In this week’s Learning Resources you read about Skinner’s radical behaviorism. Skinner’s learning principles can be applied in the areas of behavior management and education. For example, “reinforcement” is one of Skinner’s learning principles and refers to anything that increases the likelihood a response will recur. In a classroom, this learning principle can be seen…

Discussion: Behaviorism One skill of an applied behavior analyst is collaborating to identify negative behaviors an individual is exhibiting and then developing treatments for those behaviors (e.g., strategies, interventions, etc.) to help them change the behaviors and derive improved outcomes for themselves. Radical behaviorism posits there is a science of behavior that has shown the…

Week 3: Radical Behaviorism In his own words, psychologist and behaviorist B. F. Skinner explained radical behaviorism as, “the philosophy of a science of behavior treated as a subject matter in its own right apart from internal explanations, mental or physiological” (p. 122). This week focuses on the principles of radical behaviorism. You will examine…

Assignment: Parsimony For this week’s Discussion, you examined a common set of assumptions characterizing the behavior of behavior analysts. One of those assumptions is the Law of Parsimony. The history and etymology of the word parsimony is from the Latin pars-, meaning “to act sparingly, be thrifty (with), refrain from” (Merriam-Webster, n.d.). By extension, the…

This is the first week of Module 2: Philosophical Underpinnings. During this week, you will analyze assumptions of behavior for behavior analysts. You will further focus on the assumption known as the Law of Parsimony and consider how, as a behavior analyst, you could apply this behavioral assumption when communicating behavior-analytic interventions to a parent…

In the first module of this course, you were introduced to the fundamentals of applied behavior analysis (ABA). In particular, you focused on the concepts and terminology of operant conditioning and practiced applying behavioral theory to a set of scenarios. Module 2 builds on this foundation by examining a common set of philosophical assumptions that…

Each module in this course provides fundamental information in a critical area of applied behavior analysis. At the end of each module, you will take a test to demonstrate your understanding of the topics covered. This week’s Test assesses your knowledge of the assigned course readings and material introducing you to applied behavior analysis. To…

To effectively determine best methods for behavior change, the professional behavior analyst needs to develop a strong understanding of how to analyze the situation, including the target behavior, antecedent conditions, and consequences for the behavior. Understanding the terms and phrases used in applied behavior analysis is critical to appropriately evaluate a situation and determine effective…

Throughout your life, you have been conditioned to respond to certain stimuli in certain ways. This is known as operant conditioning. Operant conditioning is the type of learning in which the consequences of a behavior influence whether an individual will act in the same way in the future. Even if there was not a clear…

Foundation and Philosophy of Behavior Analysis Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is a set of skills used in the assessment and treatment of individuals with a variety of behavioral problems and developmental delays, including autism spectrum disorders. In this course, students explore the philosophy and theory of behaviorism and how these undergird applied behavior analysis. Students…