Applied behavior analysis (ABA) constitutes one third of the field of behavior analysis. In contrast to the experimental analysis of behavior and radical behaviorism, which are, respectively, the experimental and philosophical branches of behavior analysis, ABA is focused on the application of experimentally derived principles of learning, such as operant and respondent conditioning. The goal of ABA is to improve behavior of social significance.

ABA used to be known as behavior modification. The essential difference between the two is that behavior modification did not make use of the analytic assessment methods that identify behavior-environment relations as a basis of informing intervention, which is a central characteristic of ABA.

ABA is most comprehensively defined by examining its seven primary dimensions. This examination is found herein. Five additional ...

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