ABSTRACT
The experimental analysis of behavior (EAB) refers to a method of analyzing behaviorenvironment relationships. This method is called functional analysis. Functional analysis involves classifying behavior according to its response functions and analyzing the environment in terms of stimulus functions. The term function refers to the characteristic effect produced by either a behavioral or an environmental event. Once a reliable classification has been established, the researcher uses experimental methods to show a causal relationship between the environmental event and a specified response. Because of this objective method, behavior analysts need not restrict their findings to one or a few species. The principles of behavior-environment relationships-hold for all animals. Based on this assumption, researchers often use non-human subjects as their “tools” for discovering principles of behavior.
