Assumptions that Underlie Behavioral Theory

Assumptions that Underlie Behavioral Theory

Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is based on Skinner’s behavioral theory. According to Yell et al. (2013), behavioral theory has three basic assumptions. The first assumption is that a behavior sequence has three attributes: consequences, behavior, and antecedents. Second, behavior, that is, how someone behaves at a certain time, is a consequence of existing antecedents as well as the individual’s history of results linked with the antecedents. Third, teachers need to control and manage consequences and antecedents to encourage learning behaviors that are socially desirable to students.

In these assumptions, some terms may not be comprehended. Antecedents refer to the stimuli, events, or conditions that set the event for the behavior to happen since they send signals that particular results are available for certain behaviors (Yell et al., 2013). For instance, the antecedent for answering a ringing telephone is the telephone ringing. In other words, antecedents trigger a certain behavior. This is, therefore, the ‘when’ component in the behavior sequence.

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In addition, behavior refers to a response to the antecedent and is the intermediate between antecedent and consequence (Yell et al., 2013). Behavior can be observed in a person. For instance, one can observe another person answering the telephone in response to the ringing sound. Thus, behavior happens after the antecedent and is the ‘what’ component in the behavior sequence.

Lastly, consequences come after behavior. According to Yell et al. (2013), consequences are contingent on a person’s behavior and affect the chance of future behavior happening under a similar antecedent context. For example, the consequence of answering the phone may be the yelling voice of a marketer. This would determine whether the person answering the phone would want to answer the phone from that marketer again in the future. Thus, consequences are the ‘why’ component’ of the behavior sequence.

In summary, behavioral theory is based on the relationships between and among three components: antecedents, behavior, and consequences. With these three being the first assumption of the theory, it is noted that behavior is influenced by a person’s antecedent event and the history of the previous consequences linked to those antecedents. This is the second assumption, as discussed. Lastly, teachers must control and manage the consequences and antecedents to facilitate effective learning of desirable behaviors. Thus, the assumptions of the behavioral theory are based on the interconnectedness of the behavioral sequence components.

References

Yell, M.L., Meadows, N.B., Drasgow, E., & Shriner, J.G. (2013). Evidence-Based Practices for Educating Students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders. Boston, MA: Pearson.

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Assumptions that Underlie Behavioral TheoryAssumptions that Underlie Behavioral Theory

Applied behavior analysis is based on behavioral theory. There are three assumptions that underlie behavioral theory. Discuss these three assumptions.