Terms for RBT Training

 

ABC: antecedent – behavior – consequence. Also known as the 3 term contingency.

 

Abolishing Operation: can decrease reinforcer effectiveness. Usually associated with satiation.

 

Acquisition: A target that is in the process of being taught. This behavior is not yet a known skill.

 

Antecedent Interventions: recognizing environmental factors that can attribute to problematic behavior and making changes necessary to promote appropriate behavior and reduce possible triggers for maladaptive.

 

Antecedent: events that occur before a behavior

​

Backward Chaining: Teaching skill steps one at a time from the last step to the first and prompting all steps before the step being taught. Reinforcement after teaching step and at the end of the task.

 

Behavior Intervention Plan: once the function of behavior has been determined, BIPs are used for antecedent strategies, responding to maladaptive behavior, teaching replacement behavior and what interventions to use, both verbal and physical.

 

Behavior Skills Training: procedure consisting of instruction, modeling, behavioral rehearsal, and feedback that is used to teach new behaviors or skills. Instructions, model, rehearsal, feedback

 

Behavior: anything a person does that can be observed and measured. 4 Functions

1. Automatic/sensory: providing self-stimulation and is automatically reinforced

2. Escape: avoiding or escaping a demand or undesirable task

3. Attention: can be socially mediated and seeks attention in any way from others

4. Access: tangible, wanting a preferred item

 

Chaining: Used to teach multi-step skills in which the steps involved are defined through task analysis, and each separate step is taught to link together the total "chain". Can be either done by backward, forward, or total task analyses.

 

Consequence: something that follows a behavior.

 

Continuous Measurement: records every single occurrence of a behavior. Examples include frequency, duration, rate, and per opportunity.

 

Continuous reinforcement: the target behavior occurs and is reinforced after every occurrence.

 

Deprivation: not having something often enough and in return increases the effectiveness of it when used as a reinforcer.

 

Differential Reinforcement (3 Types): A procedure in which one behavior is reinforced while other behaviors are extinguished.

​

o DRI (Differential Reinforcement of INCOMPATIBLE behaviors): Reinforce behavior incompatible with an undesirable behavior ▪ Ex) Example: Reinforce Johnny for writing his name appropriately rather than tapping his pencil

 

o DRA (Differential Reinforcement of ALTERNATIVE behaviors): Reinforce behavior that is an appropriate alternative(replacement) for the undesirable behavior ▪ Ex) Reinforce Annie when she asks for a break instead of yelling to get out of work

 

o DRO (Differential Reinforcement of OTHER behaviors): Reinforce any other behavior other than the undesirable behavior ▪ Ex) Reinforce Luke with a gummy every 5 minutes he does not engage in crying

 

Discontinuous Measurement: used to measure some instances of behavior but not all. Typically associated with partial and whole interval recording and momentary time sampling.

 

Discrete Trial: learning opportunity initiated and controlled by the teacher in which the correct response will be reinforced. This also is breaking a skill into smaller parts and teaching it while using reinforcement. Allows for presentation of many learning opportunities in a short amount of time. Following the 3-term contingency

​

Discrimination Training: the procedure in which a behavior is reinforced in the presence of one stimulus and extinguished in the presence of another stimulus. Assists with learning how to respond in different environments or different conditions. Allows the client to learn the differences between stimuli.

 

Discriminative Stimulus (SD): a cue that signals reinforcement is available if the subject makes a particular response. (Demand or Instruction)

 

Dual Relationship: situation where multiple roles exist between a therapist and a parent or client. Dual relationships are also referred to as multiple relationships.

 

Duration: the amount of time that someone engages in a behavior.

 

Echoic: verbal imitation, repeating the speaker.

 

Error Correction: ECTER. When a client makes a mistake on a target that has been previously mastered, do NOT acknowledge the mistake. Re-present the trial and be ready to prompt to get a correct answer. Follow the steps for ECTER.

                 1. Error- child touches car when prompted to touch bike

                 2. Correction- represent the SD with prompt

                 3. Transfer- represent the SD without a prompt

                 4. Expand- place easy/mastered demands

                 5. Return- return to SD of incorrect response. “touch bike”, reinforcement is provided for correct response

 

Errorless Teaching: prompt the correct response as soon as you give the SD, . Essentially, you are not giving the client a chance to make an error.

 

Establishing Operation: increases the current effectiveness of a stimulus. Usually deprivation is associated with this operation.

 

Ethics: Must follow the BACB’s code of ethics. Failure to follow the mandatory code of ethics can lead to loss of employment and certification. Please see Code of Ethics outline.

 

Event Recording: count of how many times a target behavior occurs during a designated period of time.

 

Expressive Language: the ability to communicate. This is the ability to express one’s thoughts, ideas, wants, and needs. Identifying and labeling the objects in the environment, putting words together to form sentences, describing events and actions, answering questions and making requests are all examples of expressive language skills.

 

Extinction: The withholding of reinforcement for a previously reinforced behavior, resulting in reduction of that behavior.

 

Extinction Burst: The increase in frequency and/or intensity of behavior in the early stages of extinction.

 

Fixed Interval (FI): this schedule of reinforcement is used for a set amount of time.

​

Fixed Ratio (FR): this schedule of reinforcement is used for a set amount of responses.

 

Forward Chaining: Teaching skill steps one at a time from the first step to the last and prompting all steps after the step being taught. Reinforcement after teaching step and at the end of the task.

 

Frequency: the amount of times, or count, a behavior or response happens

 

Functional Behavioral Assessment: This is the process by which behavioral interventions are created. An FBA is intended to determine the function (or the reason) for a behavior, and then create an intervention based on that function. A Functional Analysis (FA) involves manipulating the environment to understand the behavior, while a Functional Behavior Assessment involves things like observation, interview, and collecting ABC data.

 

Functional Relationship: how a person’s behaviors change the world around him/her, and how those changes affect the future likelihood on the same behaviors

 

Functions of Behavior: Used when determining why an individual engages in certain behavior. ABA identifies 4 functions of a behavior: Escape, Access (tangibles), Attention and Sensory (automatic reinforcement).

 

Generalization: change occurs when that behavior occurs outside of the learning environment. Generalization can happen across settings, time and across people and exists when the behavior occurs in these various environments.

 

HIPAA: Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. HIPAA provides federal protection for individual health information, including the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of protected information.

 

Imitation: Copying someone’s motor movements

 

Incidental Teaching: a teaching technique used in naturally occurring environments and can create natural incidents of learning. Social, communication, play and other forms of interaction.

 

Indirect Measurement: Instructional Control: developing a history of reinforcing compliance. Placing task demands and other instructions following pairing. (The likelihood that the child will elicit a correct response)

 

Intermittent Reinforcement: Schedule of reinforcing some but not all desirable behavior. 4 types

 

Inter response Time: The time between two responses given or elapsed time between end of target behavior and beginning of same target behavior. Tantrum ends at 10:30 and next tantrum starts at 2:30. IRT= 4hours

 

Intertrial Interval: elapsed time between the consequence and the next SD.

 

Intraverbal: This is a Verbal Behavior term. Basically, intraverbals are building blocks to conversation skills as its the ability to discuss, describe, or answer a question about something that isn 't physically present. Like if someone asks you "What did you do on your vacation.

 

Latency: The time between when the Sd is presented, and the response is given.

 

Listener Responding: Following a direction given. Receptive language goal.

 

Listener Responding Feature Function Class (LRFFC): used to describe and receptively find an object when given the feature, function or class of that item. Appearance, what it is used for and the category it falls under

 

Magnitude: the force or intensity with which a response is emitted. Th behavior may be the same, changes in magnitude can create different outcomes.

 

Maintenance: The ability of a child to demonstrate previously acquired skills over time and durations when reinforcement has been faded

​

Mand: asking for something. A request that has motivation.

 

Measurement: Collecting data on various skills or behaviors

 

Momentary Time Sample: looking for a behavior's occurrence during a specific part of the interval and recording if it is occurring at that precise moment. Ex: setting a timer to go off every minute for a 30-minute interval, only checking for behavior and marking it down as the timer goes off.

 

Motivating Operation: Change in environment that increases or decreases the effectiveness of a given reinforcer. Used with EO or AO

 

Natural Environment Teaching: Naturalistic teaching is when the learner initiates a learning opportunity and the reinforcer is a result of the activity or learning opportunity

 

Negative Reinforcement: removing a stimulus to increase/strengthen a behavior.

 

Operational Definition: Definitions of behavior that are measurable, objective and observable

 

Operant Behavior: behavior is learned through past consequences. When a behavior is strengthened or weakened by consequences over time, operant conditioning is established.

 

Pairing: Establishing yourself as a reinforcer or the deliverer of reinforcement while building positive relationship

 

Partial Interval Recording: involves checking off an interval if the behavior occurs at ANY point within the interval - even if it only occurred for 1 second. You can use this for self-stimulatory behaviors or behaviors that don't look the same every time. An over exaggeration of the behavior, you use this method to decrease behavior.

 

Permanent Product: Tangible product or environmental outcome that proves a skill Positive Reinforcement: Adding a stimulus to strengthen/increase behavior.

 

Preference Assessment: Assessment to determine what a child is motivated by Primary Reinforcer: (unconditioned): Items or activities that are naturally reinforcing

 

Principles of Reinforcement: DISC

o Deprivation- The withholding of a stimulus (The more deprived an individual is of a reinforcer, the more effective it will be)

o Immediacy- How quickly a reinforcer is presented after the correct response is emitted (A reinforcer should be delivered immediately following a behavior to make sure you are reinforcing that specific behavior)

o Size-The amount of reinforcement given after a correct response is emitted (must be an appropriate size for the task given, not too much or too little)

o Contingency- If_________ Then__________ statement is used to set the expectation for reinforcement to occur (The reinforcement should ONLY be delivered when a desired behavior occurs)

 

Prompt: form of assistance that you add in order to achieve a desired response or behavior that is not occurri ng. Used to evoke the correct response so it can be reinforced. Stimulus and Response prompts

 

Prompt Hierarchy: level of prompts used from greatest to least or least to greatest.

1. Expressive language hierarchy: full verbal, partial verbal, independent

2. Receptive language hierarchy: full physical, partial physical, model, gestural, independent

 

Prompt Fading: gradually removing prompt levels needed or fading out the intrusiveness.

 

Punishment: anything that is added or removed after a behavior that decreases it, makes it less likely to happen again

o Positive Punishment: A stimulus presented after a behavior occurs which decreases the behavior

o Negative Punishment: A stimulus removed after a behavior occurs which decreases the behavior

 

Rate: Ratio of count per observation time (How many times a behavior occurs in a set amount of time)

 

Reactive Strategies: techniques used in an emergency or crisis situation to gain control of dangerous, out of control behaviors

 

Receptive Language: Receptive is listener behavior and refers to tasks that require a non-vocal action or motor response such as touch, imitation, or pointing.

 

Reinforcement: anything that strengthens a behavior, making it more likely to occur again.

o Positive Reinforcement: A stimulus presented after a behavior occurs which increases the behavior

o Negative Reinforcement: A stimulus removed after a behavior occurs which increases the behavior

 

Replacement Behavior: A behavior you want to replace an unwanted target behavior

 

Response Cost: procedure of removing an earned token contingent upon ones misbehavior. Form of negative punishment only used when necessary.

 

Response Prompt: any prompt that is used in expressive or receptive language such as a gestural, model or verbal prompt

 

Response Generalization: when one is able to give various responses to an SD.

 

Respondent Behavior: involuntary behavior that occurs in response to antecedent stimuli

 

Role of the RBT: program implementation, data collection, communicating w/ stakeholders, work directly with BCBA and following written program including BIP.

 

Rule Governed Behavior: controlled by written/verbal antecedents or rules.

 

Satiation: When a reinforcer loses its effectiveness due to overuse.

 

Secondary Reinforcer: (conditioned): Items or activities that acquire reinforcing properties when paired with primary reinforcers

 

Setting Events: The context or circumstance in which an environment-behavior relationship occurs. The event changes the strengths of stimuli and responses involved in an environment-behavior interaction.

 

Shaping: The process of reinforcing gradual changes in a behavior so the behavior begins to look like the target behavior while no longer reinforcing the previous accepted response.

 

Skill Acquisition: Developing of new skills, habits, quality

 

Spontaneous Recovery: The reappearance of the extinguished behavior after a period without reinforcing the behavior

 

Stimulus: anything that elicits a response followed by consequence

 

Stimulus Control: precedes the behavior but effects the outcome. Has influence over behavior

 

Stimulus Control Transfer: A process in which prompts are removed in order to bring the behavior under the control of the Sd and is achieved by prompt fading

 

Stimulus Prompt: stimuli that are used to help evoke correct response. Positional cues, environmental, moving items or changing features/color and size/proximity.

 

Tact: A form of verbal behavior where the speaker sees, hears, smells, tastes something and then comments about it (A Label)

 

Task Analysis: The process of breaking a skill down into smaller, more manageable components.

 

Token Economy: a method used to try and reinforce (increase) the frequency of a target behavior

 

Topography: the physical form or shape of a behavior. What the behavior looks like.

 

Total Task Chaining: Teaching behavior chain steps all at once. Reinforcement delivered for independence and at the end of the task.

 

Trials to Criterion: total number of trials until one reaches a pre-determined criterion.

 

Variable Interval: this schedule of reinforcement is used for a variable amount of time.

 

Variable Ratio: this schedule of reinforcement is used for a variable amount of responses.

 

Whole Interval Recording: Involves checking off an interval if the behavior occurs within the entirety of the interval