Applied behavior analysis Definitions and concepts Three-term contingency
Three-term contingency is a concept for understanding operant behavior that was first used by B.F. Skinner. The three-term contingency says that every behavior has an antecedent and a consequence. An antecedent is what happens right before the behavior. The antecedent can change the chance that a behavior will happen. Some antecedents make a behavior more likely to happen. Other antecedents make a behavior less likely to happen. The consequence is what happens after the behavior. It is the response to the behavior. So, an antecedent happens before a behavior and a consequence happens after a behavior. Keeping track of antecedents, behaviors, and consequences is called taking ABC data.