Cumulative Record
Also called: cumulative graph
Definition
A graph in which each new data point adds the latest count to the running total, so the line can only go up or stay flat. Its slope shows rate: steep means fast responding, flat means none. It makes small changes in rate and the exact moment behavior stopped easy to see, and it was the original display of the experimental analysis of behavior.
In plain language
A graph that keeps adding up the total, so the line never goes down. A steep line means the behavior is happening fast; a flat line means it stopped.
Example
A record of total words read across sessions, where the slope steepens after a new teaching method starts.
Not cumulative record
A graph of words read per session, which goes up and down from day to day. That is a standard line graph.
See also
Written from
- ferster-skinner-1957
Written from Ferster and Skinner (1957). No textbook glossary consulted.
This entry has not yet been through clinical review. Treat it as a draft.