Behavioral Science Glossary
100 terms total — 24 showing — Last updated 15 Sep 2026
dialectical behavior therapy
A comprehensive cognitive-behavioral treatment approach that integrates mindfulness and distress tolerance skills, originally developed for borderline personality disorder.
pivotal response training
A naturalistic behavioral intervention that targets pivotal behaviors to produce widespread positive changes across mult...
preference assessment
A systematic evaluation to identify items, activities, or experiences that an individual finds reinforcing or motivating...
progressive muscle relaxation
A systematic relaxation technique involving the sequential tensing and releasing of specific muscle groups to reduce phy...
prompt hierarchy
A systematic arrangement of prompts from least to most intrusive, used to teach new skills while promoting independence.
response allocation
The distribution of an individual's behavioral responses across available options or concurrent schedules of reinforceme...
response class
A group of behaviors that serve the same function or produce similar environmental consequences.
response cost
A punishment procedure involving the removal of a specified amount of reinforcement contingent upon the occurrence of in...
response effort
The amount of physical or cognitive energy required to perform a particular behavior.
response generalization
The occurrence of behaviors that are similar to, but not identical to, the originally trained response.
response latency
The time interval between the presentation of a stimulus and the initiation of the target response.
rule-governed behavior
Behaviors that are controlled by verbal instructions, descriptions, or rules rather than by direct contact with environm...
satiation procedure
A behavior reduction technique that involves providing continuous or excessive access to a reinforcer until it temporari...
self-monitoring
A behavioral strategy in which individuals systematically observe and record their own behavior to increase awareness an...
shaping procedure
A method of teaching new behaviors by reinforcing successive approximations toward a target behavior.
social skills training
A structured behavioral intervention that teaches specific interpersonal skills through instruction, modeling, practice,...
social validity
The social acceptability and practical importance of behavioral intervention goals, procedures, and outcomes as judged b...
stimulus control
The degree to which antecedent stimuli reliably evoke specific behavioral responses based on learning history.
stimulus equivalence
The emergence of untrained conditional relationships between stimuli that results in reflexivity, symmetry, and transiti...
stimulus fading
A gradual reduction of prompts or cues used to support a behavior until the behavior occurs independently under natural...
stimulus generalization
The tendency for a learned response to occur in the presence of stimuli that are similar to the original training stimul...
timeout procedure
A punishment technique involving temporary removal of access to reinforcement following inappropriate behavior.
token economy
A behavior modification system using symbolic rewards that can be exchanged for desired items or privileges.
topographical analysis
The systematic examination of the physical form, appearance, or structure of behaviors rather than their function or pur...
topography
The physical form or appearance of a behavior, describing what the behavior looks like rather than its function.