The document provides an overview of the roots of applied behavior analysis, including different theoretical explanations of human behavior and the historical development of behaviorism. It discusses biophysical, biochemical, developmental, cognitive, and behavioral explanations, assessing each on criteria of inclusiveness, verifiability, predictive utility, and parsimony. Behavioral explanations were found to be the most useful. The document also outlines the key concepts of respondent and operant conditioning, associationism, and the 7 defining characteristics of applied behavior analysis.

1. Roots of Applied Behavior
Analysis
Chapter 1
Applied Behavior Analysis for Teachers
9th edition
Paul A. Alberto and Anne C. Troutman
© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc.
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2. Overview: Roots of Applied Behavior
Analysis
 Requirements for explaining human behavior
 Explanations of human behavior
 Biophysical
 Biochemical
 Developmental
 Cognitive
 Behavioral
 Historical Development of Behaviorism
 Respondent Conditioning
 Associationism
 Behaviorism

Operant Conditioning
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3. Usefulness Criteria
• Inclusive:
• Does the explanation account for a substantial quantity of
behavior?
• Verifiable:
• Is the explanation testable?
• Predictive Utility:
• Does the explanation provide reliable answers about what
people are likely to do under certain circumstances?
• Parsimonious:
• Is it the simplest explanation?
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4. Biophysical and Biochemical
Explanations of Human Behavior
 Biophysical
 Genetic and Hereditary Effects

Dominant Genetic Inheritance

Recessive Genetic Inheritance
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5. Dominant Genetic Inheritance
Affected Unaffected
Mother Father
(An) (nn)
Affected Normal Affected Normal
(An) (nn) (An) (nn)
Each child has a 50% chance of inheriting the “A” gene
(dominant abnormal gene) or the “n” gene (normal gene) from
the affected parent.
Abnormal Gene Passage
Normal Gene Passage
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6. Recessive Genetic Inheritance
Carrier Carrier
Mother Father
(Na) (Na)
Normal Carrier Carrier Affected
(NN) (Na) (Na) (aa)
Each child has a 25% chance of inheriting two “a” genes (recessive
abnormal genes) and inheriting two “N” genes (normal genes). Each
child also has a 50% chance of being carriers of the abnormal gene.
Abnormal Gene Passage
Normal Gene Passage
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7. Biophysical and Biochemical
Explanations of Human Behavior
 Biophysical
 Genetic and Hereditary Effects

Dominant Genetic Inheritance

Recessive Genetic Inheritance
 Biochemical
 Brain Damage
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8. Usefulness of Biophysical and Biochemical
Explanation of Human Behavior
Theoretical Inclusiveness Verifiability Predictive Parsimony
Explanation Utility
Biophysical
and Poor Fair Poor Poor
Biochemical
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9. Developmental Explanations
of Human Behavior
 Psychoanalytic Theory (Freud)
 Progression through crucial stages
 Abberrant behavior if person fixates on a particular stage
 A Stage Theory of Cognitive Development (Piaget)
 Assimilation
 The tendency to adapt the environment to enhance personal
functioning.
 Accommodation
 The tendency to change behavior to adapt to the environment.
 Equilibration
 The process of maintaining a balance between assimilation and
accommodation.
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10. A Comparison of Freudian
and Piagetian Theories
Freud’s Psychoanalytic Theory Piaget’s Stage Theory of Cognitive
Development
Age Stage Age Stage
Birth to 2 years Oral Stage: Gratification centered Birth to 1 ½ Sensorimotor Intelligence: Infant is
around the mouth years preoccupied with differentiating himself from
the rest of the world and establish
representations of objects.
2 to 4 years Anal Stage: Child derives gratification 1 ½ to 4 or 5 Preoperational Thought-
from withholding and controlling feces. years Representational Thinking: Child
This corresponds with toilet training. develops language, however is still unable to
take another person’s point of view.
4 to 6 years Phallic Stage: Gratification contents 5 to 7 years Preoperational Thought – Intuitional
around genitalia. Child becomes attached Thinking: Child begins to understand
to parent of the opposite sex and develops conservation, attends to more than one aspect
hostility to parent of same sex. of an object at a time, understands reversibility
of some operations.
6 years to Puberty Latency Stage: Child identifies with the 7 to 11 years Concrete Operations: Organizes
parent of the same sex and plays primarily perceptions and symbols; able to classify
with other children of the same sex in sex- along several dimensions simultaneously;
stereotyped activities. cannot solve abstract problems.
Puberty Genital Stage: Child becomes 12 years to Adult Formal Operations: Deals with
interested in members of the opposite sex. abstractions, hypothetical situations, and can
think logically.
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11. Usefulness of Developmental Explanation
of Human Behavior
Theoretical Inclusiveness Verifiability Predictive Parsimony
Explanation Utility
Developmental Good Poor Fair Poor
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12. Cognitive Explanations of Human Behavior
 Gestalt Psychology
 Bruner – Discovery Learning
 Constructivism
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13. Usefulness of Cognitive Explanation
of Human Behavior
Theoretical Inclusiveness Verifiability Predictive Parsimony
Explanation Utility
Cognitive Good Poor Poor Poor
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14. Behavioral Explanation
of Human Behavior
 All behavior is learned.
 Behavior must be measurable and
observable
 A behaviorist focus is on the “present
environmental conditions, both antecedent
and consequent, maintaining behavior and on
establishing and verifying functional relations
between such conditions and behaviors”
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15. Important Concepts
of Behavioral Explanation
 Positive Reinforcement
 Negative Reinforcement
 Punishment
 Extinction
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16. Important Concepts
of Behavioral Explanation
 Antecedent Control
 Stimulus Control
 Setting Events

Kazdin’s (2000) 3 types of setting events: social,
physiological, and environmental

Baily et al’s (1988) subdivision of environmental
setting events: instructional dimensions, physical
dimensions, social dimensions, and environmental
change
 Modeling and Shaping
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17. Usefulness of Behavioral Explanation
of Human Behavior
Theoretical Inclusiveness Verifiability Predictive Parsimony
Explanation Utility
Behavioral Fair Good Good Good
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18. Usefulness of Explanations
of Human Behavior
Theoretical Inclusiveness Verifiability Predictive Parsimony
Explanation Utility
Biophysical/
Biochemical Poor Fair Poor Poor
Developmental Good Poor Fair Poor
Cognitive Good Poor Poor Poor
Behavioral Fair Good Good Good
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19. Historical Development of Behaviorism
 Respondent Conditioning (Ivan Pavlov)
 Classical or Respondent Conditioning – the process of pairing
stimuli so that an unconditioned stimulus elicits a response
(reflexive behaviors)
Food (UCS)
Stage 1:
Tone (CS) Salivation (UCR)
Stage 2:
Tone (CS) Salivation (CR)
 Associationism (Edward Thorndike)
 Associations between situations and responses
 Law of Effect
 Law of Exercise
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20. Historical Development of Behaviorism
 Behaviorism (John Watson)
 Coined term “behaviorism”
 Focused on observable behaviors – emotional responses
 Watson & Rayner (1920) – baby Albert
 Operant Conditioning (B.F. Skinner)
 Voluntary behaviors
 The arrangement of environmental variables to establish a
functional relation between a voluntary behavior and its
consequences.
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21. Applied Behavior Analysis
“The process of applying sometimes tentative
principles of behavior to the improvement of
specific behaviors, and simultaneously
evaluating whether or not any changes noted
are indeed attributed to the process of
application.” (Baer, Wolf, & Risley, 1968,
p.91)
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22. 7 Characteristics of Research to
Qualify as Applied Behavior Analysis
Identified by Baer, Wolf, & Risley (1968)
1) Applied – behavior selected for change must be socially important
2) Behavioral – behavior must be observable and measurable
3) Analytic – intervention must demonstrate control over the behavior
4) Technological – written in such a way that it is easily replicated
5) Effective – demonstrate a meaningful change in the desired behavior
6) Conceptually Systematic – use appropriate terminology and
behavioral concepts
7) Generality – must demonstrate maintenance and generalization of the
behavior
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