Key Concepts in Behavior Analysis

Study Notes

Key Concepts in Stimulus Classes and Control

Antecedent Stimulus Class: A group of stimuli that share an inherent relationship, all causing the same operant or respondent behavior.
Arbitrary Stimulus Class: A collection of antecedent stimuli that evoke identical responses but lack physical resemblance or relational aspects, e.g., different food items evoking "sources of protein."
Concept Formation: Involves complex stimulus control requiring both generalization within stimulus classes and discrimination between different classes.
Discriminative Stimulus (SD): A specific stimulus where particular responses have been reinforced, leading to behavior that is context-dependent.
Feature Stimulus Class: Stimuli that have similar physical attributes or relative relationships, such as shape, size, or color.
Matching-to-Sample: A procedure to study conditional relations where participants match a sample stimulus to comparison stimuli, reinforcing matches but not non-matches.
Reflexivity: A stimulus-to-stimulus relation where a learner can match a stimulus to itself without prior training, exemplified by A = A.
Stimulus Control: Occurs when the presence or absence of an antecedent stimulus affects the frequency, timing, or intensity of a behavior.
Stimulus Delta (SΔ): A stimulus where a specific behavior has historically not led to reinforcement.
Stimulus Discrimination Training: Involves training a behavior under two different antecedent conditions, reinforcing responses in the presence of one condition (SD) while not reinforcing in another (SΔ).
Stimulus Equivalence: The ability to respond accurately to untrained stimulus relations after training on specific relations, demonstrated through reflexivity, symmetry, and transitivity.
Stimulus Generalization: Occurs when behaviors evoked in response to a stimuli extend to other stimuli that share similar properties.
Stimulus Generalization Gradient: A visual representation illustrating how behavior reinforced in the presence of a specific stimulus is shown in the presence of various other stimuli, highlighting levels of generalization and discrimination through slope variations.
Symmetry: A stimulus-to-stimulus relation where the learner can reverse a match between stimuli, such that if A = B, then B = A, without prior training.
Transitivity: A relationship that emerges between stimuli based on trained relationships, allowing for the understanding of untrained connections, such as if A = B and B = C, then A = C.

Description

Explore the fundamentals of stimulus classes and control in behavior analysis. This quiz covers antecedent and arbitrary classes, concept formation, and discriminative stimuli. Test your understanding of these essential concepts in behavioral psychology.