Defining Human Behavior

Defining Human Behavior Characteristics of 1. What people do or say behavior : - described in action verbs - able to identify what a person does or say identified behavior. Ex) Mo screamed at her sister, ran upstairs i Slammed her room door. (behavior labeled as angry) 2. Behavior has demensions that can bc measured - Frequency: count the # of times a behavior has happened. (e.g. Ja taps her Pen on a desk 10x in class) - duration: time when benavior starts until it stops le.g. Mo jogged for 20 min) - intensity of behavior: physical force involved in behavior: (e.g. ManMan bench pressed 150 pounds) speed of behavior latency From some event to the Start of behavior. ALL ARE DEMENTIONS OF BEHAVFOR!!! 3. Behavior can be observed, described, and recorded by others. 4. Behaviors can impact the environment: - includes physical E social environment ( other people t ourselves. - behavior is an action that involves space and time; the occurrence of behavior has some effect on the environment.

Defining Human Behavior Characteristics of le.g. turn on the light switch; the light goes on (effect on the behavior physical environment) (e.g. you raise your hand; your teacher calls on you (effect on other People) (e.g. you recite a phone # ; you are more likely to remember it t dial it correctly (effect on yourself) Sometimes its not obvious, sometimes the effect of behavior is only on the person who engages init. 5. Behavior IS lawful. it's occurence is systematically influenced by the environment, Basic behavioral principles describe the Functional relationships between our behavior and environmental events. These principles describe how our behavior IS influenced by or occurs as a Function of, environmental events. 100 High Law High Lew High All ATT ATT ATT ATT 75 50 25 0 0 5 to 10 Sessions This graph, adapted from study by Ourand and Cas (1992) shows the influence of teacher often tion on the distructive behavior defined as pushing away test materials loud screeming whining or crying and hitting or knocking over objects of young boy (Paul) na special education class room The graph shows that disruptive behavior does not OCCUR when Paul receives frequent teacher attention High ATT) However, when Paul receives teacher attention infrequently (Low ATT) he engages in disruptive behavior about 50% of the time This graph shows the functional relationship between the teacher's attention and Paul's chroutive behavior From Durand V. M &

Characteristics of 6). Be havior may be overt and covert. behavior: + most of the time behavior modification procedures are used to understand and change overt behavior. - overt behavior: an action that can be observed & recorded by a Person other than the one engaging in behavior. - covert behaviors: also called"private events" are not observable by others. For example, Thinking IS covert behavior, it cannot lot observed and recorded by another person; only by the person engaging in the behavior. Defining Behavior Behavior Modification: the applied science & professional Modification practice concerned w/ analyzing and modifying human behavior. - -Analyzing: identifying the Functional relationship between environmental events ia particular behavior to understand the reasons for behavior or to determine why a person as he or she did. - Modifying: developing and implementing procedures to help people change their behavior.

B.M.: Behavior modification Characteristics of be havior modification 1. Focus on behavior. B.M. procedures are designed to change behavior, not a personal characteristic or trait, There Fore, be havior modification dr-emphasizes labeling. For ex BM IS not used to change (alabel); rather B.M. is used to change problematic behavior exhibited by children wl autism. - Behavioral excesses and deficits are targets For change wl B.M. procedures. In B.M., the be havior to be modified iscalled the Target behavior, - A behavior excess IS an undesirable target behavior the person wants to decrease in Frequency, duration, or intensity. For ex) smoking - A behavior deficit is a desireable target behavior the person wants to increase in frequency duration, or intensity. EX) excersizing & studying 2. Guided by the theory and philosophy of behaviersm. Initially developed by B.F. Skinner. 3. Procedures based on behaviral principles B.M. is the app. of basic principles originally derived from experimental research wl Laboratory animals. The sciemific study of human behavior to help people change behavior in meaningful ways IS called applied behavior analysis (ABA)

Characteristics of 4. Emphasis on current environmental B,M, environmental events. - B.M. involves assessing in modifying the current environmental events that are Functionally related to behavior, - Human behavior is controlled by events in the immediate environment, & the gual of B.M. is to identify these events. 5. Precise description of B.M. procedures. - B.M. procedures involves specific change in environmental events that are Functionally related to behavior, - For procedures to effective each time they are used, the specific changes in environment events must occur each time. 6. Treatments implemented by people in everyday life. - implemented by teachers, parents, job supery. etc. but should do so after sufficient training, to do it correctly.

7. Measurement of be havior change. - measuring behavior before 3 after intervention to document the behavior change resulting FYDM the B.M. procedures. 8. Dr-Emphasis - on past events as causes of brhavior -knowledge of past events can be useful into about environmental events related to the current behavior, Ex) previous learning experiences have been shown to inFiverce current behavior. 9. Rejection of hypotretical underlying causes OF behavior. - B.M. rejects hypotretical explanations or behavior. - -Skinner calls it "explanatory Fictions" bc they can never be proved or disproved, E thus are unscientific.

Historical roots Major Figures Ivan P. Pavlov (1849-1936) + conducted experiments that uncovered the basic processes oF respondent conditioning Edward L. Thorndike + major contribution: description of the law of effect! law OF effect: behavior that produces a Favorable effect on the environment is more likely to be repeated. in the future. John B. Watson (1878-1958) - -started the movement behaviorism B.F. Skinner (1904-1990) - skinners work IS the foundation OF behavior modif. Philosophical assumptions OF Benavior analysis 1. Selectionism 2. Determinism- 3. Empiricism 5. Pragmansm 1. natural selection 2. every event IS casually determined by an unbroken chain of prior occurences. 3. all of our knowledge comes through the use OF the five senses. 4. thinking OF or dealing w/ problems in a Practical way, rather using theory or abstract Principles

Behaviorism Methodical behavior: observable, measureable behaviors and events should be the FOCUS, and anything un observable should be disregarded. Radical behaviorism: behavior analytic principles apply to ALL behaviors, observable & unobservable. overt ? covert Ments Skinner Notable names: Lovaas: intensive behavioral intervention using ABA to treat autism. ABA E ASD Treating autism spectiven disorder is most common Individuals diagnosed w/ ASD: deficits in communication and Social interaction restrictive 3 repetitive patterns of benavior

Nevro divesity: There IS a natural Variation in human behav