
Generalization and How It Applies to ABA Therapy
- Teaching many examples. One of the most reliable ways to reach generalization is to teach many different examples. ...
- Teaching across many people. Generalization across people is going to be easier if a child has several different teachers rather than just one.
- Teach with multiple instructions. ...
- Choose “functional” behaviors. ...
What jobs can you get with Masters in ABA?
– Top Jobs for Master’s in Applied Behavior Analysis
- Clinical Behavior Analysis Therapy. ...
- Education/Special Education/School Counseling. ...
- Business/Human Resources. ...
- Occupational Safety. ...
- Social Work/Social Assistance. ...
- Health and Wellness. ...
- Market Research. ...
What is the difference between ABA and autism?
Education Requirements for Both Fields
- Professional Ethics for Research
- Ethics for Professional Practice
- Child Development
- Assessment and Intervention (Academic)
- Functional Behavioral Assessment or FBA is a cornerstone ABA
- Behavioral Assessment
How is naturalistic teaching used in ABA?
- Do pick target behaviors that are incompatible with negative behaviors.
- Do include a variety of reinforcers.
- Do set up a schedule for delivering reinforcement.
- Do be consistent with all students and in all subjects/classrooms.
- Do be excited and enthusiastic.
- Do include visuals and plan for differentiation.
What does ABA stand for in psychology?
ABA Psychology Abbreviation. 1. ABA. Activity-Based Anorexia. Medical, Psychiatry, Mental ...

What is generalization in therapy?
Generalization is when an individual applies something learned in a specific situation to other similar situations which is marked by progress toward therapy goals.
Why is generalization so important in ABA?
It is important because it increases the likelihood that the learner will be successful at completing a task independently and not have to rely on the assistance of a certain teacher or materials only found in one teaching setting. The importance of the generalization of skills is often overlooked.
What is a generalization and examples?
generalization, in psychology, the tendency to respond in the same way to different but similar stimuli. For example, a dog conditioned to salivate to a tone of a particular pitch and loudness will also salivate with considerable regularity in response to tones of higher and lower pitch.
What are the types of generalization ABA?
Generalization includes three specific forms: Stimulus generalization, response generalization, and maintenance. Stimulus generalization involves the occurrence of a behavior in response to another similar stimulus.
What is the main goal of generalization?
Generalization allows humans and animals to recognize the similarities in knowledge acquired in one circumstance, allowing for transfer of knowledge onto new situations. This idea rivals the theory of situated cognition, instead stating that one can apply past knowledge to learning in new situations and environments.
What are the three characteristics of a good generalization?
As well as being generalizations based on repeated empirical evidence, good empirical generalizations have five other characteristics: scope, precision, parsimony, usefulness, and a link with theory.
What does generalization mean in simple words?
1 : the act of forming conclusions from a small amount of information. 2 : a general statement : a conclusion based on only a small number of items or instances. generalization. noun.
How do you identify generalization?
A generalization is a broad statement that applies to many examples. A generalization is formed from several examples or facts and what they have in common. Readers recognize and evaluate generalizations made by an author. Readers make and support their own generalizations based on reading a selection.
How do you explain generalization to a child?
Generalization is defined as the ability for a child to display a skill or behavior in the presence of a variety of people, across various settings/contexts, and over increasing lengths of time.
What are the 7 ways to program for generalization?
7 Strategies to Promote GeneralizationFlashcards. Review terms and definitions.Learn. Focus your studying with a path.Test. Take a practice test.Match. Get faster at matching terms.
How do you program for generalization?
It is important to note that a behavior analyst should always program explicitly for generalization and never assume that generalization comes “for free.” Programming for generalization consists of 1) targeting the behavior and identifying natural reinforcement and 2) indicating the different environments, people and ...
What are the characteristics of generalization?
A generalization is a form of abstraction whereby common properties of specific instances are formulated as general concepts or claims. Generalizations posit the existence of a domain or set of elements, as well as one or more common characteristics shared by those elements (thus creating a conceptual model).
When can generalization be useful?
Generalizations are a necessary part of intercultural communication as they can help us to anticipate, sort, and make sense of the new information and sensations we experience in intercultural situations.
Is generalization always a desirable outcome?
Generalization is not always a desirable thing. A behavior that is useful in one situation is not always helpful in another.
Why is generalization important?
This is important because if a skill is learned and then forgotten, it would have to be taught again. One example of this includes learning to tie shoes. After this complex behavior is learned, we should not need prompts from anyone else.
What is stimulus generalization?
Stimulus Generalization. Stimulus generalization has occurred when someone can perform a learned skill in new circumstances. For example a child, should be able to perform the skill in a new place or with different people.
What is the concern in ABA?
One big concern in ABA is whether skills that are learned will carry over into other situations. This is especially important when a child receives services in a clinical setting. For example, a child can clean up his/her toys independently when prompted “clean up!” at the clinic. However, when the child’s parents say “clean up” at home, the child does not respond. This would reflect a lack of generalization. Generalization involves learning skills in one situation and then using those skills in another situation without specific teaching. So, what specific types of generalization are there and how do you promote increased generalization?
What is it called when a child overgeneralizes?
Sometimes a child will start engaging in what is called “over-generalization”. This happens when a skill/behavior generalizes to an incorrect location, person, item, etc. Say you teach a child to say “mommy” when seeing a picture of his/her mom, but then he/she overgeneralizes the response “mommy” to all females.
What are Generalizations in ABA Therapy?
Generalization, most simply and most practically, is the ability to utilize new skills in other settings and with other people. There are other elements with generalizations in ABA Therapy, but we’ll only be emphasizing generalization across settings and people. In order to get deeper while still being very practical, let me provide an example.
Why do I love ABA?
This is why I love ABA. It changes lives by changing behavior, through making subtle changes and manipulating certain variables, that lead to significant change and improvement in the daily routines that parents endure (I use the word endure because certain routines are hard, especially when our kiddos struggle).
What is generalization in behavior?
Generalization of behavior change occurs when that behavior occurs outside of the learning environment. Generalization can happen across 1) settings, 2) time and 3) across people and exists when the behavior occurs in these various dimensions without relearning. Response Maintenance is the continuation of a learned behavior after ...
What is response generalization?
Response Generalization is the extent to which the learner can issue a behavior that is functionally equal to the behavior that was taught. This is the case of stimuli that occasion novel responses. For example, if Sally learned to pick up a phone and talk on it with a friend, she has response generalization if she can also pick up a walkie talkie and use it to talk to a friend.
Why is generalization important in ABA?
Ultimately, the goal is to foster independence as much as possible and by promoting generalization within an intervention, there are greater chances of a positive and long lasting outcome. Generalization is not only necessary for our clients to develop their own skills, but also for parents to provide support as needed beyond ABA services.
What is generalization across people?
Generalization across people is when a behavior occurs in the absence of the person that taught it. For example, most people are taught to say, “excuse me” to interrupt a conversation by their parents at home. If you say, “excuse me” when you interrupt anyone outside of your parents, that shows that you have generalized the phrase across people.
What is the goal of ABA?
The intended outcome of ABA intervention is to foster the skills necessary for the client to achieve independence. In order to achieve this goal, it is important that all programs are designed to promote generalization- essentially the ability for concepts and skills to transfer across similar or even new conditions.
What is stimulus generalization?
Stimulus generalization is recognizing critical features that fall under the same category. For example, you’ve learned that a public restroom will usually say, “Ladies’ Room”, but you can also identify a bathroom when the establishment is feeling creative and labels it “Lassies’”.

Stimulus Generalization
Response Generalization
- Response generalization refers to learning a skill and then demonstrating a variation of it in similar situations. In other words, the individual engages in a similar behavior to a previously learned response to achieve the same result. A good example of this type of generalization is greetings. If you teach a child to greet someone by saying, “Hel...
Maintenance of Learned Skills
- Generalization across time means maintaining a behavior after it is learned. This is important because if a skill is learned and then forgotten, it would have to be taught again. One example of this includes learning to tie shoes. After this complex behavior is learned, we should not need prompts from anyone else. If we can continue to tie our shoes independently years later, we wou…
Strategies to Enhance Generalization
- Teach a lot of examples: Do not just use one photo when teaching the word “cat”. As soon as possible, introduce other pictures of different cats to teach the child to generalize. That is why the Th...
- Use two or more teachers: If a child will say the word “cat” when asked by a teacher, but will not demonstrate the response to other adults, there has been a lack of generalization to unfa…
- Teach a lot of examples: Do not just use one photo when teaching the word “cat”. As soon as possible, introduce other pictures of different cats to teach the child to generalize. That is why the Th...
- Use two or more teachers: If a child will say the word “cat” when asked by a teacher, but will not demonstrate the response to other adults, there has been a lack of generalization to unfamiliar pe...
- Practice mastered skills: Make sure require the child to continue to perform skills even if they are considered known. You can do this by bringing out old materials and making sure the child can st...
- Teach behaviors in multiple environments: If you teach a child to follow certain rules at home…
Too Much Generalization
- Sometimes a child will start engaging in what is called “over-generalization”. This happens when a skill/behavior generalizes to an incorrect location, person, item, etc. Say you teach a child to say “mommy” when seeing a picture of his/her mom, but then he/she overgeneralizes the response “mommy” to all females.