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Behavioral Science Glossary

100 terms total — 24 showing — Last updated 15 Sep 2026

dialectical behavior therapy

Professional Technical IVT

A comprehensive cognitive-behavioral treatment approach that integrates mindfulness and distress tolerance skills, originally developed for borderline personality disorder.

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ABAB design

Intermediate Technical IVT

A single-case experimental design alternating between baseline and intervention phases to demonstrate functional control...

Technical Term Full entry →

ABACBC design

Advanced Technical IVT

A single-subject research design that alternates between baseline and multiple treatment conditions to compare intervent...

Technical Term Full entry →

aberrant behavior checklist

Professional Technical IVT

A standardized assessment tool measuring problem behaviors in individuals with developmental disabilities across multipl...

Document Type Full entry →

acceptance and commitment therapy

Professional Technical IVT

A behavioral therapy approach that uses mindfulness and acceptance strategies combined with commitment and behavior chan...

ACT
Technical Term Full entry →

antecedent intervention

Intermediate Technical IVT

A proactive strategy that modifies environmental conditions occurring before a behavior to prevent problem behaviors or...

Technical Term Full entry →

antecedent-behavior-consequence

Intermediate Technical IVT

A three-term contingency analysis framework examining what occurs before a behavior (antecedent), the behavior itself, a...

Technical Term Full entry →

applied behavior analysis

Professional Technical IVT

A scientific approach that applies principles of learning theory to systematically change socially significant behaviors...

Technical Term Full entry →

backward chaining

Intermediate Technical IVT

A teaching procedure that begins instruction with the last step of a task sequence and progressively adds earlier steps.

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baseline data

Intermediate Technical IVT

Initial measurements of behavior or symptoms collected before intervention implementation.

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BCBA

Intermediate Technical IVT

Board Certified Behavior Analyst - a professional certification for practitioners who implement behavior analytic interv...

Abbreviation Full entry →

behavior analytic

Intermediate Technical IVT

Relating to or characterized by the systematic application of behavioral principles and scientific methodology to unders...

Style Convention Full entry →

behavioral activation

Intermediate Technical IVT

A therapeutic approach that increases engagement in meaningful activities to improve mood and functioning.

Technical Term Full entry →

behavioral assessment

Intermediate Technical IVT

A systematic process of gathering information about behavior patterns, environmental factors, and functional relationshi...

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behavioral contract

Intermediate Formal IVT

A written agreement between parties that specifies target behaviors, consequences, and contingencies to promote behavior...

Technical Term Full entry →

behavioral contrast

Advanced Technical IVT

A phenomenon where changes in reinforcement for one behavior lead to opposite changes in other behaviors in the repertoi...

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behavioral cusping

Advanced Technical IVT

The phenomenon where learning one behavior leads to the acquisition of multiple related behaviors without direct teachin...

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behavioral economics

Advanced Technical IVT

The study of how psychological, social, and emotional factors influence economic decision-making within behavioral inter...

Technical Term Full entry →

behavioral fluency

Intermediate Technical IVT

The combination of accuracy and speed in performing behaviors, indicating mastery and automaticity of skills.

Technical Term Full entry →

behavioral intervention plan

Intermediate Technical IVT

A written strategy document outlining specific interventions to address problematic behaviors based on functional assess...

Document Type Full entry →

behavioral momentum

Advanced Technical IVT

The tendency for behavior patterns to persist or resist change, influenced by the rate and history of reinforcement in a...

Technical Term Full entry →

behavioral momentum theory

Advanced Technical IVT

A theoretical framework explaining response persistence based on the reinforcement history in the context where behavior...

Technical Term Full entry →

behavioral objective

Intermediate Technical IVT

A precisely written statement describing observable, measurable behavior changes to be achieved through intervention.

Technical Term Full entry →

behavioral parent training

Intermediate Technical IVT

A systematic approach to teaching parents behavioral management techniques to address children's disruptive or problemat...

Technical Term Full entry →

behavioral pharmacology

Advanced Technical IVT

The study of how medications and drugs affect behavior, often used to evaluate treatment outcomes in behavioral interven...

Technical Term Full entry →
Showing 1–24 of 100

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