Deck 1: Discovery in Research and Practice

Question 1

The key to understanding how scientific discoveries work lies in what basic truth about scientist (or investigator) behavior?

A) Scientist behavior can be examined using the same experimental tools as any other behavior
B) Scientist behavior should only be measured and analyzed by other scientists
C) Scientist behaviors are too complex for measurement
D) Scientist behaviors are not relevant and should not be measured

Answer 1

A

Question 2

What is the difference between the primary focus of researchers and practitioners?

A) Researchers focus on changing individual's problematic behaviors by altering conditions in their environment. Practitioners conduct highly controlled experimental studies to determine the best behavior-change procedures to use with their clients.
B) Researchers try to discover relations between environment and behavior. Practitioners focus on improving lives.
C) Researchers work exclusively with nonhuman organisms to discover relations between the behavior and the environment that may generalize to human populations. Practitioners apply the research from nonhuman populations to their clients.
D) There is essentially no difference between the focus of researchers and practitioners.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Which outcome is likely a major reinforcer for researchers?

A) Being able to identify extraneous variables affecting the independent variable
B) Consistently demonstrating how the dependent variable affects the independent variable
C) Publishing enough articles, chapters, and books to be promoted and receive tenure at their university
D) Obtaining a clear picture of the effects of the independent variable on behavior

Answer 3

D

Question 4

How is it that an investigator (researcher or practitioner) both controls and is controlled by the subject matter?

A) The investigator must control the factors whose effects are under study and other outside factors, while the data from the study serve as a prompt for any needed changes
B) The investigator selects the subject matter that they are interested in and the literature controls what research design is selected
C) The investigator controls the factors whose effects are under study and other outside factors, while the literature controls what research design is selected
D) The investigator selects the subject matter to be studied, and the variability in the data controls what type of research design is selected

Question 5

The scientific discovery of behavior includes which of the following activities?

A) Creating experimental and alternative hypotheses and making assumptions about results of a study
B) Measuring behavior and including only results that match a hypothesis
C) Framing questions, measuring behavior, analyzing data, drawing conclusions
D) Discussing variables that could affect behavior without direct measurement

Question 6

Talking about investigator behavior in the same way that we approach any other behavior of interest is useful because it can help us:

A) identify antecedents and consequences that have influenced investigator behaviors and methodological decision-making
B) determine if the proper methodological protocol was followed
C) communicate our results in a more efficient manner
D) identify any unethical behaviors and take the proper course of action

Question 7

An investigator conducts a study during which she varies the enthusiasm of praise statements given by therapists and measures the number of skills acquired by clients. The enthusiasm of praise statements is the ______ variable and the number of skills acquired is the ______ variable.

A) Dependent; independent
B) Independent; dependent
C) Extraneous; dependent
D) Independent; extraneous

Question 8

A researcher has two groups of participants, one group receives monetary compensation for completing exercise activities and the other group does not. All individuals in both groups are weighed weekly. What is the dependent variable in this study?

A) The amount of money earned by the participants
B) Whether or not the participants participate in the daily exercise regimen
C) The weight (in pounds) of the participants
D) The amount of time spent exercising

Question 9

______ may be described as a set of loose rules and traditions that have evolved over many years of experimental practice.

A) Scientific method
B) Experimental control
C) Applied behavior analysis
D) Advocacy research

Question 10

All studies require a unique series of decisions made by investigators, and consequences of those decisions should:

A) be acknowledged as they occur and future studies should be arranged to avoid them
B) lead to a clear picture of effects of certain conditions on target behaviors
C) be ignored because all decisions must be followed through and not changed
D) always pay off with grant funding, publications, and formal awards

Question 11

All choices made by investigators have an effect on ___________.

A) what results of the investigation show
B) conclusions that can be made based on the results
C) future choices the same investigators will make
D) all of the above can be influenced

Question 12

A main difference between practitioners and researchers is _______.

A) their approach to careful measurement of behavior
B) the amount of control they can achieve over all factors that might affect behavior
C) the types of interventions they implement
D) that researchers do not collect baseline data

Question 13

For practitioners, carefully tracking changes in target behaviors of clients is essential for______.

A) setting up an analog environment for future investigations
B) gaining future employment as researchers
C) determining if treatment was implemented correctly by therapists
D) making informed treatment decisions

Question 14

Practitioners must understand research methods because they ______.

A) are the primary authors of behavior analytic research in scientific journals
B) need to be critical consumers of research for making clinical decisions
C) conduct exact replications of published studies with every client they serve
D) often teach research methods courses

Question 15

Practitioners and researchers both share the same interest in:

A) conducting experiments about the relationship between variables by arranging conditions to examine them
B) changing an individual's behavior so that it improves lives
C) utilizing behavioral methods for studying or changing behavior
D) replicating only studies that have already been published

Question 16

Megan is a BCBA Practitioner and she discovered some interesting clinical findings with one of her clients. She is interested in studying these results more. Which of the below is her best option?

A) Ethics would discourage studying this further, Megan should be pleased with the clinical success she discovered
B) Megan could consider conducting a more systematic investigation and utilize these findings as a question for further study
C) As a practitioner, Megan can only engage in informal evaluations and would need to refer any future study to university researchers
D) Megan should read more published studies on the topic to learn more about what she found, she should not conduct a future study as a practitioner

Question 17

A researcher has two groups of participants, one group receives monetary compensation for completing exercise activities and the other group does not. All individuals in both groups are weighed weekly. What is a potential extraneous variable to control for in this study?

A) The monetary compensation provided
B) What participants eat while taking part in the study
C) The weight (in pounds) of the participants
D) Whether or not the participants are in the exercise or control group

Question 18

Basic and applied behavior analysis research has been guided by many of the same fundamental methodological principles of other ______.

A) areas of psychology
B) natural sciences
C) fields of education
D) human services

Question 19

Both practitioners and researchers in behavior analysis

A) view behaviors in terms of antecedents and consequences
B) carefully measure target behaviors
C) graph and analyze data to make conclusions
D) all of the above

Question 20

Most applied behavior analysts are not researchers, but work to

A) read research and replicate studies exactly as they were written
B) publish their findings in journals with researchers
C) change individual's behaviors in socially significant ways
D) have as many clients as possible to make larger impacts than researchers

Question 21

What does it mean to say that the investigator's behavior should come largely under control of the subject matter (i.e., the data)?

Question 22

Describe how the scientific method is critical for both practitioners and researchers.

Question 23

Emily is a BCBA practitioner who is curious about the effects of a picture schedule on the problem behavior with one of her clients. In order for her to evaluate this scientifically, what does Emily need to do?

Question 24

Describe why it may be beneficial to examine the behavior of investigators in terms of antecedents and consequences.

Question 25

In behavior analysis, why is it important to have comparisons of baseline and intervention phases?

Question 26

Describe the primary difference between practitioners and researchers.

Question 27

How do practitioners differ from researchers if they find an intervention did not work as intended?

Question 28

Describe the evolution of the field of behavior analysis from basic research to Applied Behavior Analysis.

Question 29

Why is it useful to view research as the behavior of scientists?

Question 30

How do scientists differ from other individuals?

Question 31

Looking at scientist activities behaviorally, describe how we identify the established methodological traditions of behavior analysis.

Question 32

What is the main difference between the likely terminal reinforcer for researchers and practitioners?

Question 33

Why is the discovery of behavior not a matter of following rules like recipes in a cookbook?

Question 34

Why do practitioners not always have the luxury of arranging carefully planned comparisons of baseline and treatment conditions?

Question 35

Brian is practitioner who provides direct services to a child who engages in food selectivity in a clinic setting. Jenny is a researcher who has a research program focusing on utilizing differential reinforcement for food selectivity. Given how practitioners and researchers differ in focus, describe how Brian and Jenny's focus for food selectivity differs.

Question 36

Stephen is a researcher interested in investigating the impact of a demand fading procedure on elopement. Briefly describe a study he could arrange for this question and include the dependent variable he could use, the independent variable he could include, and at least one possible extraneous variable he should to consider.

Question 37

Describe the problem with researchers allowing other influences (not data) to dominate their decision-making.

Question 38

If most applied behavior analysts are not employed as researchers, what are they employed to do?

Question 39

Describe what researchers and practitioners have in common in behavior analysis.