Please note that letters following "S" related to specific kinds of stimuli in notation format should be in superscript, but the web site editor does not support superscript text. For example, in the notation for evocative stimulus, SEv, the "Ev" should be in superscript text.

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ABCs of Behavior. An acronym in which A stands for antecedent, B stands for behavior and C stands for consequence (a type of postcedent stimulation) that represents the three-term contingency. See Three-Term Contingency. 

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Abolishing Operations (AOs). A motivating operation procedure that decreases the effectiveness of a reinforcer. See Motivating Operations and Function-Altering Stimulus.

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Added Punishment (+P). A behavior change process in which the addition of a stimulus, during or immediately following a response, results in a decrease in the rate or relative frequency of the operant on subsequent occasions. 

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Added Reinforcement (+R). A behavior change process in which the addition of a stimulus during or immediately following a response, results in an increase in the rate or relative frequency of the operant on subsequent occasions.  

Adjunctive Behavior. A class of responses that occur periodically during certain schedules and is induced by those schedules, particularly interval schedules or time-based schedules, as an interim activity at points in the schedule during which reinforcement is unlikely.

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Alternating Treatment Design. An experimental design in which one or more treatment conditions are presented in rapidly alternating succession such as on successive days or in sessions (Cooper et al. 2007). Rather than waiting for stability of the independent variable to be achieved, such as in the reversal design, the alternating treatment design alternates interventions right from the start.

Antecedent Control Procedure. Any procedure that involves manipulating the antecedent environment in order to increase or decrease the likelihood of a target operant being performed. This involves changes to evocative stimuli or function-altering stimuli. This can include respondent conditioning based procedures that change emotional arousal that functions to "motivate" the operant in question. It can also involve preclusion procedure to make the behavior impossible.

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Antecedent Stimulus. An event that occurs immediately prior to a target behavior, which may or may not have been confirmed as functionally related to the behavior. In terms of events that have been confirmed as functionally related to the behavior it precedes, it may be used to refer to an evocative stimulus or a function-altering stimulus. See Evocative Stimulus for details and see Function-altering Stimuli for details on stimuli that can alter the functional capacity of the SEv to evoke the behavior. Contrast with Postcedent Stimulus.

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Appetitive Stimulus (SA). (or Attractive Stimulus) A stimulus that functions as a reinforcer when added following a behavior or as a punisher when subtracted following a behavior. This is an unofficial term stipulated for lack of a better term as the opposite of an aversive stimulus. Contrast with Aversive Stimulus.    

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Aversive Stimulus (SAVE). Stimulation that functions as an added punisher, subtracted punisher, or subtracted reinforcer. Extinction is usually considered an aversive also because the absence of added reinforcement in a contingency that has historically generated added reinforcement tends to result in an increased in the rate and topographic variability of behavior and this may be considered is escape/avoidance behavior.

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Avoidance. Escape from a conditioned aversive stimulus. Organisms will generally attempt to escape aversive stimuli. Avoidance is often colloquially cast in terms of "anticipation" of aversive stimuli to be escaped but this tends to suggest an agential perspective and is not as accurate as the following explanation. Organisms will attempt to escape aversive stimulation. If the punisher being escaped is an unconditioned punisher then it evokes the word "escape" because the unconditioned aversive stimulus is present when the behavior occurs and is based on subtracted reinforcement. If the aversive stimulus being escaped is a conditioned punisher, then it evokes the word "avoidance" because the unconditioned aversive stimulus has not occurred when before the behavior occurs. Note that the subject is still always escaping some aversive stimulus and so it is really all escape behavior. They are always responding to stimuli in the environment (or to emotional responses to that stimuli in a different perspective) and there is no agent anticipating some future occurrence. Avoidance is often defined in terms of behavior evoked b y the absence of the unconditioned stimulus but this presents an analytical problem since it involves the absence of a stimulus causing a behavior. This is why it is primarily defoined by the presence of the conditioned aversive stimulus.

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Backward Conditioning. A respondent conditioning procedure in which the conditioned stimulus is presented after the unconditioned stimulus. Ineffective.

Baseline. An experimental condition that is conducted before any treatment conditions in order to establish the base rate of the behavior to which the treatment conditions can be compared.

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Behavior. Any measurable, neurally-mediated reaction of an organism to stimulation.

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Behavioral Deficit. A circumstance in which the subject does not currently exhibit a specified target behavior or does not exhibit the target behavior at an adequate rate or relative frequency and it is deemed to be beneficial to establish it within the subject’s repertoire at a suitable rate or relative frequency. Contrast with Behavioral Excess.

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Behavioral Excess. A circumstance in which the subject exhibits a specified target behavior at a higher rate than is deemed acceptable. Contrast with Behavioral Deficit. 

Behavior Analysis. A branch of psychology studying behavior from a more or less natural science perspective but is often a blend of mystical psychology and true natural science. Contrast with Behaviorology.  

Behavior Chain. "A sequence of related behaviors, each of which provides the cue for the next, and the last of which produces a reinforcer." (Source) See Backward Chain.

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Behavior Change Procedure. The procedural description of how a change in behavior is to be produced as a function of a contrived change in the environment. (Fraley, 2008) Antecedents and consequences are manipulated in order to change the behavior. Often referred to as "contingency engineering."

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Behaviorology. Behaviorology is the comprehensive natural science and technology of environment–behavior functional relations. "Behaviorology is an independently organized discipline featuring the natural science of behavior. Behaviorologists study the functional relations between behavior and its independent variables in the behavior-determining environment. Behaviorological accounts are based on the behavioral capacity of the species, the personal history of the behaving organism, and the current physical and social environment in which behavior occurs. Behaviorologists discover the natural laws governing behavior. They then develop beneficial [contingency]-engineering technologies applicable to behavior related concerns in all fields including child rearing, education, employment, entertainment, government, law, marketing, medicine, and self-management." (Fraley, 2008). More concisely and perhaps too simplistically, behaviorology is the natural science of behavior. This is distinguished from psychology, which is in fact not a science. It is also distinguished from behavior analysis in that behavior analysis remains tied to psychology and behavior analysis products are often a compromised blend of natural science and mystical psychology.

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Behavior Replacement Strategy. A strategy for changing problematic behavior in which the problematic behavior is replaced within the contingency with another, more acceptable, behavior.

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Biological Approach. Attempts to understand and modify behavior by understanding and manipulating the anatomy and physiology of the individual. The biological approach does not deny phylogenetic (evolutionary) or ontogenetic (learning) change, but rather posits that learning takes place in the context of behavior, and that behavior can be understood and changed by understanding and changing this underlying anatomy and physiology. In behaviorology, biology is recognized as mediating behavior but that behavior is always a response to the environment and usually the functional relationship between the behavior and the environment are studied rather than considering the mediation of the behavior by biological processes. A different level of analysis. 

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Biological Context. The evolutionary history of a species and physiological/anatomical status of an individual organism are part of the context in which an organism interacts with their current environment. See also Preparedness.

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Bridge. See Conditioned Reinforcer.

Chaining. See Behavior Chain.

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Coercion. The “use of punishment and the threat of punishment to get others to act as we would like, and to our practice of rewarding people just by letting them escape from our punishments and threats” (Sidman, 2001, p. 1). See Aversive Stimulus.

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Coincidental Selector. A selector (postcedent stimulus that changes behavior) that is not generated by the behavior it follows but rather occurs coincidentally. See Superstitious Behavior and contrast with Consequence.    ​

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Compound Schedule. A schedule that incorporates more than one element, principle or simple schedule, successively or simultaneously. 

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Concept. "Any class (i.e., group, category) the members of which share one or more defining features." (Chance, 2009, p. 389) Concept are the product of generalization and discrimination. "One must generalize within the conceptual class and discriminate between that and other classes." (Chance, 2009, p. 323)

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Concurrent Contingencies. More than one distinct contingency operative, either competitive or supportive, at the same time.   

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Conditioned Aversive Stimulus (CSAVE or SAVE). An aversive stimulus that acquires its aversive effect through conditioning, as opposed to an unconditioned aversive stimulus. See also Aversive Stimulus.

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Conditioned Emotional Response (CER). Emotional responses that are elicited by stimuli that have been paired with unconditioned stimuli or already conditioned stimuli that elicited the emotional response. See emotional behavior.

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Conditioned Helplessness. A phenomenon in which an animal subjected to inescapable intensely aversive stimulation eventually ceases exhibiting escape behavior. Consistent with the principle of extinction of escape behavior.    

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Conditioned Inhibition. "In respondent conditioning, when a [conditioned stimulus] is presented repeatedly without the [unconditioned stimulus] (extinction, the conditioned stimulus is said to acquire increasing amounts of inhibition, in the sense that its presentation suppresses the response." (Pierce & Cheney, 2004)

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Conditioned Punisher. A punisher effective because it has been previously paired with an unconditioned punisher or an already established conditioned punisher. Also called a secondary punisher.

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Conditioned Reinforcer. A reinforcer effective because it has been previously paired with an unconditioned reinforcer or an already established conditioned reinforcer. Also called a secondary reinforcer. Contrast with Unconditioned Reinforcer. See also Unconditioned Reinforcer.

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Conditioned Response (CR). A respondent that is elicited by a conditioned stimulus. Contrast with Unconditioned Response.    

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Conditioned Stimulus (CS). A previously neutral stimulus that has been paired with another stimulus and comes to elicit a response similar to that which was elicited by the stimulus it was paired with.    

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Conditioned Suppression. A conditioned stimulus is paired with an aversive unconditioned stimulus. Once it becomes a conditioned aversive stimulus (CSAVE), its presentation will suppress ongoing operant behavior.

Conditioning. The biological process by which a relatively enduring change in the behavior of an organism results from that body’s interaction with the environment.

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Consequence. Postcedent stimulus change that is functionally related to the behavior it follows and may include reinforcement or punishment. 

Constructional Approach. A general approach to changing problematic behavior in which the subject’s repertoire of adaptive/acceptable behaviors is expanded in a manner that would displace or replace the problematic behavior. Contrast with Eliminative Approach.

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Contiguity. The occurrence of two or more events in both close temporal and spatial proximity, such as when a behavior generates a consequence. 

Contingencies of Reinforcement. A set of, or description of, the functional relations shared among an antecedent stimulus change, a response class and consequences, or lack thereof for previously consequated behavior, including reinforcement, punishment and extinction.   

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Contingency. A functional relation or set of functional relations between a response class and a class of antecedent and/or consequent stimulus changes. In other words, a contingency describes a set of variables and the functional relationship between them. Whereas the phrase “functional relation” is used to specify a relationship between two events, specifically, a stimulus and a behavior in our case, emphasizing the dependent nature of the relation, the word "contingency" is used to refer to the terms (i.e., the events) and the relation between them and may include any number of terms and functional relations from a simple stimulus-response contingency to a many-term operant contingency with multiple antecedent, behavior, or postcedent terms.

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Contingency Adduction. The occurrence of previously conditioned behavior under circumstances not involved in the initial conditioning of that behavior.

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Contingency Analysis. A term used to refer to either (a) the procedure involved in analyzing episodes of behavior, including describing functional relations, or (b) the descriptive notation of the contingency—the product of the analysis.    

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Contingency Management Plan (CMP) or Contingency Engineering Plan. A formal set of instructions and guidelines identifying the target behavior and how it will be changed including what procedures will be utilized and how they are to be applied to the specific problem under consideration.

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Continuous Reinforcement (CRF). A schedule setting the rule that each response within a series of responses was or is to be reinforced.

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Contrived Reinforcer. An extrinsic or arbitrarily imposed reinforcer mediated by a trainer. See Extrinsic Reinforcer and contrast with Natural Reinforcer. 

Counterconditioning. Describes the process and/or procedure of countering previous respondent conditioning with new respondent conditioning. This term has a history of use in psychology and can sometimes be convoluted by that history but counterconditioning is simply respondent conditioning that happens to oppose respondent conditioning that had previously taken place. One conditioned response is conditioned to be elicited by a stimulus where previously a different conditioned response to that stimulus occurred.

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Countercontrol. Behavior of a subject exposed to coercion, which functions to establish consequences that deters coercive controls over their behavior. Behavior that “controls the controller.” See Coercion

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Cybernetic Loop. The course of a stream of energy involved in the operant conditioning process: a behavior generates a stimulus change in the environment, that then impacts the behaving organism and causes changes within the nervous system that results in a change in behavior thereafter. 

Cycle of Reciprocal Countercontrol. Term coined by O’Heare (2007). Here is how the cycle of countercontrol works: The guardian finds some particular behavior irritating. The guardian's behavior (usually punitive countercontrol, such as “correcting” the subject with leash aversive treatment) is subtractively reinforced as a quick fix tactic, which then produces an irritation for the subject, who in turn resorts to countercontrol. This is also subtractively reinforced in many cases, and the cycle of countercontrol continues. All the while, fallout from the lose–lose encounters is compounded to degrade the relationship and produce further problematic behaviors. See also Countercontrol.

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Delayed Conditioning. A respondent conditioning procedure in which the conditioned stimulus is presented before the unconditioned stimulus and then ends after the unconditioned stimulus starts but generally stops before the unconditioned stimulus stops. For example, if a trainer seeks to use a whistle as a conditioned reinforcer, they might begin blowing the whistle, deliver the treat and stop the whistle before the subject is finished consuming the treat. The other effective respondent conditioning procedure is trace conditioning, which is exemplified by "charging" a clicker--See Trace Conditioning.

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Dependent Variable. The variable (the “effect”) in an experimental arrangement that is quantified to determine whether it changes systematically with manipulation or change in the independent variable (the “cause”) and if so, how it changes. In the natural science of behavior, the dependent variable is usually the response class (occasionally, a behavior outcome). Contrast with Independent Variable.

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Deprivation. A physiological condition defined by the amount of time during which the subject has not contacted a reinforcer in question, which results in an increase in the effectiveness of the reinforcer. See motivating Operation and Establishing Operation.

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Determinism. A philosophical position, derived from naturalism, which holds that any detectable event represents the culmination of an unbroken and unbreakable natural history—that is, that all things are part of a continuous sequence or network of causes and effects and that there can be no intrusion into this sequence by non-natural events (Ledoux, 2015).    

Differential Outcome Effect (DOE). A behavioral phenomenon whereby discrimination training occurs more quickly and the discrimination is more accurate when different behaviors contact different reinforcer classes.

Differential Reinforcement (DR). A compound procedure in which response class members that meet a specific property criterion along some dimension are targeted for added reinforcement and other members of that response class are targeted for extinction.

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Differential Reinforcement of Alternative Behaviors (DRA). A differential reinforcement procedure in which the reinforcement-targeted response class members or response class form, while compatible with the extinction-targeted response class members, is a specific and different set of response class members or response class form. 

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Differential Reinforcement of Diminishing Rates (DRD). A differential reinforcement procedure in which the reinforcer is delivered at the end of a predetermined interval if the number of responses is less than a criterion that is gradually reduced across time intervals based on the behavior of the individual.    

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Differential Reinforcement of High Rate (DRH). A differential reinforcement procedure in which a fixed interval of time is set after which the next response is reinforced only if a specified number of responses have already occurred during that interval. 

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Differential Reinforcement of Incompatible Behaviors (DRI). A differential reinforcement procedure in which the reinforcement-targeted response class members or response class form is mutually exclusive with respect to the extinction-targeted response class members. 

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Differential Reinforcement of Low Rate (DRL). A differential reinforcement procedure in which a fixed interval of time is set after which the next response is reinforced only if no responses occurred during that interval.

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Differential Reinforcement of Other Behaviors (DRO). A differential reinforcement procedure in which any response class member other than the extinction-targeted response class members or response class forms is targeted for reinforcement.

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Differential Subtracted Reinforcement (D–R). A compound procedure in which response class members that meet a specific property criterion along some dimension are targeted for subtracted reinforcement and other members of that response class are targeted for extinction.    

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Direct Observation. The phase of a functional behavioral assessment in which the data is collected to either establish a baseline or determine if further refinement of the variables are required before proceeding with the assessment. See Functional Behavioral Assessment.

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Discriminated Operant. A class of responses defined by a functional relation with a particular class of consequences and a particular class of antecedents.

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Discrimination. The process by which the range of evocative stimulus features evoking a response class decreases or the range of conditioned stimulus features eliciting a conditioned response decreases. Discrimination may be seen as a relationship between a behavior and its antecedent controlling stimuli or as a biological process by which this pattern of responding occurs. Contrast with Generalization and Stimulus Generalization.    

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Discrimination Training. A differential reinforcement procedure in which responding to a specific stimulus is reinforced and responding to similar stimulus features is extinguished resulting in a decrease in the range of stimulus features that will evoke a target behavior. See Discrimination.

Discriminative Stimulus (SD). Older (defunct within behaviorology) term still common in psychology (including behavior analysis). See evocative stimulus.

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Duration. The interval of time during which a continuously exhibited behavior occurs.  

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Ectoreinforcer. A reinforcer, the source of which occurs outside of the subject’s body. Contrast with Endoreinforcer.

Ectostimulus. A stimulus, the origin of which occurs outside of the subject’s body. Contrast with Endostimulus.

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Eliciting Stimulus (Sel). An antecedent stimulus that reliably elicits a respondent behavior. Contrast with Evocative Stimulus.

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Eliminative Approach. An approach to resolving problematic behaviors generally involving the sole use of reductive procedures such as extinction and punishment. Contrast with Constructional Approach.  

Emotional Arousal. A bodily condition created by the presence of chemicals in the bloodstream that were released by glands. (The release of the chemicals is emotional behavior but the presence of the chemicals is a condition of arousal and not itself a behavior. It may, however, influence subsequent behaviors.) Contrast with Emotional Behavior.    

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Emotional Behavior. The elicited release of chemicals into the bloodstream by glands and certain neural processes. Not to be confused with “feelings,” which are the after-effect awareness-related behaviors that one experiences and often labels (tacts) with verbal utterances such as “fear” or “joy” etc. Contrast with Emotional Arousal. 

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Endoreinforcer. A reinforcer originating solely from within of the subject’s body. Contrast with Ectoreinforcement.  

Endostimulus. A stimulus originating solely from within of the subject’s body. Contrast with Ectostimulus.  

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Environment. The natural domain defined by the existence of theoretically measurable independent variables in behavior-controlling relations; the environment occurs on both sides of the skin of the behaving organism. (Fraley, 2008)

Enrichment Enrichment. Generally expanding the subject’s daily access to varied opportunities to interact successfully with the environment. Environment enrichment is related to raising the General Level of Reinforcement (GLR). 

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Errorless Conditioning. An approach to training that emphasizes antecedent management such that the target behavior does not occur and the replacement behavior does occur, allowing for behavior replacement with few or no “errors.” See Graded Approach.

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Escape Behavior. Behaviors that function to cease, diminish or delay aversive stimulation. Behavior maintained by subtracted reinforcement. 

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Establishing Operation (EO). A motivating operation procedure that increases the effectiveness of a reinforcer. Contrast with Abolishing Operation. 

Ethology. A branch of biology that studies nonhuman behavior patterns either in the species as a group, smaller population groups or individuals, that has biologically evolved in native habitats, with an emphasis on behavior patterns that do not depend on, or are know to depend on, operant conditioning (Catania, 2013).    

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Evocation. The evoking of an operant, or, a pattern of responding in which the range of evocative stimulus features triggering a response class decreases or the range of conditioned stimulus features triggering a conditioned response. Evocation may be seen as a relationship between a behavior and its antecedent controlling stimuli or as a biological process by which this pattern of responding occurs. (Replaces the largely defunct term with behaviorology “discrimination.”) Contrast with Generalization and Stimulus Generalization.

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Evocation Training. A training project in which the range of evocative stimulus features decrease by differentially reinforcing responding only to a specific set of stimulus features while extinguishing responding to similar stimulus features. (Replaces the largely defunct term with behaviorology “discrimination training.”) See Evocation.

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Evocative Stimulus. A stimulus that evokes a response due to a history of immediately preceding behavior that has been reinforced. Also known as a discriminative stimulus within psychology, including behavior analysis.    

Explanatory fiction. Vargas (2009, p.23) defines an explanatory fiction as “a statement that has the form of an explanation, but in which the cause given is essentially a restatement of the behavior to be explained.” An explanation for a behavior requires both the dependent variable (the behavior) and the independent variable (the environmental stimuli functionally related to the behavior). The variables must be distinct. In an explanatory fiction, only the dependent variable is identified (Fraley, 2008, pp.76-77). Diagnostic labels used by those operating under a medical model approach are often explanatory fictions.

Extensity. The distance over which a movement occurs, either linear or angular (Fraley, 2007).

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Externalizing a Contingency. Tracing any proposed intervening private internal evocative stimuli back through the chain of causation to a stimulus change external to the behaver and readily accessible/measurable. For example, one might propose that an emotional behavior evokes a behavior. To externalize this contingency, one seeks to identify what causes the emotional behavior and one proceeds to consider such causes until one reaches a stimulus that is external to the subject's body and can be observed directly by people other than the subject. Thus one may study the environment-behavior functional relation objectively and verifiably.

Extinction (EXT). A behavior change process in which a response class maintained by added reinforcement no longer generates a postcedent stimulus change (added reinforcement) and the response class subsequently decreases in rate or frequency. May also be used to refer to a schedule of reinforcement in which no responses were or are to be reinforced. Generally, if the extinction of a respondent is being considered, then the phrase "respondent extinction" is exhibited.    

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Extinction Burst. An initial increase in the rate of responding following the instatement of extinction.

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Extinction Curve. Refers to the decreasing of the rate of behavior under an extinction schedule of reinforcement, which in graphical form forms a curve. 

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Extrinsic Reinforcer. A reinforcer contrived and mediated socially (not generated directly by the behavior). Contrast with Intrinsic Reinforcer.  

Fading. A procedure implemented to transfer stimulus control in which features of an evocative stimulus are gradually/incrementally changed to that of a new evocative stimulus.    

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Fixed Duration (FD). A schedule of reinforcement, which sets the rule that the target behavior must be exhibited continuously for a specified period of time, at which point reinforcement is delivered.

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Fixed Interval (FI). A schedule of reinforcement, which sets the rule that reinforcement is delivered immediately following the first response exhibited after a specific interval of time has passed.

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Fixed Ratio (FR). A schedule of reinforcement, which sets the rule that reinforcement is delivered following the final response after a fixed number of responses have occurred. 

Flooding. A procedure, based on the reductive principle of respondent extinction, in which a subject is exposed, usually at full intensity, to an aversive stimulus, where escape behavior is prevented, until escape responding ceases. Also called “exposure and response prevention.” 

Four-Term Contingency. Another antecedent, behavior, or postcedent term in an operant contingency analysis. Although the three term contingency is commonly utilized and adequate to explain many behaviors, frequently a fourth term is required. In fact there can be many terms, as many as are required to fully explain the behavior and describe the contingency.

Functional Analysis. An experimental analysis of the functional relations between a response class and its controlling variables. Functional analyses are often conducted as part of a functional assessment process for evaluating problematic behaviors.

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Functional Behavioral Assessment (often just Functional Assessment). A systematic process by which a target behavior and its controlling variables are identified, which provides the data from which a behavior change program is planned and implemented. (Carried out in three phases: functional interview, direct observation and functional analysis.)

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Functional Interview. The first phase in the functional assessment process in which the client or others who may have observed occurrences of the behavior (or products of it) being exhibited are interviewed in order to determine the behavior of concern and the general circumstances under which it is exhibited. 

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Functional Relation. A relation between two events in which a dependent variable changes systematically as a function of changes in one or more independent variables. In behaviorology, the dependent variable is the behavior under consideration, and the independent variable is the stimulation that is necessary and sufficient to cause the behavior or cause a change in its rate or relative frequency. A functional relation may exist without our having confirmed its existence but we only say that the functional relation exists after we have confirmed it experimentally.

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Function-altering Stimulus (SFA). An antecedent stimulus, the occurrence of which causes a bodily condition, which alters the function of other stimuli. The SFA does not evoke the behavior but rather alters the body in a way that makes some other stimulus evoke an operant. Generally, there are two kinds of SFA, motivating operations and other SFA. For example, a fire alarm lever might evoke lever pulling behaviors but only if smoke it present. The lever would be the evocative stimulus and the smoke would be the SFA. The phrase "only if" is a telltale indication of the presence of a SFA in the contingency. A motivating operant might involve deprivation or satiation with regard to the reinforcer. See Motivating Operation.

Generalization. A generic term for a stimulus control process in which (a) the range of evocative stimulus features evoking an operant behavior is increased (stimulus generalization), (b) the range of responses that an antecedent stimulus evokes is increased (response generalization), or (c) the range of antecedent stimulus features that elicits a respondent behavior is increased (respondent generalization). See Stimulus Generalization and Response Generalization and contrast with Discrimination.   

Generalized Conditioned Reinforcer. A conditioned reinforcer that has been associated with a variety of unconditioned reinforcers. Praise often achieves this standard.

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Graded Approach. A strategy for achieving errorless changes in behavior by (a) breaking projects down into smaller steps, (b) breaking the antecedent stimuli down into component parts to be worked separately before being combined, and/or (c) starting with minimally intense contact with antecedent stimuli and gradually increasing that contact along some dimension (e.g., distance). The graded approach is usually subsumed under the errorless approach. See Errorless Training.

Habituation. A temporary decline in in the magnitude of an unconditioned response upon repeated presentation of the unconditioned stimulus. Contrast with Respondent Extinction.    

Independent Variable. The variable (the “cause”) that is systematically manipulated in an experiment in order to determine its relation to the dependent variable (the “effect”). In the natural science of behavior, the independent variable is some feature of the environment—stimulation. Contrast with Dependent Variable. 

Intermittent Reinforcement. A schedule of reinforcement, which sets the rule that added reinforcers follow some, but not all, occurrences of the behavior.

Inter-response Time. The time interval between the ceasing of a behavior and the beginning of the next response in its class.

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Intrinsic Reinforcer. A reinforcer generated directly by the behavior (rather than being arbitrarily selected and mediated by another organism). Contrast with Extrinsic Reinforcer. 

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Jackpotting. A schedule extension setting the additional rule that any “particularly well-executed” response among a set of responses is reinforced with a higher than usual magnitude reinforcer. (Common in animal training community but not a technical term common in the natural science of behavior as a whole and likely too vague to be so.)   

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Language. A relatively stable pattern of verbal behavior, including vocabulary and rules of grammar, which is conditioned and maintained by the contingencies in place within that verbal community (Fraley, 2008).

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Latency. A general term referring to the interval of time between two events, usually used as a short form for “event-response latency,” the interval of time between the evocative stimulus and the beginning of the response it evokes.

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Law of Cumulative Complexity. The natural physical/chemical interactions of matter and energy sometimes result in more complex structures and functions that endure and naturally interact further, resulting in an accumulating complexity (Ledoux, 2014, p. 20).

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Law of Effect. A law formulated by Thorndike stating that consequences select for or against operant behavior—some consequences will tend to strengthen behavior, while others will tend to suppress it. (The current principles of reinforcement and punishment address the same phenomenon.) 

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Learning. See Conditioning. (Learning is a colloquial term and not a technical term primarily because it has agential implications.)    

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Level. The rate, frequency, duration, or other measure of behavior, the “how much” of the behavior used mainly in reference to graphical representations of behavior.

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