioned stimuli (e.g., tone and light) called a compound are presented together and acquire the capacity to evoke a single CR (e.g., salivation) |
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Term
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Definition
| An arbitrary stimulus, such as a tone, is associated with an US that elicits reflexive behavior (e.g., food elicits salivation). After several pairings, the stimulus is presented alone. If the stimulus now elicits a response (tone elicits salivation), it is called a CS |
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Term
| conditioned place preference (CPP) |
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Definition
| A procedure in which the CS is a particular place or location and the sweet-flavored solution is the US. The solution is given in one distinct chamber (stripes) but not in another (white), and the animal shows a preference by a choice test for the location paired with the solution. |
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Term
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Definition
| An arbitrary stimulus, such as a tone, is associated with an US that elicits reflexive behavior (e.g., food elicits salivation). After several pairings, the stimulus is presented alone. If the stimulus now elicits a response (tone now evokes salivation, the response to the tone is called a CR |
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Term
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Definition
| A previously CS (e.g., tone, light, etc) is paired with an aversive US such as an electric shock. After several pairings, the original CS becomes a conditioned aversive stimulus (CS-ave). Once the CS-ave has been conditioned, its onset suppresses ongoing operant behavior. A rat may be trained to pres a lever for food. After a stable rate of response is established, the CS-ave. is introduced. When this occurs, the animal's lever pressing is suppressed. |
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Term
| conditioned taste aversion (CTA) |
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Definition
| A sweet-flavored liquid may function as a CS in taste-aversion conditioning, and drug induced sickness (e.g., using lithium chloride) may serve as the US. After repeated pairings of the flavor or taste of the drug, the animal shows avoidance of the sweet-flavored solution. |
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Term
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Definition
| When a CS that accompanies drug use is presented, people are said to have "cravings," and this respondent process is called conditional withdrawl. The CS elicits reactions that are ordinarily countered by the US. However, when the US is not delivered and the CR occurs, people experience withdrawal. A heroin addict can have her withdrawal symptoms immediately terminated by a heroin injection. If you are accustomed to having a cigarette after a meal, the craving that you experience can be alleviated by a smoke |
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Term
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Definition
| In terms of operant and respondent conditioning, contextual stimuli are uncontrollable sights, sounds, smells, etc. that are the background for conditioning. These stimuli are conditioned at the same time that behavior is strengthened. |
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Term
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Definition
| An alternative term for latent inhibition |
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Term
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Definition
| A respondent conditioning procedure in which the CS is presented a few seconds before the US occurs. |
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Term
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Definition
| An apparently neutral stimulus is paired with the US. When this occurs, the control of the response to the US is transferred to the neutral stimulus, which is now called the CS |
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Term
| fixed action pattern (FAP) |
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Definition
| A sequence or chain of behavior set off by a specific stimulus. The component responses are repeated almost identically with each presentation of the stimulus. FAPs are based on "genetic blueprints," and the environment simply initiates the sequence. For example, the male stickleback fish will aggressively defend its territory from male intruders during the mating season. The fish shows a fixed sequence of threatening actions that are elicited by the red underbelly of an intruding male. |
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Term
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Definition
| The magnitude of the CR declines as the test stimulus departs in both directions from the original CS used in training |
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Term
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Definition
| when an US repeatedly elicits a UR. The frequent presentation of the US produces a gradual decline in the magnitude of the UR. When the UR is repeatedly elicited it may eventually fail to occur at all. |
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Term
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Definition
| involves self-regulation to maintain an internal environment in a stable or constant condition by means of multiple dynamic equilibrium adjustments |
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Term
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Definition
| A term used to denote an animal's learning of the CS-US relation is reduced or inhibited by pre-exposure of the CS, revealed by an acquisition test following the conditioning phase |
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Term
| Law of intensity-magnitude |
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Definition
| As the intensity of a US increases, so does the magnitude or size of the UR |
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Term
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Definition
| As the intensity of the US increases, the latency (time to onset) of the UR decreases |
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Term
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Definition
| At very weak intensities a stimulus will not elicit a response, but as the intensity of the eliciting stimulus increases there is a point at which the response is evoked. That is, there is a point below which no response is elicited and above which a response always occurs. |
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Term
| Modal action pattern (MAP) |
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Definition
| The behavioral flexibility of seemingly fixed action patterns. The major topographic features of these reflex combos may appear similar across individuals and situations, but there are numerous idosyncratic differences. For example, robins (turdus americanus) build nests tht appear very similar in construction, suggesting modification by the environment (ontogeny) |
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Term
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Definition
| Each organism has a unique life history (ontogeny) that contributes to its behavior. Ontogenetic changes in behavior are caused by events that occur over the lifetime of an individual. Ontogenetic history builds on species history (phylogeny) to determine when, where, and what kind of behavior will occur at a given moment. |
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Term
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Definition
| This effect occurs when a compoun stimulus is used as the CS in a respondent conditioning experiment. For example a light+tone(CS) may be presented at the same time and be associated with a US such as food. The most salient property of the compound stimulus comes to regulate exclusively the CR. Thus, if the tone is more salient than the light, only the tone will elicit salivation. |
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Term
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Definition
| Behavior relations that are based on genetic endowment of an organism, and that are present on the basis of species history. Behavior that aids survival or procreation is often (but not always) unlearned. This is because past generations of organisms that engaged in such behavior survived and reproduced. These animals passed on to the next generation the characteristics (via genes) that allowed similar behavior. Thus species history provides the organism with a basic repertoire of responses that are evoked by environmental conditions. |
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Term
| Primary laws of the reflex |
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Definition
| These include the laws of threshold, the law of intensity-magnitude, and the law of latency. These laws govern the US --> UR relationship |
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Term
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Definition
| Reaction chains are phylogenetic sequences of behavior. An environmental stimulus sets off behavior that produces stimuli that set off the next set of responses in the sequence; these behaviors produce the next set of stimuli, and so on. Presenting stimuli that prompt responses ordinarily occurring in the middle part of the sequence will start the chain at that point rather than at the beginning. Reaction chains are like consecutive sets of reflexes where the stimulus that elicits the next response in the sequence is produced by the previous reflex. |
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Term
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Definition
| A behavior theory that does not make inferences about underlying cognitive/informational processing. The basic idea is that a conditioned stimulus acquires a limited amount of associative strength on any trial. The term "associate strength" is used to describe the relationship between the CS and the magnitude of the CR. In general associative strength increases over conditioning trials and reaches some maximum level. A given CS can only acquire so much control over a CR. This is the maximum associative strength for the CS. Thus, a tone (CS) paired with 1 gram of food will have mx associative strength when conditioned salivation (CR) has the same strength as unconditioned salivation (UR) elicited by the gram of food (US). The magnitude of the UR to the US sets the upper limit for the CR. The CS cannot elicit a greater response(CR) then the one produced by the US. |
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Term
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Definition
| The procedure of pairing the CS with the US over trials when the respondent level for the CS is near zero. It also refers to the increase in magnitude of the CR when the respondent level for the CS is near zero. |
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Term
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Definition
| This occurs when an organism shows a CR to one stimulus but not to other similar events. A discrimination procedure involves positive and negative conditioning trials. For example, a positive trial occurs when a CS+ such as a 60-dB tone is followed by an US such as food. On negative trials a 40-dB tone is presented (CS-) but NOT followed by food. Once a differential response occurs(salivation to 60-dB but not 40-dB), we may say that the organism discriminates between the tones. |
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Term
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Definition
| Involves the presentation of the CS without the US after acquisition has occurred. As a behavioral process, extinction refers to a decline in the strength of the CR when an extinction process is in effect. In both instances, the term extinction is used correctly. |
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Term
| respondent generalization |
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Definition
| This occurs when an organism shows a conditioned response to values of the conditioned stimulus that have not been trained. For example, if a tone of 375 Hz is followed by food, a dog will salivate to max level when the tone is presented. However, the animal may salivate to other values of the tone. As the tone differs more and more from 375 Hz, the CR decreases in magnitude |
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Term
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Definition
| The baseline level (magnitude) of the CR to the CS before any known conditioning has taken place. For example, the amount of salivation (CR) to a tone (CS) before the tone has been paired with food in the mouth is usually zero (no salivation) |
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Term
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Definition
| The symbol S in the Rescorla-Wagner equation is a constant that varies between 0 and 1, and may be interpreted as the salience (e.g., dim light vs bright light) of the CS based on sensory capacties of the organism. The constant S (salience) is estimated after conditioning and determines how quickly the associative strength of the CS rises to its maximum. That is, a larger salience coefficient makes the associative strength of the CS rise more quickly to its maximum. |
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Term
| Second-order conditioning |
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Definition
| Involves pairing 2 conditioned stimuli (CS1 + CS2), rather than a conditioned and unconditioned stimulus (CS + US). Pavlov (1927/1960)conducted the early experiments on second-order conditioning. The tick of a metronome was paired with food, and the sound of the metronome came to elicit salivation.Once the ticking sound reliably elicited salivation, Pavlov paired it with the sight of a black square (CS1 + CS2). Following several pairings of the metronome beat with the black square, the sight of the black square elicited salivation. |
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Term
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Definition
| The increased reproductive success of genes that code for attributes or behavior that is attractive (having a stimulus function) to the opposite sex. Individuals with these features and underlying genes have increased chances for copulation and bearing more offspring compared with those who lack such attractiveness. |
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Term
| simultaneous conditioning |
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Definition
| A respondent conditioning procedure in which the CS and the US are presented at the same moment. Compared with delayed conditioning, simultaneous conditioning produces a weaker CR |
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Term
| spontaneous recovery (respondent) |
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Definition
| An increase in the magnitude of the CR after respondent extinction has occurred and time has passed. A behavioral analysis of spontaneous recovery suggests that the relationship between CS and CR is weakened b extinction, but the context or features of the situation elicit some level of the CR. During respondent conditioning , many stimuli not specified by the researcher as the CS, but present in the experimental situation, come to regulate behavior. |
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Term
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Definition
| In respondent conditioning, the pairing of the conditioned and unconditioned stimuli in time. |
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Term
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Definition
| A respondent conditioning procedure in which the CS is presented for a brief period and after some time has elapsed the US occurs. Generally, as time between the CS presentation and the occurrence of the US increases, the CR becomes weaker. When compared to delayed conditioning, trace conditioning is not that effective. |
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Term
| unconditioned response (UR) |
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Definition
| All organisms are born with a set of reflexes (US-->UR). These relationships are invariant and biologically based. The behavior elicited by the US is called the UR |
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Term
| Unconditioned stimulus (US) |
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Definition
| All organisms are born with a set of reflexes (US-->UR). These relationships are invariant and biologically based. The eliciting event for the relfex is called the US |
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Term
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Definition
| A procedure in which animals are first given repeated exposures to the US by itself and then a series of CS-->US pairings (conditioning). Compared with animals given pairings with a novel US, those familiar with the US (pre-exposed) show weaker and slower conditioning on the acquisition test. |
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Term
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Definition
| When organisms were faced with unpredictable and changing environments, natural selection favored those whose behavior was flexible--adjusting on the basis of past experience. In this case, genes played a subsidiary (less important) role coding for general processes of learning. These processes allowed an organism to adjust to changing environmental requirements throughout its life span. Flexibility of behavior in turn contributed to the reproductive success of the organism. |
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Term
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Definition
| The contingencies (in the sense of "if-then" requirements) that result in differential reproduction or natural selection. The habitat or ecological environment sets requirements for the survival of individuals and their genes. Members of a species who exhibit features and behavior appropriate to the contingencies survive and reproduce, and those with less appropriate characteristics have fewer offspring. Natural selection (differential reproduction) therefore occurs as particular organisms satisfy (or fail to satisfy)the contingencies of survival. |
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Term
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Definition
| This begins at the level of the individual, when its technological effects reinforce behavior. For example, an inventor may discover a new way of making a wheel, a farmer may find a food crop that produces higher yields, and a teacher may find a novel way to teach reading. A culture is said to evole when the community adopts these innovations and the practice is passed on from one generation to the next |
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Term
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Definition
| In terms of biology, the change in the genetic makeup of the species as observed in the expressed characteristics of its members. |
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Term
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Definition
| The contingent relations among cultural practices and the effects of those practices for the group. For example, competence in science is important for people who live in a technologically advanced culture. Scientific research produces a range of benefits for the general society. These include better medicine, more productive crop yields, new and better building materials, more efficient and long-lasting appliances, and superior regulation of human behavior. Thus, a positive metacontingency exists between educational practices that increase scientific competence and long-term benefits to the group. |
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Term
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Definition
| The differential reproduction of the members of a species and their genetic endowment. Based on a thorough analysis of life forms, Darwin concluded that reproductive success was the underlying basis for evolution. That is, individuals with more offspring pass on a greater number of characteristics (genes) to the next generation. |
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