BACB Task List 5th Edition Questions & Answers 2024.

BACB Task List 5th Edition Questions & Answers 2024.A-1: Identify the goals of behavior analysis as a science (i.e., description, prediction, control) - correct answer Description Definition: A collection of facts about the observed event(s) that can be quantified, classified and examined for possible similarities to other known facts. ("I know what the behavior looks/sounds like.") EX: description of the events that are associated with self-injurious and aggressive behavior exhibited by the child. Prediction Definition: Repeated observations reveal that observing other events can consistently result in accurately anticipating an outcome. ("I know when the behavior will occur.") Control Definition: A specific change in one event can be reliably produced by scientific manipulation of another event. This change is not due to other factors or variables. ("I can turn this behavior on and off like a faucet.") A-2: Explain the philosophical assumptions underlying the science of behavior analysis (e.g., selectionism, determinism, empiricism, parsimony, pragmatism) - correct answer Selectionism (Phylogeny and Ontogeny) Definition: All life forms naturally and continually evolve through their learning history and evolutionary development. This happens at an individual level, and also on a species level. Example in everyday context: An ultra-marathoner may be able to run without stopping for many hours, without any harm to their health. Environmental variables related to exercise behaviors shaped this ability over the person's lifetime. Phylogeny: The natural evolution of a species which includes the inheritance of survival characteristics passed down from one generation to the next.