Applied Behavior Analysis
Also called: ABA
Definition
The branch of behavior analysis that applies the principles of learning to behavior that matters in a person's life, and uses experimental methods to show that the change came from the intervention rather than from something else. It is defined by a set of dimensions rather than by any particular technique or population.
In plain language
Using what we know about learning to help with behavior that matters to a person. It also checks, with data, that the help actually worked.
Example
A school team teaches a student to request a break, measures the requests and the problem behavior they replace, and shows the change held once teaching stopped.
Not applied behavior analysis
A study of how rats respond under a new reinforcement schedule. That is the experimental analysis of behavior, which asks basic rather than applied questions.
A rewards chart used in a classroom with no measurement and no way to tell whether it changed anything. Using reinforcement is not the same as doing behavior analysis.
Commonly confused with
See also
Written from
- baer-wolf-risley-1968
Written from Baer, Wolf and Risley (1968) and Skinner (1953). No textbook glossary consulted.
This entry has not yet been through clinical review. Treat it as a draft.