Hampton 1 Rachael Hampton ABSC 304 1 23 14 Chapter 1 Introduction Study Questions 1 What is behavior generally and technically Give three synonyms for behavior Generally behavior is anything that a person says or does Technically behavior is any muscular glandular or electrical activity of an organism Synonyms activity action performance 2 Distinguish between behavior and products of behavior Give an example of a behavior and a product of that behavior that are not in this chapter Finishing a term paper is the product of writing a rough draft revising and editing which are the behaviors put into action to get the final product 3 Distinguish between overt and covert behaviors Give two examples of each that are not in this chapter Overt preparing for class by studying talking on the phone Covert thinking up examples of covert behavior feeling excited about the new semester 4 What are cognitive behaviors Give two examples Imagining what it will be like to graduate Trying to calm myself down before giving a speech by thinking to myself You know all of these people you ve done this before 5 Describe two dimensions of behavior Give an example of each The duration of a behavior is the length of time that it lasts My hamster runs in her wheel for 15 minutes The frequency of a behavior is the number of instances that occur in a given period of time I check my phone 4 times an hour Hampton 2 6 From a behavioral point of view to what do terms such as intelligence or creativity refer Give an example of each These are summary labels He is an intelligent speaker She paints creatively 7 What are three disadvantages of using summary labels to refer to individuals or their actions Give an example of each They may lead to pseudo explanations circular reasoning of behavior A child who inverts words while reading might be labeled as dyslexic If we ask why the child inverts words we are given the answer Because he is dyslexic Labels can negatively affect the way an individual might be treated Teachers may be less likely to encourage children to persist in problem solving if they have been given the label mentally retarded May direct our focus to an individual s problem behaviors rather than to his or her strengths Suppose that a teenager consistently fails to make his bed but reliably mows the lawn and places the garbage cans on the street on pickup days If the parents describe their son as lazy that label may cause them to focus more on the problem behavior than to praise the positive behaviors 8 What is a behavioral deficit Give two examples that are not in this chapter Too little behavior of a particular type She doesn t brush her teeth enough He doesn t study enough for class 9 What is a behavioral excess Give two examples that are not in this chapter Too much behavior of a particular type She drinks way too much Coca Cola He stays up way too late 10 Why do behavior modifiers describe behavioral problems in terms of specific behavioral deficits or excesses We want to help you to avoid the problem of using general summary labels Regardless of the labels attached to an individual it is behavior that causes concern and behavior that must be treated to alleviate the problem Specific procedures are now available that can be used to improve behavior in schools in workplaces and in home settings in fact just about anywhere that there is a need to establish more desirable behaviors Hampton 3 11 What are stimuli Describe two examples that are not in this chapter Stimuli are the people objects and events currently present in one s immediate surroundings that impinge on one s sense receptors and that can affect behavior A television A stereo 12 List seven defining characteristics of behavior modification Its strong emphasis on defining problems in terms of behavior that can be measured in some way and using changes in the behavioral measure of the problem as the best indicator of the extent to which the problem is being helped Its treatment procedures and techniques are ways of altering an individual s current environment Its methods and rationales can be described precisely The techniques of behavior modification are often applied by individuals in everyday life The techniques stem from basic and applied research in the science of learning in general and the principles of operant and Pavlovian conditioning in particular Behavior modification emphasizes scientific demonstration that a particular intervention was responsible for a particular behavior change It places high value on accountability for everyone involved in behavior modification programs 13 Define behavior modification Behavior modification involves the systematic application of learning principles and techniques to assess and improve individuals covert and overt behaviors in order to enhance their daily functioning 14 What is meant by the term target behavior Give an example of a target behavior of yours that you would like to improve Is your target behavior a behavioral deficit to increase or a behavioral excess to decrease Target behaviors are behaviors to be improved in a behavior modification program A target behavior that I would like to improve would be cigarette smoking My target behavior is a behavioral excess to decrease 15 Define behavioral assessment Behavioral assessment involves the collection and analysis of information and data in order to identify and describe target behaviors identify possible causes of the behavior Hampton 4 guide the selection of an appropriate behavioral treatment and evaluate treatment outcome 16 What does the term behavior analysis refer to Behavior analysis refers to the scientific study of laws that govern the behavior of human beings and other animals 17 List four dimensions of applied behavior analysis A focus on measurable behavior that is socially significant e g littering parenting skills language learning with persons with developmental disabilities A strong emphasis on the learning principles frequently referred to as operant conditioning to develop treatment strategies An attempt to clearly demonstrate that the applied treatment was responsible for the improvement in the behavior that was measured A demonstration of generalizable and long lasting improvements in behavior 18 As the terms are used in this book what is the difference between applied behavior analysis and behavior modification The techniques of behavior modification use the principles of both operant and Pavlovian conditioning