The scientific goals of ABA mirroring those of science in general are typically categorized into three progressively deeper levels description prediction and control Description C This is the foundational level involving systematic observation measurement and documentation of behavior and the environmental events that surround it The goal is to collect objective facts about what happened when it happened and under what conditions without interpreting why it happened or attempting to manipulate variables This forms the empirical basis for further scientific inquiry Prediction B This level involves identifying correlations between events Based on descriptive data we can predict that if one event occurs another event is likely to follow but it does not establish a causeandeffect relationship Control A D This is the highest level of scientific understanding achieved when a functional relationship is demonstrated It involves manipulating an independent variable environmental variable to reliably produce a change in a dependent variable behavior Identifying functional relationships A is the outcome of achieving control and manipulating variables to influence behavior change D is the process of achieving it Therefore collecting objective observable data is the hallmark of the descriptive goal