Applied behavior analysis

Applied behavior analysis (ABA) is the application of the principles of learning theory to change behavior of social significance. It is the applied form of behavior analysis; the other two forms are radical behaviorism (or the philosophy of the science) and the experimental analysis of behavior (or experimental research).

The name "applied behavior analysis" has replaced behavior modification because the latter term suggested attempting to change behavior without first clarifying the relevant behavior-environment interactions. In contrast, ABA tries to change behavior by first assessing the functional relationship between a targeted behavior and the environment. This approach often seeks to develop replacement behaviors which serve the same function as the aberrant behaviors.

Methods of applied behavior analysis range from early intensive behavioral interventions—for example, for children with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD)—to basic research on the principles governing criminal behavior. ABA has been brought to bear on a wide range of areas and behavioral problems, exemplified by the following: HIV prevention, conservation of natural resources, education,gerontology,health and exercise,industrial safety,language acquisition, littering,medical procedures, parenting,psychotherapy, seatbelt use,severe mental disorders, sports,substance abuse, pediatric feeding disorders, and zoo management and care of animals.

Behaviorism

Behaviorism (or behaviourism) is a systematic approach to the understanding of human and animal behavior. It assumes that the behavior of a human or animal is a consequence of that individual's history, including especially reinforcement and punishment, together with the individual's current motivational state and controlling stimuli. Thus, although behaviorists generally accept the important role of inheritance in determining behavior, they focus primarily on environmental factors.

Behaviorism combines elements of philosophy, methodology, and psychological theory. It emerged in the early twentieth century as a reaction to depth psychology and other traditional forms of psychology, which often had difficulty making predictions that could be tested experimentally. Its early influences were Ivan Pavlov, who investigated reflexes andclassical conditioning, and Edward Thorndike, one of the first to study operant (or instrumental) behavior. Together with John B. Watson and others, these investigators rejected introspective methods and sought to understand behavior by measuring observable behaviors and events. Behaviorist philosophies shifted somewhat during the 1940s and 1950s and again since the 1980s. Radical behaviorism is a conceptual variant proposed by B. F. Skinner which acknowledges the presence of private events—including cognition and emotions—and suggests that they are subject to the same controlling variables as observable behaviors.

Behavior

Behavior or behaviour (see spelling differences) is the range of actions and mannerisms made by individuals, organisms, systems, or artificial entities in conjunction with themselves or their environment, which includes the other systems or organisms around as well as the (inanimate) physical environment. It is the response of the system or organism to various stimuli or inputs, whether internal or external, conscious or subconscious, overt or covert, and voluntary or involuntary.

Health behavior

Health behavior refers to a person's beliefs and actions regarding their health and well-being. Health behaviors are direct factors in maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Health behaviors are influenced by the social, cultural and physical environments in which we live and work. They are shaped by individual choices and external constraints. Positive behaviors help promote health and prevent disease, while the opposite is true for risk behaviors. Health behaviors are early indicators of population health. Because of the time lag that often occurs between certain behaviors and the development of disease, these indicators may foreshadow the future burdens and benefits of health-risk and health-promoting behaviors. Health behaviors do not occur in isolation—they are influenced and constrained by social and cultural norms.

Analysis

Analysis is the process of breaking a complex topic or substance into smaller parts in order to gain a better understanding of it. The technique has been applied in the study of mathematics and logic since before Aristotle (384–322 B.C.), though analysis as a formal concept is a relatively recent development.

The word comes from the Ancient Greek ἀνάλυσις (analysis, "a breaking up", from ana- "up, throughout" and lysis "a loosening").

As a formal concept, the method has variously been ascribed to Alhazen,René Descartes (Discourse on the Method), and Galileo Galilei. It has also been ascribed to Isaac Newton, in the form of a practical method of physical discovery (which he did not name).

Applicants

Chemistry

The field of chemistry uses analysis in at least three ways: to identify the components of a particular chemical compound (qualitative analysis), to identify the proportions of components in a mixture (quantitative analysis), and to break down chemical processes and examine chemical reactions between elements of matter. For an example of its use, analysis of the concentration of elements is important in managing a nuclear reactor, so nuclear scientists will analyze neutron activation to develop discrete measurements within vast samples. A matrix can have a considerable effect on the way a chemical analysis is conducted and the quality of its results. Analysis can be done manually or with a device. Chemical analysis is an important element of national security among the major world powers with materials measurement and signature intelligence (MASINT) capabilities.

Verbal Behavior

Verbal Behavior is a 1957 book by psychologist B. F. Skinner that inspects human behavior, describing what is traditionally called linguistics. The book Verbal Behavior is almost entirely theoretical, involving little experimental research in the work itself. It was an outgrowth of a series of lectures first presented at the University of Minnesota in the early 1940s and developed further in his summer lectures at Columbia and William James lectures at Harvard in the decade before the book's publication. A growing body of research and applications based on Verbal Behavior has occurred since its original publication, particularly in the past decade.

In addition, a growing body of research has developed on structural topics in verbal behavior such as grammar.

Functional analysis