Which term best describes behaviors selected for analysis and change because they are socially significant?

• A. Applied
• B. Experimental
• C. Analytical
• D. Generality

Answer: (A)

In ABA, selecting behaviors for analysis and change because they have social significance is the applied dimension. This means targets are chosen for their practical impact on the learner’s life or on the community, ensuring that the work leads to meaningful, real-world improvements rather than just theoretical or laboratory demonstrations. By focusing on socially significant outcomes, the interventions are more likely to be valued by caregivers and to generalize beyond the study setting.

The other terms refer to different aspects of behavior-change work: experimental relates to using controlled research designs to establish causal effects; analytical emphasizes demonstrating a functional relation between the intervention and the behavior; and generality (generalization) concerns whether the behavior change persists across time, settings, and people.