This week, you will examine the foundations of applied behavior analysis. You consider operant conditioning and how it has affected your life, and you will analyze behavior analysis scenarios and identify the applied behavioral characteristic involved in each scenario. You will also complete a module test to demonstrate your understanding of these critical concepts.

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Students will:

• Analyze principles of operant conditioning
• Apply principles of behavioral theory to human behavior
• Demonstrate understanding of basic concepts and principles of applied behavior analysis (ABA) PSYC 6717: Foundation and Philosophy of Behavior Analysis

For this Discussion, you will analyze the fundamental principles of operant conditioning and how it has impacted your life. Additionally, you analyze how behavioral psychological theory (e.g., antecedents, reinforcements, punishment) is applied to condition behavior PSYC 6717: Foundation and Philosophy of Behavior Analysis. As you read this week’s Learning Resources, try to identify times in your life when operant conditioning clearly played a part in your learning.

• Consider how terminology of operant conditioning relates to specific behaviors.
• Think about how your parents reinforced or punished you when you were growing up, and how those acts influenced how you behaved.
• Consider how situations in your life today contribute to your behavior. Are you more or less likely to do something when a certain person is around?
• Review the interactive media in the Learning Resources, “Operant Conditioning Terms.”

Post a description of a scenario that illustrates the application of operant conditioning in your life and explain how behavioral theory (e.g., antecedents, reinforcements, punishment) was applied to condition behavior in the scenario you posted. Explain how the antecedent condition facilitated or inhibited the target behavior discussed.

Read your colleagues’ postings.

Respond to at least two colleagues’ posts in one of the following ways:

• Expand on each colleague’s explanation of how they applied behavioral theory to their scenario.
• Offer your perspective(s) on whether you agree or disagree with each colleague’s explanation of how the antecedent condition facilitated or inhibited the target behavior discussed. PSYC 6717: Foundation and Philosophy of Behavior Analysis

Be sure to support your posts and responses with specific references to behavior-analytic theory and research. In addition to the Learning Resources, search the Walden Library and/or internet for peer-reviewed articles to support your posts and responses. Use proper APA format and citations, including those in the Learning Resources.

Return to this Discussion in a few days to read the responses to your initial posting. Note what you have learned and/or any insights that you have gained because of your colleagues’ comments.

One of the most frequently misused terms in psychology is “negative reinforcement.” Many people use this term to describe punishment because it “sounds better.” In behavioral psychology, terms are sometimes used differently than they are in everyday language. For example, the term “reinforcement” means that the rate of a behavior is increased. The term “punishment” means the rate of a behavior is decreased. The term “positive” means a stimulus is presented, and the term “negative” means a stimulus is removed. Therefore, negative reinforcement occurs when an aversive stimulus is removed, which results in an increase in probability of the behavior it followed.

For this Assignment, you will explore the application of behavioral theory. You will review a set of scenarios, analyze and identify the applied behavioral characteristic involved in the scenario, and explain how the scenario meets the definition of the characteristic you identified.

• Review the Learning Resources for this week, including the required weekly media programs.
• Review the “Behavioral Consequences Scenario Worksheet” found in the Learning Resources. You will use this worksheet to complete the Assignment. PSYC 6717: Foundation and Philosophy of Behavior Analysis

Assignment (1–2 pages)

Complete the Behavioral Consequences Scenario Worksheet. To complete the worksheet, do the following for each scenario:

• Identify and define the following consequences used in applied behavior analysis in each scenario (i.e., positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, positive punishment, negative punishment).
• Explain how each scenario meets the definition of the applied behavior analysis characteristic you identified. Within your explanation, identify each of the components of the definition within the scenario PSYC 6717: Foundation and Philosophy of Behavior Analysis.

Be sure to support your Assignment with specific references to behavior-analytic theory and research. In addition to the Learning Resources, search the Walden Library and/or the internet for peer-reviewed articles to support your Assignment. Use proper APA format and citations, including those in the Learning Resources. 

Submit the Behavioral Consequences Scenario Worksheet.

To submit your completed Assignment for review and grading, do the following:

• Please save your Assignment using the naming convention “WK1Assgn+last name+first initial.(extension)” as the name.
• Click on the Week 1 Assignment Rubric to review the Grading Criteria for the Assignment.
• Click on the Week 1 Assignment link. You will also be able to “View Rubric” for grading criteria from this area.
• Next, from the Attach File area, click on the Browse My Computer button. Find the document you saved as “WK1Assgn+last name+first initial.(extension)” and click on Open.
• If applicable: From the Plagiarism Tools area, click the checkbox for I agree to submit my paper(s) to the Global Reference Database PSYC 6717: Foundation and Philosophy of Behavior Analysis.
• Click on the Submit button to complete your submission.

• Review the Learning Resources and consider how these resources will guide your understanding of applied behavior analysis as you prepare for your Module 1 Test.

• This Test consists of 10 multiple-choice or true/false questions.
• Each question is worth one point PSYC 6717: Foundation and Philosophy of Behavior Analysis.
• Questions are presented in a random order.
• This Test allows you to go back to check or change your answers at any point during your allotted Test time.
• You may use your course readings and other resources to help you. This Test is open book.
• You will have unlimited time to finish this Test by the end of the week.
• You must pass the Test at 90% for competency.
• Once the Test has been submitted, the correct answer will be indicated when you have given an incorrect answer.
• If you need to retake the Test, a new Test will be generated. PSYC 6717: Foundation and Philosophy of Behavior Analysis

Submit your Test by Day 7.

This week, you were introduced to the fundamentals of applied behavior analysis. You reflected on how operant conditioning has affected your life, and you analyzed a set of scenarios to identify the applied behavior analysis characteristic being used. You also completed the Module Test to demonstrate your understanding of these critical concepts.

Next week, you will begin the next module of this course, Module 2: Philosophical Underpinnings. In the first week of Module 2, you will examine assumptions of behavior analysis and why they are important for a behavior analyst.

This is the first week of Module 2: Philosophical Underpinnings. During this week, you will analyze assumptions of behavior for behavior analysts. You will further focus on the assumption known as the Law of Parsimony and consider how, as a behavior analyst, you could apply this behavioral assumption when communicating behavior-analytic interventions to a parent or teacher. 

Students will:

• Analyze the assumptions of behavior analysis
• Analyze the Law of Parsimony as it relates to a real-life application

• Review the Learning Resources for this week as well as the required weekly media program to gain an understanding of the philosophical assumptions that inform the practice of behavior analysis.
• Consider examples of how the philosophical assumptions apply to the study of human behavior.
• Review the interactive media in the Learning Resources, “Six Assumptions or Attitudes of Behavior Analysis.”

The behavior of scientists, including behavior analysts, is characterized by a common set of assumptions: determinism, empiricism, experimentation, replication, parsimony, and philosophic doubt.

Post two of these assumptions and give an example of how each applies to the study of human behavior.

Read your colleagues’ postings.

Respond to at least two colleagues’ posts by expanding on each of their explanations of how the assumptions they identified in their examples apply to the study of human behavior PSYC 6717: Foundation and Philosophy of Behavior Analysis.

Be sure to support your posts and responses with specific references to behavior-analytic theory and research. In addition to the Learning Resources, search the Walden Library and/or internet for peer-reviewed articles to support your posts and responses. Use proper APA format and citations, including those in the Learning Resources.

Return to this Discussion in a few days to read the responses to your initial posting. Note what you have learned and/or any insights that you have gained because of your colleagues’ comments.

Ultimately, an important purpose for using parsimonious interpretations is to enable a principle of economy when determining where new findings might incorporate into the existing knowledge base of a given field. By way of illustration, consider the following review regarding negative symptoms in schizophrenia. In the review, the authors identify a lengthy list of nearly 20 negative schizophrenia symptoms ranging from different forms of affect issues to poor grooming to asociality. Applying the law of parsimony (referred to as Occam’s Razor in the review) the authors simplified their evidence by stating, “…we propose that while negative symptoms are varied and broad in both their clinical presentation and longitudinal course, they can all be subsumed under the concept of avolition. As the primary construct, avolition translates to decreased functional performance, a hallmark of schizophrenia’s longer-term outcome but identifiable in its earliest stages” (Foussias, & Remington, 2010).

For this Assignment, you will consider why parsimony is an important construct a behavior analyst might use when communicating interventions to a parent or teacher.

References:
Foussias, G., & Remington, G. (2010). Negative symptoms in schizophrenia: Avolition and Occam’s razor. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 36(2), 359–369. https://doi.org/10.1093/schbul/sbn094
Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Parsimony. Retrieved February 6, 2021, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/parsimony

To Prepare:

• Review this week’s Learning Resources about parsimony PSYC 6717: Foundation and Philosophy of Behavior Analysis.
• Consider practical ways parsimony might be used by a behavior analyst.

Assignment (1 page)

• Write an explanation addressing why parsimony is important for a behavior analyst when communicating a prospective intervention to a parent or teacher. Be parsimonious in your response.

Be sure to support your Assignment with specific references to behavior-analytic theory and research. In addition to the Learning Resources, search the Walden Library and/or the internet for peer-reviewed articles to support your Assignment. Use proper APA format and citations, including those in the Learning Resources. 

Submit your Assignment.

To submit your completed Assignment for review and grading, do the following:

• Please save your Assignment using the naming convention “WK2Assgn+last name+first initial.(extension)” as the name.
• Click on the Week 2 Assignment Rubric to review the Grading Criteria for the Assignment.
• Click on the Week 2 Assignment link. You will also be able to “View Rubric” for grading criteria from this area.
• Next, from the Attach File area, click on the Browse My Computer button. Find the document you saved as “WK2Assgn+last name+first initial.(extension)” and click on Open.
• If applicable: From the Plagiarism Tools area, click the checkbox for I agree to submit my paper(s) to the Global Reference Database.
• Click on the Submit button to complete your submission.

This week, you examined six assumptions and attitudes of behavior analysis. You analyzed and applied the Law of Parsimony to how a behavior analyst might use it when communicating a proposed behavioral intervention.

Next week, you will examine the principles of B. F. Skinner’s radical behaviorism. You will evaluate the effectiveness and appropriateness of radical behaviorism using specific instances in your own life experience that seem to be consistent with Skinner’s learning principles PSYC 6717: Foundation and Philosophy of Behavior Analysis.

In his own words, psychologist and behaviorist B. F. Skinner explained radical behaviorism as, “the philosophy of a science of behavior treated as a subject matter in its own right apart from internal explanations, mental or physiological” (p. 122). PSYC 6717: Foundation and Philosophy of Behavior Analysis

This week focuses on the principles of radical behaviorism. You will examine the history of behaviorism and how the development of Skinner’s radical behaviorism was a significant departure from the historical conceptual systems of behaviorism preceding its emergence. Using the principles of radical behaviorism, you will consider your own life experiences, or life experiences you have observed in others, that seem to exemplify Skinner’s learning principles and employ your judgment regarding their effectiveness and appropriateness.

Reference:
Skinner, B. F. (1989). Recent issues in the analysis of behavior. Merrill.

Students will:

• Evaluate radical behaviorism
• Evaluate the principles of radical behaviorism to one’s life and behaviors

For example, if a child in a classroom is repeatedly leaving their seat during instruction (i.e., maladaptive behavior), an applied behavior analyst would work with the child to identify the factors contributing to the maladaptive behavior and then develop strategies or interventions to generate more appropriate behavior by the child.

For this week’s Discussion, you will consider your perspectives on radical behaviorism and its learning principles.

Reference:
Cooper, J. O., Heron, T. E., & Heward, W. L. (2020). Applied behavior analysis (3rd ed.). Pearson. 

• Review the Learning Resources for this week as well as the required weekly media program to gain an understanding of radical behaviorism.
• Think about whether you concur with the learning principles of radical behaviorism. PSYC 6717: Foundation and Philosophy of Behavior Analysis

Post an explanation of whether you agree or disagree with the following statement, and why or why not:

• Skinner’s “radical behaviorism” proposes that behavior, rather than cognitive processes, should be the primary topic of study.

Read your colleagues’ postings.

Respond to at least two colleagues’ posts by expanding on each colleague’s rationale for why they agree or disagree with Skinner’s proposal. Justify your response.

Be sure to support your posts and responses with specific references to behavior-analytic theory and research. In addition to the Learning Resources, search the Walden Library and/or internet for peer-reviewed articles to support your posts and responses. Use proper APA format and citations, including those in the Learning Resources.

Return to this Discussion in a few days to read the responses to your initial posting. Note what you have learned and/or any insights that you have gained because of your colleagues’ comments.

For this Assignment, you will describe specific instances in your own life experiences, or life experiences you have observed in others, that seem to be consistent with Skinner’s learning principles and use your own judgment to evaluate their effectiveness and appropriateness PSYC 6717: Foundation and Philosophy of Behavior Analysis.

To Prepare:

• Review the Learning Resources for this week to gain an understanding of the learning principles of Skinner’s radical behaviorism, including the weekly media video and the interactive media, “Skinner’s Radical Behaviorism.
• Identify at least two specific instances in your own life experiences, or life experience you have observed in others, that seem to be consistent with Skinner’s learning principles, either from the behavior management side (e.g., reinforcement, extinction, time out, token economies) or from the educational side (e.g., behavioral objectives, self-paced learning).

Assignment (1–2 pages)

Write a description of at least two specific instances in your own life experience, or life experiences you have observed in others, that seem to be consistent with Skinner’s learning principles. These can be either from the behavior management side (e.g., reinforcement, extinction, time out, token economies) or from the educational side (e.g., behavioral objectives, self-paced learning). Briefly describe these instances and comment on their effectiveness and appropriateness (in your judgment).

Be sure to support your Assignment with specific references to behavior-analytic theory and research. In addition to the Learning Resources, search the Walden Library and/or internet for peer-reviewed articles to support your Assignment. Use proper APA format and citations, including those in the Learning Resources.  PSYC 6717: Foundation and Philosophy of Behavior Analysis

Submit your Assignment.

To submit your completed Assignment for review and grading, do the following:

• Please save your Assignment using the naming convention “WK3Assgn+last name+first initial.(extension)” as the name.
• Click on the Week 3 Assignment Rubric to review the Grading Criteria for the Assignment.
• Click on the Week 3 Assignment link. You will also be able to “View Rubric” for grading criteria from this area.
• Next, from the Attach File area, click on the Browse My Computer button. Find the document you saved as “WK3Assgn+last name+first initial.(extension)” and click on Open. PSYC 6717: Foundation and Philosophy of Behavior Analysis
• If applicable: From the Plagiarism Tools area, click the checkbox for I agree to submit my paper(s) to the Global Reference Database.
• Click on the Submit button to complete your submission.

This week, you examined the principles of B. F. Skinner’s radical behaviorism. You evaluated the effectiveness and appropriateness of radical behaviorism using specific instances in your own life experience that seemed to be consistent with Skinner’s learning principles.

Next week, you will examine the three branches of behavior analysis and provide examples of how each branch contributes to the practice of behavior analysis. Additionally, you will analyze your professional motivations for pursuing a course of study that will lead to your becoming a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA).

In their seminal article, Baer et al. (1968) elucidate the differences between applied and non-applied (theoretical) research, stating “. . . applied research is constrained to examining behaviors which are socially important, rather than convenient for study. It also implies, very frequently, the study of those behaviors in their usual social settings, rather than in a “laboratory” setting” (p. 92). They expand on these differences by identifying seven dimensions of applied behavior analysis (ABA) that are indicators of how ABA represents a science of behavior analysis.

This week, you will examine the seven dimensions of applied behavior analysis identified by Baer, Wolf, and Risley in their seminal 1968 article and evaluate the relevance and practical application of the dimensions in the 21st century.

Reference:
Baer, D. M., Wolf, M. M., & Risley, T. R. (1968). Some current dimensions of applied behavior analysis. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 1(1), 91–97. PSYC 6717: Foundation and Philosophy of Behavior Analysis

Students will:

• Evaluate the relevance of the Baer, Wolf, and Risley’s dimensions of behavior analysis to the practice of behavior analysis in the 21st century
• Analyze Baer, Wolf, and Risley’s dimensions of behavior analysis

In 1967, the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis (JABA) was launched to address the need. The editors of the journal included Donald Baer, Montrose M. Wolf, and Todd Risley, who in the first issue of the JABA journal contributed an article that proposed criteria that would come to inform the application of concepts of applied behavior analysis. It also served to provide guidance to researchers seeking to be published in the journal. As indicated by the title of their seminal 1968 article, “Some Current Dimensions of Applied Behavior Analysis,” Baer, Wolf, and Risley proposed seven criteria, or dimensions, of applied behavior analysis (Baer et al., 1968).

For this Discussion, you will reflect on the seminal article by Baer et al. (1968), located in this week’s Learning Resources, and evaluate the relevance of the seven dimensions of behavior analysis in the article to the practice of behavior analysis today. You will also identify your most important takeaway from the article. PSYC 6717: Foundation and Philosophy of Behavior Analysis

Reference:
Baer, D. M., Wolf, M. M., & Risley, T. R. (1968). Some current dimensions of applied behavior analysis. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 1(1), 91–97 PSYC 6717: Foundation and Philosophy of Behavior Analysis.

• From the Learning Resources for this week, review the seminal Baer, Wolf, and Risley article and consider how the information applies to applied behavior analysis today.

Post what makes the information in the Baer, Wolf, and Risley article relevant to the practice of Applied Behavior Analysis today, more than 50 years later as well as what is the most important thing you learned from this article and how might this information impact your future professional work as a behavior analyst.

Read your colleagues’ postings.

Respond to at least two colleagues’ posts in one of the following ways:

• Expand on their explanation of what makes the information in the Baer, Wolf, and Risley article relevant to the practice of Applied Behavior Analysis today, more than 50 years later.
• Offer additional insights regarding the most important thing they learned from the article and its potential impact on their future professional work as a behavior analyst PSYC 6717: Foundation and Philosophy of Behavior Analysis.

Be sure to support your posts and responses with specific references to behavior-analytic theory and research. In addition to the Learning Resources, search the Walden Library and/or the internet for peer-reviewed articles to support your posts and responses. Use proper APA format and citations, including those in the Learning Resources.

Return to this Discussion in a few days to read the responses to your initial posting. Note what you have learned and/or any insights that you have gained because of your colleagues’ comments.

The techniques of an intervention should be explicitly identified and described in enough detail that others could replicate it. It should include an evaluative component defining what data you will collect and analyze in order to evaluate whether an intervention is working and whether the desired behavioral change is generalizable across different environments and time. PSYC 6717: Foundation and Philosophy of Behavior Analysis In effect, the data must demonstrate a reliable, functional relationship between the intervention and desired behavioral change.

For this Assignment, you will analyze each of the seven dimensions of applied behavior analysis and provide examples of how each applies to the practice of behavior analysis.PSYC 6717: Foundation and Philosophy of Behavior Analysis

Reference:
Baer, D. M., Wolf, M. M., & Risley, T. R. (1968). Some current dimensions of applied behavior analysis. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 1(1), 91–97.

To Prepare:

• Review the Learning Resources for this week, particularly those describing the dimensions of applied behavior analysis proposed by Baer, Wolf, and Risley.
• Consider how you think each dimension might apply to the practice of behavior analysis.
• Review the interactive media in the Learning Resources, “Dimensions of Applied Behavior Analysis.”

Assignment (1–2 pages)

Explain what Baer, Wolf, and Risley meant when they said each of the following criteria must be present for applied behavior analysis to be considered a science. Give an example of how each applies to the practice of behavior analysis.

• applied
• behavioral
• analytic
• technological
• conceptually systematic
• effective
• capable of appropriately generalized outcomes

Be sure to support your Assignment with specific references to behavior-analytic theory and research. In addition to the Learning Resources, search the Walden Library and/or the internet for peer-reviewed articles to support your Assignment. Use proper APA format and citations, including those in the Learning Resources PSYC 6717: Foundation and Philosophy of Behavior Analysis. 

Submit your Assignment.

To submit your completed Assignment for review and grading, do the following:

• Please save your Assignment using the naming convention “WK5Assgn+last name+first initial.(extension)” as the name.
• Click on the Week 5 Assignment Rubric to review the Grading Criteria for the Assignment.
• Click on the Week 5 Assignment link. You will also be able to “View Rubric” for grading criteria from this area.
• Next, from the Attach File area, click on the Browse My Computer button. Find the document you saved as “WK5Assgn+last name+first initial.(extension)” and click on Open.
• If applicable: From the Plagiarism Tools area, click the checkbox for I agree to submit my paper(s) to the Global Reference Database.
• Click on the Submit button to complete your submission.

In this course, you have explored philosophical underpinnings of applied behavior analysis, specifically selectionism, determinism, empiricism, parsimony, and pragmatism. As a practitioner of applied behavior analysis, you may be asking the question, “Why should I care about theory and philosophy?”

This week, you will examine current behavior analytic literature containing an intervention to address an applied concern and identify the philosophical underpinnings represented in that literature PSYC 6717: Foundation and Philosophy of Behavior Analysis. You will also confirm your understanding of the philosophical underpinnings of applied behavior analysis in the Module 2 Test.

Students will:

• Evaluate philosophical underpinnings of behavior analysis
• Demonstrate understanding of philosophical underpinnings of behavior analysis

Comprehensive, integrated components are a feature in behavior analysis demonstrated by the coordinated interdependence between behavior analytic theory and philosophy, experimental analysis of behavior (EAB), applied behavior analysis (ABA), and delivery of behavioral services.

Attention to the systemic, natural science approach and the coordinated integration of the components of behavior analysis are what distinguish it as a unique field and underpin the rationale for behavior analytic interventions. Because a behavior analyst will typically collaborate with other professionals who adhere to hypothetical constructs that can be anti-behavioral in nature, it is especially important that they be grounded in the theory and philosophy of behavioral analysis in order to effectively represent those ways of thinking about behavior PSYC 6717: Foundation and Philosophy of Behavior Analysis.

In his book, Radical Behaviorism for ABA Practitioners, James M. Johnston provides the following reasons ABA practitioners should understand the philosophical underpinnings of their field (Graff, 2014):

Practitioners work at the interface between science and society and, therefore, must be able to bridge the gap between scientific and everyday understandings of how behavior works.

Most people’s beliefs about how behavior works conflict with established scientific findings.

Practitioners must be able to convince clients and other professionals to support objectives and procedures shown in the ABA literature to be effective.

Understanding radical behaviorism helps ensure consistency between the field’s science and the resulting technology.

Understanding radical behaviorism helps avoid conceptual backsliding that might be encouraged by everyday language. (p. 3)

In this Discussion, you will identify an article you retrieved from the behavior analytic literature (2012 to the present) that describes an intervention to address an applied concern. For the article you select, you will then evaluate how each of the following philosophical underpinnings of behavior analysis are represented: selectionism, determinism, empiricism, parsimony, and pragmatism PSYC 6717: Foundation and Philosophy of Behavior Analysis.

Reference:
Graff, R. B. (2014). A review of radical behaviorism for ABA practitioners by James M. Johnston [Review of the book Radical behaviorism for ABA practitioners, by J. M. Johnston]. APBA Reporter, 50, 1–3.

• Review the Learning Resources for this week in order to gain an understanding of the following philosophical underpinnings of applied behavior analysis: selectionism, determinism, empiricism, parsimony, and pragmatism.
• Identify an article retrieved from the behavior analytic literature (2012 to the present) that describes an intervention to address an applied concern.
• Review the interactive media in the Learning Resources, “Philosophical Underpinnings of Behavior Analysis.”

Post the title of the article you selected and provide a brief summary of the article. Next, include your evaluation of each philosophical underpinning of behavior analysis for the article, including selectionism, determinism, empiricism, parsimony, and pragmatism. Make sure to include a reference and link to your article. Use proper APA format and style. PSYC 6717: Foundation and Philosophy of Behavior Analysis

Read your colleagues’ postings.

Respond to at least two colleagues’ posts by expanding on each colleague’s explanation of how the article does or does not represent each of the philosophical underpinnings of behavior analysis. Provide examples.

Be sure to support your posts and responses with specific references to behavior-analytic theory and research. In addition to the Learning Resources, search the Walden Library and/or the internet for peer-reviewed articles to support your posts and responses. Use proper APA format and citations, including those in the Learning Resources.

Return to this Discussion in a few days to read the responses to your initial posting. Note what you have learned and/or any insights that you have gained because of your colleagues’ comments. PSYC 6717: Foundation and Philosophy of Behavior Analysis

• Review the Learning Resources for each week of Module 2 and consider how these resources will help guide you through your understanding of philosophical underpinnings of applied behavior analysis as you prepare for your Module 2 Test.

• This Test consists of 50 multiple-choice or true/false questions.
• Each question is worth one point. PSYC 6717: Foundation and Philosophy of Behavior Analysis
• Questions are presented in a random order.
• This Test allows you to go back to check or change your answers at any point during your allotted Test time.
• You may use your course readings and other resources to help you. This Test is open book.
• You will have unlimited time to finish this Test by the end of the week.
• You must pass the Test at 90% for competency.
• Once the Test has been submitted, the correct answer will be indicated when you have given an incorrect answer.
• If you need to retake the Test, a new Test will be generated.

Submit your Test by Day 7.

This week was the final week of Module 2: Philosophical Underpinnings. In it, you examined the philosophical underpinnings of a behavior-analytic intervention designed to address an applied concern. You also completed your end-of-module Test, in which you confirmed your understanding of the philosophical underpinnings of applied behavior analysis.

Next week, you will begin Module 3: Concepts and Principles I. You will examine terminology and concepts related to behavior and the environment, focusing specifically on examples of behavior, response, and response class from your own behavioral repertoire.

This week, you analyzed the seven dimensions of behavior analysis proposed by Baer, Wolf, and Risley in their seminal article, “Some Current Dimensions of Applied Behavior Analysis,” and you provided examples of how each apply to the practice of behavior analysis. You also evaluated the relevance of the seven dimensions of behavior analysis to the practice of behavior analysis today PSYC 6717: Foundation and Philosophy of Behavior Analysis.

Next week, you will examine how philosophical underpinnings of applied behavior analysis are represented in current behavior analytic literature. You will also confirm your understanding of the philosophical underpinnings of applied behavior analysis in the Module 2 Test.

Have you ever observed yourself, or someone you know, avoiding a task? Perhaps the task was avoided instead by texting a friend, getting something to eat, or hitting the snooze button on an alarm clock. Those behaviors represented specific instances of behavior, or responses. And while they took different forms, they all had a function; that is, they were all used to affect the environment in the same way—avoiding the task.

In this initial week of Module 3: Concepts and Principles I, you will examine terminology and concepts related to behavior and the environment, focusing specifically on examples of behavior, response, and response class from your own behavioral repertoire.

Students will:

• Identify behavior, response, and response class in behavioral examples
• Analyze real-life behaviors that represent a response class

In this Discussion, you will consider your own behavioral repertoire and identify and define examples of behavior, response, and response class.

Reference:
Cooper, J. O., Heron, T. E., & Heward, W. L. (2020). Applied behavior analysis (3rd ed.). Pearson.

• Review the Learning Resources for this week, including the required weekly media, to gain an understanding of the relationship between behavior and environment, and related terminology.
• Consider your own behavioral repertoire and identify examples of behavior, response, and response class. Review the interactive media in the Learning Resources, “Response and Response Class.”

Post a definition and an example of each of the following from your own behavioral repertoire:

• Behavior
• Response
• Response Class

Read your colleagues’ postings.

Respond to at least two colleagues’ posts by expanding on their examples of behavior, response, and response class.

Be sure to support your posts and responses with specific references to behavior-analytic theory and research. In addition to the Learning Resources, search the Walden Library and/or internet for peer-reviewed articles to support your posts and responses. Use proper APA format and citations, including those in the Learning Resources.

Return to this Discussion in a few days to read the responses to your initial posting. Note what you have learned and/or any insights that you have gained because of your colleagues’ comments. PSYC 6717: Foundation and Philosophy of Behavior Analysis

To Prepare:

• Consider behaviors in your own life in which you engage on a regular basis.

Assignment (1–2 pages)

• Identify a behavior in your own life in which you engage on a regular basis.
• Identify at least five different responses that can lead to the same result.
• Which of these do you engage in most frequently to achieve that result? Why?
• PSYC 6717: Foundation and Philosophy of Behavior Analysis

Be sure to support your Assignment with specific references to behavior-analytic theory and research. In addition to the Learning Resources, search the Walden Library and/or the internet for peer-reviewed articles to support your Assignment. Use proper APA format and citations, including those in the Learning Resources. 

Submit your Assignment.

To submit your completed Assignment for review and grading, do the following:

• Please save your Assignment using the naming convention “WK7Assgn+last name+first initial.(extension)” as the name.
• Click on the Week 7 Assignment Rubric to review the Grading Criteria for the Assignment.
• Click on the Week 7 Assignment link. You will also be able to “View Rubric” for grading criteria from this area.
• Next, from the Attach File area, click on the Browse My Computer button. Find the document you saved as “WK7Assgn+last name+first initial.(extension)” and click on Open.
• If applicable: From the Plagiarism Tools area, click the checkbox for I agree to submit my paper(s) to the Global Reference Database. PSYC 6717: Foundation and Philosophy of Behavior Analysis
• Click on the Submit button to complete your submission.

This week was the firstweek of Module 3: Concepts and Principles I. You examined terminology and concepts related to behavior and the environment, focusing specifically on examples of behavior, response, and response class from your own behavioral repertoire.

Next week, you will examine the associative learning processes of operant conditioning and respondent (classical) conditioning. You will consider behaviors for which each might be used most appropriately to understand and address a client’s behavior PSYC 6717: Foundation and Philosophy of Behavior Analysis.

Among the foundational concepts of applied behavior analysis (ABA) are respondent (classical) conditioning and operant conditioning. While operant conditioning clearly dominates the ABA field, there are also appropriate uses of respondent (classical) conditioning. In both cases, the behavior analyst seeks to manipulate the environment in order to effect behavior change—replacing undesired behaviors with desirable ones.

This week, you will examine operant and respondent (classical) conditioning and how each can be used to establish and modify behaviors. In addition, you will analyze the role of respondent (classical) conditioning in the practice of behavior analysis.

Students will:

• Evaluate operant and respondent conditioning for selected behaviors
• Analyze the role of respondent (classical) conditioning in the practice of behavior analysis

A thorough understanding of the similarities and differences between respondent (classical) conditioning and operant conditioning can provide you clarity about which would be most appropriate to apply in a given learning situation.

For this Discussion, you will contrast operant conditioning and respondent (classical) conditioning in the acquisition of a behavior and a rationale for the use of each. You will also identify behaviors that could be established using each technique.

• Review the Learning Resources for this week.
• Contrast operant conditioning and respondent conditioning in the acquisition of a behavior and consider why each works with some behaviors and not with others PSYC 6717: Foundation and Philosophy of Behavior Analysis.
• Select two behaviors, one that could be established through operant conditioning and one that could be established through respondent conditioning.
• Review the interactive media in the Learning Resources, “Respondent or Operant Conditioning?”

Post an explanation contrasting operant conditioning and respondent conditioning in the acquisition of a behavior. Be sure to identify why each works with some behaviors and not with others. Then, explain why each of the two behaviors you chose is more appropriate for respondent or operant conditioning.

Read your colleagues’ postings.

Respond to at least two colleagues’ posts by expanding on each of their explanations of how their chosen behaviors are more appropriate for respondent or operant conditioning.

Be sure to support your posts and responses with specific references to behavior-analytic theory and research. In addition to the Learning Resources, search the Walden Library and/or the internet for peer-reviewed articles to support your posts and responses. Use proper APA format and citations, including those in the Learning Resources.

Return to this Discussion in a few days to read the responses to your initial posting. Note what you have learned and/or any insights that you have gained because of your colleagues’ comments. PSYC 6717: Foundation and Philosophy of Behavior Analysis.

Perhaps you, or someone you know, was the victim of bullying at school. The bullying often creates emotional distress for the victim. Using the behaviorist assumptions, bullying is the interaction with the environment and the emotional distress is the behavior, or reflex, shaped by the environment. Classical conditioning involves placing a neutral signal before a naturally occurring reflex. PSYC 6717: Foundation and Philosophy of Behavior Analysis If a neutral stimulus (e.g., school) is paired with the bullying, school will come to evoke the emotional distress. At this point, the once neutral stimulus becomes known as the conditioned stimulus and evokes a learned, conditioned response of emotional distress.

Quantifying and collecting data about observable behaviors can be used to identify effective, evidence-based therapeutic interventions that can be helpful in changing undesirable behaviors. For this Assignment, you will evaluate the role of respondent (classical) conditioning and how it might be used in practice to better understand a client’s behavior.

To Prepare:

• Review this week’s Learning Resources to gain an understanding of respondent (classical) conditioning.
• Consider how respondent (classical) conditioning might be used to better understand client behavior.

Assignment (1–2 pages)

• Why is it important to not forget the role of respondent (classical) conditioning as a practicing behavior analyst?
• Give an original example of how respondent (classical) conditioning could be used in your practice to better understand a client’s behavior. PSYC 6717: Foundation and Philosophy of Behavior Analysis

Be sure to support your Assignment with specific references to behavior-analytic theory and research. In addition to the Learning Resources, search the Walden Library and/or the internet for peer-reviewed articles to support your Assignment. Use proper APA format and citations, including those in the Learning Resources. PSYC 6717: Foundation and Philosophy of Behavior Analysis.

Submit your Assignment.

To submit your completed Assignment for review and grading, do the following:

• Please save your Assignment using the naming convention “WK8Assgn+last name+first initial.(extension)” as the name.
• Click on the Week 8 Assignment Rubric to review the Grading Criteria for the Assignment.
• Click on the Week 8 Assignment link. You will also be able to “View Rubric” for grading criteria from this area.
• Next, from the Attach File area, click on the Browse My Computer button. Find the document you saved as “WK8Assgn+last name+first initial.(extension)” and click on Open.
• If applicable: From the Plagiarism Tools area, click the checkbox for I agree to submit my paper(s) to the Global Reference Database.
• Click on the Submit button to complete your submission.

This week was the second week of Module 3: Concepts and Principles I. You examined the associative learning processes of operant conditioning and respondent (classical) conditioning. PSYC 6717: Foundation and Philosophy of Behavior Analysis Additionally, you considered behaviors for which each might be used most appropriately to understand and address a client’s behavior.

Next week, you will complete Module 3. You will evaluate a problematic contingency scenario and propose a solution to address the problem. In addition, you will demonstrate your understanding of concepts and principles of behavior by taking the Module Test. PSYC 6717: Foundation and Philosophy of Behavior Analysis