The Book: The Science of behavior change.

Mine: Understanding Behavior

The tendency of one event to vary in a regular way with one or more other events.

An example of functional relationship is when you flip on the light switch the light will go on, when you flip it off the light goes out.

If X then Y. Cause and Effect – Pattern.

The book says that behavior is anything a person does that can be observed.

Two different kinds of behavior: Overt and Covert!

Behavior that can be observed by someone other than the person performing it.

Overt Behavior is like your zipper down, everyone else can see it but you can’t.

Walking to the end of the street would be overt because someone else can see it.

Behavior that can be observed only by the person performing it.

This is where you think about ways to Zip up your zipper without anyone seeing.

Your heart would be a covert behavior. Covert behavior depends on the technology available.

Behavior that is most readily influenced by events that precede it; reflective behavior.

Respondent behavior is the kind of behavior people usually describe as involuntary of reflexive.

When you are sitting on your porch and the neighbor’s car backfires, and you fall off your chair, that is respondent behavior!

Behavior that is readily influenced by events that follow it.

Operant Behavior, unlike respondent behavior, is not a reflex reaction to some event.

So now we have talked about three ways to define behavior: Operant and Respondent, Overt and Covert. Look what a nice table!!

Overt Covert

Walking?

Picking up a book

Reading a book

Knee Jerk Reflex

Pupil reflex test.

Doing Math in your head.

When John sees snakes his heart starts to pound and his palms start to sweat.

Any event in a person’s environment that can be observed.

Environmental events are the kinds of things we usually refer to as experience.

Physical Events – Feelings and thoughts do not count here!

Environmental Events can be described in the terms of the physical dimensions, including color, shape, size, brightness, texture, duration, and so on.

Antecedents:

Environmental events that occur

behavior!

Consequences:

Environmental events that occur

a behavior.

For Example, every time after therapy, Johnny crawls under the table with his blanket and sucks his thumb.

If you observe a behavior many times you will find a antecedent, you have to look for it!

When a Jessie hears a loud noise he gets down on the floor and has even hid behind a desk or car.

Johnny’s behavior of going under the table with his blanket sucking his thumb is the consequence of therapy.

To Behavioralists the behavior that follows a specific behavior is purely a consequence regardless of the coincidence. Regardless if the specific behavior causes it.

Johnny could play with a toy car after therapy, they may not have anything relating them, but it is still a consequence.

Antecedent

Behavior

Consequence

All the environmental events (antecedents and Consequences) That have affected a person’s behavior up to the present.

So what you shouldn’t judge a person from their experience.

Wrong, as far as Behavior Analysis is concerned a persons environmental events or learning history is very important!!!!!

The attempt to solve behavior problems by providing antecedents and/or consequences that change behavior.

Behavior analysis is concerned with understanding how environmental events change behavior: applied behavior analysis is concerned with using environmental events to change behavior in desirable ways.

The view that behavior problems are merely symptoms of an underlying psychological disorder.

The idea that if a behavior problem is solved without resolving the underlying psychological disorder, another behavior problem will take its place.

If you think Behavior Modification is easy then you are not doing it right.