Negative Reinforcement vs. Punishment
PrinciplesNegative reinforcement increases the future frequency of a behavior by removing or terminating an aversive stimulus. Punishment decreases the future frequency of a behavior by presenting an aversive stimulus (positive punishment) or removing a preferred stimulus (negative punishment).
⚠️ Exam Trap to Avoid:Never associate 'negative' with 'bad' or 'punishing'. In behavior analysis, 'negative' means stimulus subtraction, and 'reinforcement' ALWAYS increases behavior.
Spanish: Refuerzo Negativo vs. Castigo Motivating Operations (MO)
PrinciplesAn environmental variable that alters the effectiveness of some stimulus as a reinforcer (value-altering effect) and alters the current frequency of all behavior that has been reinforced by that stimulus (behavior-altering effect). Includes Establishing Operations (EO) and Abolishing Operations (AO).
⚠️ Exam Trap to Avoid:Do not confuse an MO with an SD. An SD signals whether a reinforcer is AVAILABLE. An MO determines whether the reinforcer is VALUED.
Spanish: Operaciones Motivadoras (OM) Schedules of Reinforcement (FR, VR, FI, VI)
ConceptsRules specifying environmental arrangements and conditions under which reinforcement is delivered: Fixed Ratio (post-reinforcement pause with high run rate), Variable Ratio (high, steady rate without pauses), Fixed Interval (scallop pattern), and Variable Interval (moderate, steady rate).
⚠️ Exam Trap to Avoid:VR schedules produce the highest resistance to extinction and the highest consistent response rates without post-reinforcement pauses.
Spanish: Programas de Reforzamiento (RF, RV, IF, IV) Extinction Burst
Behavior ReductionA temporary, predictable increase in the frequency, duration, or intensity of the target behavior immediately after the implementation of an extinction procedure. Often accompanied by novel behavioral topographies and emotional reactions.
⚠️ Exam Trap to Avoid:If staff or parents surrender and reinforce during an extinction burst, they inadvertently place the behavior on a variable schedule, drastically strengthening it.
Spanish: Estallido de Extinción Interobserver Agreement (IOA)
MeasurementThe degree to which two or more independent observers report the same observed values after measuring the same events. Formula varies by measure: Total Count IOA, Mean Count-per-Interval IOA, Exact Count-per-Interval IOA, and Scored/Unscored Interval IOA.
⚠️ Exam Trap to Avoid:Total Count IOA tends to overestimate agreement because it compares overall session totals rather than interval-by-interval precision.
Spanish: Concordancia Interobservador (IOA) Stimulus Control
PrinciplesA situation in which the frequency, latency, duration, or amplitude of a behavior is altered by the presence or absence of an antecedent stimulus as a result of a history of differential reinforcement.
⚠️ Exam Trap to Avoid:Stimulus generalization is the opposite of stimulus discrimination: discrimination occurs when behavior occurs ONLY in the presence of the SD.
Spanish: Control de Estímulos Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA)
AssessmentA systematic process for obtaining information about the purposes (functions) a problem behavior serves for an individual. Comprises indirect methods, descriptive ABC observations, and experimental functional analyses (FA).
⚠️ Exam Trap to Avoid:A functional behavior assessment (FBA) is the overarching umbrella assessment; a functional analysis (FA) is the experimental manipulation.
Spanish: Evaluación Funcional de la Conducta (FBA) Discrete Trial Training (DTT)
AcquisitionA structured instructional method in which a skill is broken into discrete units: Antecedent (SD) -> Prompt -> Learner Response -> Consequence (SR+/Correction) -> Inter-Trial Interval (ITI).
⚠️ Exam Trap to Avoid:Contrast DTT with Natural Environment Teaching (NET): NET follows the learner's lead and uses naturally occurring motivating operations in real-world contexts.
Spanish: Entrenamiento en Ensayos Discretos (DTT) Multiple Baseline Design
Experimental DesignAn experimental design that begins with concurrent measurement of two or more behaviors in baseline condition, followed by the systematic application of the intervention to one behavior while maintaining baseline conditions on the other behaviors.
⚠️ Exam Trap to Avoid:Multiple baseline designs are preferred over reversal designs when target behaviors are irreversible (learned academic skills) or when returning to baseline would pose safety risks.
Spanish: Diseño de Línea Base Múltiple Functional Analysis (FA)
AssessmentAn experimental method in which antecedents and consequences representing those in the person's natural environment are arranged within an analog laboratory or clinical setting so that their separate effects on problem behavior can be observed and measured.
⚠️ Exam Trap to Avoid:High rates of behavior exclusively in the Alone condition suggest automatic reinforcement. Differentiated high rates in Demand suggest escape/avoidance.
Spanish: Análisis Funcional (FA) Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA)
FoundationsThe science in which tactics derived from the principles of behavior are applied systematically to improve socially significant behavior, and experimentation is used to identify the variables responsible for behavior change.
⚠️ Exam Trap to Avoid:ABA is characterized by the 7 dimensions defined by Baer, Wolf, & Risley (1968): Applied, Behavioral, Analytic, Technological, Conceptually Systematic, Effective, and Generality.
Spanish: ¿Qué es la Terapia ABA? Definición y Principios Turn Definitions Into Automatic Recall
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