Explanatory fiction
A mentalistic and mythical explanation for behavior that attributes unobservable processes to the occurrence of the behavior.
A. Behaviorism and Philosophical Foundations
Generality
A dimension of ABA, which explains that any behavior change should persist across time, settings, behaviors, and people that differ from the original intervention conditions.
Hypothetical construct
Presumed, but unobserved processes and subjective ideas that, in mentalism, are used to explain behavior and/or its causes.
Mock Exam Question Breakdown: Which Goal of Behavior Analysis Is This?
Some BCBA® exam questions feel difficult not because the content is unfamiliar, but because the wording hides what the question is really asking. PTB founder Dana Meller helps break down this mock exam question.
Mock Exam Question Breakdown: Which Goal of Behavior Analysis Is This? Read More
Parsimony
A philosophical assumption underlying the science of behavior analysis that the simplest theory requiring the fewest assumptions must be ruled out before considering more complex explanations.
Philosophical doubt
A philosophical assumption underlying the science of behavior analysis that the truth should always be questioned with healthy skepticism, which means viewing the results of studies and clinical work with
Pragmatism
A philosophical assumption underlying the science of behavior analysis that focuses on practical solutions (e.g., if it works, don’t fix it), which at the level of behavior, involves the relation
Prediction (in scientific understanding)
The second level of scientific understanding. When repeat observations show a consistent relationship between two events, the identified relationship can be used to predict the probability of one event occurring
Private events
Events taking place inside an individual that are only known to the individual experiencing the event (e.g., thoughts, pain, feelings, ideas, sensations) and are influenced by functional relations, just like
Professional practice guided by the science of behavior analysis
A branch of behavior analysis that encompasses various fields of work (not necessarily BCBAs®/BCaBAs®) implementing ABA procedures within their professions.
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Radical behaviorism
A specific type of behaviorism which holds that all human behavior, including private events like thinking and feeling, can be understood or explained as a result of interactions with the
Replication (philosophical assumption)
A philosophical assumption underlying the science of behavior analysis that experiments should be repeated to determine the reliability and usefulness of their findings and to discover and correct mistakes.