A-B-A design

a type of single-case design having three phases: a baseline condition in which no treatment is present (Phase A), a treatment condition in which a manipulation is introduced (Phase B), and a return to the no-treatment condition (Phase A). The design allows for evaluation of the introduction of the treatment by comparing the dependent variable between the first two phases (A-B sequence) as well as evaluation of the removal of the treatment by comparing the dependent variable between the last two phases (B-A sequence). This greatly reduces the possibility of a coincidental treatment effect, which may occur in the simpler A-B design.

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Psychology term of the day

December 27th 2024

sexual imprinting

the development of a preference for a sexual partner that occurs during a sensitive or critical period. For example, if zebra finches are cross-fostered to Bengalese finch parents for the first 40 days of life, they will prefer to mate with Bengalese finches as adults. In addition, birds often prefer to socialize with other birds that resemble those they were exposed to in the first month of life.