RBT glossary

188 terms you need for the RBT exam, each defined in plain language with an RBT-level example, a non-example, and how it differs from the terms it's most often confused with.

By content area

A. Data Collection and Graphing	Frequency, Rate, Duration, Latency, Interresponse time, Continuous measurement, Dimensions of behavior, Discontinuous measurement, Partial interval recording, Whole interval recording, Momentary time sampling, Permanent product recording, Line graph, Bar graph, Phase change line, Data path, Baseline, Operational definition, Behavior, Stimulus, Dead man's test, Percentage, Mean duration, Trials to criterion, Trend, Level, Variability, Increasing trend, Decreasing trend, Procedural fidelity, Interobserver agreement, Observer drift, Reactivity, Reliability, Validity
B. Behavior Assessment	Preference assessment, Paired stimulus preference assessment, Multiple stimulus without replacement, Multiple stimulus with replacement, Free operant preference assessment, Single stimulus preference assessment, Reinforcer assessment, Curriculum-based assessment, Developmental assessment, Social skills assessment, Skill deficit, Functional behavior assessment, Functional analysis, Descriptive assessment, ABC data, Indirect assessment, Antecedent, Consequence, Scatterplot
C. Behavior Acquisition	Reinforcement, Positive reinforcement, Negative reinforcement, Escape, Avoidance, Schedule of reinforcement, Continuous reinforcement, Fixed ratio, Variable ratio, Fixed interval, Variable interval, Intermittent reinforcement, Magnitude of reinforcement, Immediacy, Contingency, Satiation, Deprivation, Motivating operation, Establishing operation, Abolishing operation, Conditioned reinforcer, Unconditioned reinforcer, Generalized conditioned reinforcer, Pairing, Discrete trial teaching, Discriminative stimulus, Three-term contingency, Intertrial interval, Error correction, Naturalistic teaching, Incidental teaching, Natural environment training, Mand, Tact, Echoic, Intraverbal, Verbal operants, Task analysis, Chaining, Forward chaining, Backward chaining, Total task chaining, Behavior chain, Discrimination training, Stimulus control, S-delta, Stimulus discrimination, Prompt, Prompt fading, Response prompts, Stimulus prompts, Least-to-most prompting, Most-to-least prompting, Errorless learning, Time delay, Prompt dependence, Graduated guidance, Physical prompt, Modeling prompt, Gestural prompt, Verbal prompt, Visual prompt, Stimulus fading, Stimulus shaping, Prompt hierarchy, Generalization, Stimulus generalization, Response generalization, Multiple exemplar training, General case analysis, Maintenance, Acquisition, Mastery criterion, Shaping, Successive approximations, Token economy, Backup reinforcer, Response cost
D. Behavior Reduction	Function of behavior, Attention function, Escape function, Tangible function, Automatic reinforcement, Sensory function, Antecedent intervention, Noncontingent reinforcement (NCR), High-probability request sequence, Demand fading, Choice making, Activity schedule, Visual schedule, Priming, Differential reinforcement, Differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA), Differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO), Differential reinforcement of incompatible behavior (DRI), Differential reinforcement of low rates (DRL), Functional communication training (FCT), Replacement behavior, Extinction, Escape extinction, Attention extinction, Sensory extinction, Planned ignoring, Punishment, Positive punishment, Negative punishment, Time-out (from positive reinforcement), Exclusionary time-out, Nonexclusionary time-out, Overcorrection, Extinction burst, Spontaneous recovery, Resurgence, Response variation, Emotional responding, Escape and avoidance (side effect of punishment), Punishment side effects, Crisis intervention, Behavior intervention plan (BIP), Restrictive procedures
E. Documentation and Reporting	Setting events, Session note
F. Ethics	Client dignity, Assent, Behavioral skills training (BST), Performance feedback, Confidentiality, Protected health information (PHI), Multiple relationship, Conflict of interest, Cultural humility, Cultural responsiveness, Implicit bias

A to Z

A · B · C · D · E · F · G · H · I · L · M · N · O · P · R · S · T · U · V · W

A

ABC data	ABC data record the antecedent (what happened just before), the behavior, and the consequence (what happened just after) for each occurrence of a target behavior.
Abolishing operation	A motivating operation that decreases the reinforcing value of a stimulus and makes behavior that has produced that stimulus less likely to occur.
Acquisition	The learning of a new skill; acquisition procedures provide prompts, frequent reinforcement and repeated practice until the skill meets the mastery criterion.
Activity schedule	A set of pictures or words that cues a person to complete a sequence of activities, taught so the person can follow it independently.
Antecedent	An antecedent is an environmental condition or stimulus change that exists or occurs before a behavior.
Antecedent intervention	A behavior-reduction strategy that changes conditions before behavior occurs, such as motivating operations or task features, so problem behavior becomes less likely.
Assent	A client's own willingness to participate, shown through words or behavior, which is separate from the legal consent given by a guardian or the client.
Attention extinction	An extinction procedure for attention-maintained behavior in which the problem behavior no longer produces attention from others.
Attention function	A behavior has an attention function when it is maintained by social positive reinforcement in the form of other people's attention.
Automatic reinforcement	Reinforcement produced directly by the behavior itself, without being delivered or arranged by another person.
Avoidance	Avoidance is a form of negative reinforcement in which a behavior prevents or postpones an aversive stimulus, so that behavior becomes more likely in the future.

B

Backup reinforcer	The item, activity or privilege a learner receives in exchange for tokens, which gives the tokens their reinforcing value.
Backward chaining	A chaining procedure that teaches the last step first while the teacher completes the earlier steps, then adds earlier steps one at a time in reverse order.
Bar graph	A bar graph uses vertical or horizontal bars to compare values across separate categories or to summarize data, such as means for each condition.
Baseline	Baseline is a condition in which the target behavior is measured repeatedly before the intervention is introduced, giving a standard to compare against.
Behavior	Behavior is anything a living person does that involves movement and can be observed and measured; a single instance of behavior is called a response.
Behavior chain	A specific sequence of responses in which each response produces a stimulus change that reinforces that response and signals the next one, ending in a reinforcer.
Behavior intervention plan (BIP)	A written plan, developed by the supervisor from assessment results, that describes how to prevent, respond to and replace a client's problem behavior.
Behavioral skills training (BST)	A training method made up of instructions, modeling, rehearsal and feedback, repeated until the learner performs the skill correctly.

C

Chaining	Teaching procedures that link the steps of a task analysis into one complete sequence of behavior; the main types are forward, backward and total task chaining.
Choice making	An antecedent strategy that gives the client real options, such as which task, materials, order or reinforcer, to increase engagement and reduce problem behavior.
Client dignity	Treating each client as a person of worth, with respect for their privacy, preferences, choices and age, in all interactions and procedures.
Conditioned reinforcer	A stimulus that was once neutral and became reinforcing because it was paired with unconditioned reinforcers or other established reinforcers; also called a secondary or learned reinforcer.
Confidentiality	The obligation to protect information about clients and others from being shared except with authorized people, for valid reasons, as allowed by law, the BACB and the employer.
Conflict of interest	An incompatibility between an RBT's private and professional interests that creates risk to services or professional relationships, because personal considerations might influence professional judgment.
Consequence	A consequence is a stimulus change that follows a behavior; depending on its effect, it can make that behavior more or less likely in the future.
Contingency	A dependent relation between a behavior and a consequence: the consequence is delivered only if the behavior occurs (if this behavior, then this consequence).
Continuous measurement	Continuous measurement records every occurrence of the target behavior during the entire observation period, using measures such as frequency, rate, duration, latency or interresponse time.
Continuous reinforcement	Continuous reinforcement (CRF) is a schedule in which every occurrence of the target behavior is reinforced.
Crisis intervention	The planned, safety-focused steps taken when behavior creates an immediate risk of serious harm to the client or others, carried out according to the crisis or emergency plan.
Cultural humility	An ongoing practice of self-reflection about one's own cultural background and biases, openness to learning from clients and families, and respect for their cultural expertise.
Cultural responsiveness	Adapting how services and communication are delivered so they respect and fit the client's and family's culture, language, values and preferences, under the supervisor's direction.
Curriculum-based assessment	A curriculum-based assessment measures a learner's current skills directly against the skills in a teaching curriculum, to show what they can already do and what to teach next.

D

Data path	A data path is the line that connects successive data points within the same condition on a line graph.
Dead man's test	The dead man's test says that if a dead person could do it, it is not behavior and should not be used as a target.
Decreasing trend	A decreasing trend is a pattern in which graphed data points fall over time, moving downward on the y-axis across sessions.
Demand fading	An antecedent procedure in which demands are temporarily reduced or removed and then gradually reintroduced as long as problem behavior stays low.
Deprivation	A period without access to a reinforcer, which temporarily increases its value and makes behavior that has produced it in the past more likely.
Descriptive assessment	A descriptive assessment directly observes a problem behavior and the events around it in the natural setting, without changing anything, to find patterns.
Developmental assessment	A developmental assessment compares a person's skills with the milestones typically reached at different ages, to identify delays and areas of strength.
Differential reinforcement	Reinforcing one behavior or response class while withholding reinforcement for others, usually problem behavior, so the reinforced behavior increases and the others decrease.
Differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA)	Reinforcing a specific appropriate behavior that is an alternative to problem behavior while placing the problem behavior on extinction.
Differential reinforcement of incompatible behavior (DRI)	Reinforcing a behavior that cannot physically occur at the same time as the problem behavior, while withholding reinforcement for the problem behavior.
Differential reinforcement of low rates (DRL)	Reinforcing a behavior only when it occurs at or below a set rate, used to reduce a behavior that is acceptable at low levels but not too often.
Differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO)	Delivering a reinforcer when the problem behavior has not occurred during a set interval, or at a set moment, so reinforcement depends on the behavior's absence.
Dimensions of behavior	Dimensions of behavior are the measurable properties of a response: how often it repeats, how long it lasts, and when it occurs in time.
Discontinuous measurement	Discontinuous measurement samples behavior during parts of an observation, using intervals, so it gives an estimate rather than a record of every occurrence.
Discrete trial teaching	A structured teaching method that breaks skills into short, repeated learning trials, each with a clear instruction, the learner's response, a consequence, and a brief pause.
Discrimination training	A procedure that reinforces a response in the presence of one stimulus (the SD) and withholds reinforcement for that response in the presence of other stimuli (S-deltas).
Discriminative stimulus	A stimulus in whose presence a behavior has been reinforced, and in whose absence it has not, so the behavior becomes more likely when the stimulus is present (SD).
Duration	Duration is how long a behavior lasts, measured from the moment it starts (onset) to the moment it ends (offset).

E

Echoic	A verbal operant in which a person repeats what someone else says; the response matches the spoken model sound for sound.
Emotional responding	Emotional behavior such as crying, yelling, aggression or agitation that can occur as a secondary effect of extinction or punishment.
Error correction	A planned procedure the RBT follows after an incorrect or missing response, usually prompting the correct response and then giving the learner another chance to respond.
Errorless learning	Teaching arranged with prompts and careful fading so that the learner makes few or no errors while acquiring a new skill.
Escape	Escape is a form of negative reinforcement in which a behavior ends or reduces an aversive stimulus that is already present, making that behavior more likely in the future.
Escape and avoidance (side effect of punishment)	A secondary effect of punishment in which the person learns to get away from or stay away from the punisher, the person delivering it, or the setting.
Escape extinction	An extinction procedure for escape-maintained behavior in which problem behavior no longer ends, delays or avoids the demand or situation.
Escape function	A behavior has an escape function when it is maintained by negative reinforcement: it ends, delays or avoids a task, demand, person or situation.
Establishing operation	A motivating operation that increases the reinforcing value of a stimulus and makes behavior that has produced that stimulus more likely to occur.
Exclusionary time-out	A time-out procedure in which the client is removed from the reinforcing setting for a brief, specified period contingent on a behavior.
Extinction	Discontinuing the reinforcement of a previously reinforced behavior, so the behavior no longer produces its maintaining consequence and decreases over time.
Extinction burst	A temporary increase in the frequency, duration or intensity of a behavior soon after extinction begins.

F

Fixed interval	A schedule of reinforcement in which the first response after a set amount of time has passed is reinforced, for example the first response after 2 minutes (FI 2-min).
Fixed ratio	A fixed ratio (FR) schedule delivers reinforcement after a set number of responses, such as after every 5th response on an FR 5 schedule.
Forward chaining	A chaining procedure that teaches the first step of the task analysis first, then adds each later step in order once the earlier steps are mastered.
Free operant preference assessment	A free operant preference assessment gives a person open access to several items at once and records how long they engage with each.
Frequency	Frequency is the number of times a behavior occurs during an observation period, recorded by counting every occurrence from start to finish.
Function of behavior	The reason a behavior keeps happening, defined by the reinforcing consequence that maintains it, such as attention, escape, tangible items or automatic reinforcement.
Functional analysis	A functional analysis systematically manipulates antecedents and consequences in test and control conditions to show which variables maintain a problem behavior.
Functional behavior assessment	A functional behavior assessment (FBA) is a set of methods for identifying the antecedents and consequences that reliably occasion and maintain a problem behavior.
Functional communication training (FCT)	A type of differential reinforcement in which the client is taught a communication response that produces the same reinforcer as problem behavior, while problem behavior is placed on extinction.

G

General case analysis	A systematic way of choosing teaching examples so they represent the full range of stimulus variations and response requirements the learner will meet in real settings.
Generalization	When a learned behavior occurs in settings, with people or materials, or in forms that were not directly part of training.
Generalized conditioned reinforcer	A conditioned reinforcer that has been paired with many different reinforcers, such as money, tokens, or attention, so its value does not depend on any single motivating operation.
Gestural prompt	A response prompt in which the RBT uses a movement such as pointing, nodding, tapping or motioning to show the learner where or how to respond.
Graduated guidance	A physical prompting procedure in which the RBT gives only as much hands-on help as needed during the response and reduces it immediately as the learner starts to perform independently.

H

High-probability request sequence	An antecedent procedure in which several easy requests the person usually follows are given and reinforced in quick succession, immediately before a request they often refuse.

I

Immediacy	Delivering a reinforcer right after the target behavior; the shorter the delay between a response and its consequence, the more effective reinforcement usually is.
Implicit bias	Attitudes or stereotypes about groups of people that a person holds without full awareness and that can influence their perceptions, decisions and behavior.
Incidental teaching	A naturalistic teaching procedure in which the learner initiates interaction with an item or activity and the teacher uses that moment to prompt a more complete response before giving access.
Increasing trend	An increasing trend is a pattern in which graphed data points rise over time, moving upward on the y-axis across sessions.
Indirect assessment	Indirect assessment gathers information about a problem behavior from people who know the client, through interviews, questionnaires or rating scales, without directly observing it.
Intermittent reinforcement	A schedule in which only some occurrences of a behavior are reinforced, as in fixed-ratio, variable-ratio, fixed-interval and variable-interval schedules.
Interobserver agreement	Interobserver agreement (IOA) is the degree to which two or more independent observers report the same values after measuring the same events.
Interresponse time	Interresponse time (IRT) is the time that passes between two successive responses, measured from the end of one response to the start of the next.
Intertrial interval	The brief pause between the consequence of one discrete trial and the presentation of the next trial's instruction, typically a few seconds.
Intraverbal	A verbal operant in which a person responds to someone else's words with different words, such as answering questions, filling in songs, or conversing.

L

Latency	Latency is the time between the onset of a stimulus, such as an instruction, and the start of the response that follows it.
Least-to-most prompting	A prompting procedure that gives the learner a chance to respond independently, then provides increasingly more assistive prompts from the hierarchy until the correct response occurs.
Level	Level is where data points fall on the vertical axis of a graph, often summarized as the average value within a phase.
Line graph	A line graph plots data points for a behavior across successive sessions or days and connects them with lines to show change over time.

M

Magnitude of reinforcement	How much reinforcement follows a response, such as the amount of an item, the length of access to an activity, or the intensity of the praise or stimulus.
Maintenance	The extent to which a learner continues to perform a skill over time after the teaching procedures that produced it have been reduced or removed.
Mand	A verbal operant in which a person asks for what they want or need; it is controlled by a motivating operation and reinforced by receiving the specific thing requested.
Mastery criterion	The preset level of correct, independent performance a learner must reach before a skill target is considered learned and moved out of acquisition.
Mean duration	Mean duration is the average length of each occurrence of a behavior: the total duration of all episodes divided by the number of episodes.
Modeling prompt	A response prompt in which the RBT, or another person or a video, demonstrates all or part of the correct response for the learner to imitate.
Momentary time sampling	Momentary time sampling scores an interval only if the target behavior is occurring at the exact moment the interval ends.
Most-to-least prompting	A prompting procedure that begins with the most assistive prompt needed and fades to less assistive prompts across trials or sessions as the learner succeeds.
Motivating operation	An environmental variable that temporarily changes how reinforcing a stimulus is and changes how often behavior that has produced that stimulus occurs.
Multiple exemplar training	Teaching a skill with many different examples of the stimuli and responses involved so that the learner can respond correctly to new, untrained examples.
Multiple relationship	A mixing of two or more of an RBT's roles, such as professional and personal, with a client, stakeholder, supervisor, coworker or someone closely connected to a client.
Multiple stimulus with replacement	In a multiple stimulus with replacement (MSW) preference assessment, several items are presented together, and the chosen item is returned to the array before the next choice.
Multiple stimulus without replacement	In a multiple stimulus without replacement (MSWO) preference assessment, several items are presented together, and each chosen item is removed from the array before the next choice.

N

Natural environment training	Teaching skills during the learner's play and daily routines in natural settings, using materials the learner chooses and reinforcers that are part of the activity.
Naturalistic teaching	Teaching that happens within the learner's everyday activities and routines, uses the learner's current interests and motivation, and relies on natural reinforcers.
Negative punishment	Removing a stimulus, usually a reinforcer, immediately after a behavior, with the result that the behavior occurs less often in the future.
Negative reinforcement	Negative reinforcement occurs when a stimulus is removed or reduced right after a behavior and, as a result, that behavior becomes more likely in the future.
Noncontingent reinforcement (NCR)	An antecedent intervention in which a reinforcer, often the one that maintains problem behavior, is delivered on a time-based schedule regardless of the person's behavior.
Nonexclusionary time-out	A time-out procedure in which the client stays in the setting but loses access to reinforcement for a brief, specified period contingent on a behavior.

O

Observer drift	Observer drift is an unintended change, over time, in the way an observer applies the operational definition when recording behavior.
Operational definition	An operational definition describes a target behavior in observable, measurable terms so that different observers can agree on when it does and does not occur.
Overcorrection	A positive punishment procedure in which, after a problem behavior, the person performs effortful related behavior, such as restoring the environment or repeatedly practicing the correct behavior.

P

Paired stimulus preference assessment	In a paired stimulus preference assessment, items are presented two at a time, and every item is paired with every other item, to produce a preference ranking.
Pairing	Presenting a neutral stimulus together with, or just before, an established reinforcer so that the neutral stimulus comes to function as a conditioned reinforcer.
Partial interval recording	Partial interval recording scores an interval if the target behavior occurs at any time during that interval, however briefly.
Percentage	A percentage is a ratio expressed as parts per 100: the number of occurrences divided by the total, multiplied by 100.
Performance feedback	Specific information given to a person about how they performed a skill, including praise for what was done correctly and guidance on what to change.
Permanent product recording	Permanent product recording measures behavior by its lasting effect on the environment, such as completed work or a made bed, after the behavior has occurred.
Phase change line	A phase change line is a vertical line on a graph that marks the point where one condition ends and another begins, such as baseline to intervention.
Physical prompt	A response prompt in which the RBT touches the learner to help them make the correct response, ranging from a light touch to full hand-over-hand guidance.
Planned ignoring	Deliberately withholding social attention, such as eye contact, talk and physical contact, for a brief period following a specific behavior, as written in the plan.
Positive punishment	Adding a stimulus immediately after a behavior, with the result that the behavior occurs less often in the future.
Positive reinforcement	Positive reinforcement occurs when a stimulus is added or presented right after a behavior and, as a result, that behavior becomes more likely in the future.
Preference assessment	A preference assessment is a structured way of identifying which items or activities a person prefers, to find stimuli likely to work as reinforcers.
Priming	An antecedent strategy in which a client previews an upcoming activity, materials or setting beforehand, under low demands, so the real activity goes more smoothly.
Procedural fidelity	Procedural fidelity is the degree to which an intervention is carried out exactly as written in the plan; it is also called treatment integrity or procedural integrity.
Prompt	A supplementary stimulus added before or during a response to make the correct response more likely while a skill is being learned, meant to be faded later.
Prompt dependence	A situation in which a learner responds correctly only when prompted and waits for help instead of responding to the natural SD.
Prompt fading	Gradually and systematically reducing prompts so that the correct response comes under the control of the natural SD rather than the prompt.
Prompt hierarchy	An ordered list of the prompts used in a program, arranged from most to least assistance (or the reverse), that guides how prompts are given and faded.
Protected health information (PHI)	Under the U.S. HIPAA Privacy Rule, individually identifiable health information held or sent by a covered entity, such as a health care provider or health plan, or its business associate.
Punishment	A consequence that follows a behavior and decreases the future frequency of that behavior; it is defined by its effect, not by how unpleasant it seems.
Punishment side effects	Unwanted effects that can accompany punishment, including emotional and aggressive reactions, escape and avoidance, behavioral contrast, imitation of punishment, and overuse by the person delivering it.

R

Rate	Rate is the number of times a behavior occurs divided by the length of the observation, such as responses per minute or per hour.
Reactivity	Reactivity is a change in a person's behavior that happens because they know they are being observed or measured.
Reinforcement	Reinforcement occurs when a consequence that follows a behavior makes that behavior more likely to occur again in the future under similar conditions.
Reinforcer assessment	A reinforcer assessment tests whether a stimulus actually works as a reinforcer by delivering it contingent on a response and measuring whether that response increases.
Reliability	Reliability is the consistency of measurement: a reliable measurement system gives the same values each time the same behavior is measured.
Replacement behavior	An appropriate behavior taught and reinforced to take the place of problem behavior, ideally producing the same reinforcer more easily.
Response cost	A negative punishment procedure in which a specific amount of a reinforcer, such as tokens or points, is removed contingent on a behavior, reducing that behavior.
Response generalization	When a learner performs untrained responses that are functionally similar to a trained response, such as a new way of doing the same thing.
Response prompts	Prompts that act on the learner's response, such as verbal instructions, gestures, modeling and physical guidance.
Response variation	During extinction, an increase in the variety of the person's responses, such as new forms or different intensities of behavior, as the old response stops producing reinforcement.
Restrictive procedures	Interventions that limit a person's movement, freedom or access to reinforcers, or that involve aversive stimuli, such as physical restraint, seclusion or exclusionary time-out.
Resurgence	The return of a previously extinguished behavior when a more recently reinforced behavior is placed on extinction or receives much less reinforcement.

S

S-delta	A stimulus in whose presence a particular response has not been reinforced, so that response becomes less likely when the stimulus is present (written SΔ).
Satiation	A temporary decrease in how effective a reinforcer is, caused by recent contact with a lot of that reinforcer; it also makes behavior that produces it less likely.
Scatterplot	In functional assessment, a scatterplot is a grid recording whether and how often problem behavior occurs in each time block across days, to reveal time-of-day patterns.
Schedule of reinforcement	A schedule of reinforcement is a rule stating which responses will be reinforced, based on the number of responses, the passage of time, or both.
Sensory extinction	An extinction procedure for automatically reinforced behavior in which the sensory consequence the behavior produces is blocked, reduced or masked.
Sensory function	An informal name for behavior maintained by automatic reinforcement, meaning the sensory consequences the behavior itself produces rather than anything another person provides.
Session note	The written record of a service session describing objectively what occurred, including services delivered, client responses, relevant events and any required details for legal, payer and workplace requirements.
Setting events	Conditions or events, often earlier in time or in another setting, such as illness, poor sleep or medication changes, that change how likely a behavior is in a later situation.
Shaping	Teaching a new behavior by differentially reinforcing successive approximations, each a little closer to the target behavior, until the target itself occurs.
Single stimulus preference assessment	In a single stimulus preference assessment, items are presented one at a time, and the person's approach or engagement with each item is recorded.
Skill deficit	A skill deficit exists when a person cannot perform a skill because they have not learned it, so the skill must be taught.
Social skills assessment	A social skills assessment identifies which social behaviors a person performs well and which need teaching, such as greeting, turn-taking, sharing and conversation.
Spontaneous recovery	The reappearance of a behavior that had decreased under extinction, after a period of time, even though the behavior is still not being reinforced.
Stimulus	A stimulus is any physical event or change in the environment that can affect a person's behavior through the senses, such as a sound, sight, touch or smell.
Stimulus control	When a behavior reliably occurs (or occurs differently) in the presence of a particular antecedent stimulus because of a history of reinforcement in its presence.
Stimulus discrimination	Responding differently in the presence of different stimuli, for example making a response when the SD is present but not when another stimulus is present.
Stimulus fading	Gradually reducing an exaggerated or added feature of a stimulus, such as size, color or intensity, until the learner responds correctly to the natural stimulus alone.
Stimulus generalization	When a behavior that was reinforced in the presence of one stimulus also occurs in the presence of other, similar stimuli that were not part of training.
Stimulus prompts	Prompts that change the teaching materials or add a cue to them, such as moving, enlarging, highlighting or adding a picture to the correct stimulus.
Stimulus shaping	Gradually changing the shape or form of a stimulus, step by step, from one that already evokes the correct response into the target stimulus.
Successive approximations	The series of intermediate responses in a shaping program, each one closer to the target behavior than the step before it.

T

Tact	A verbal operant in which a person names or describes something they see, hear, smell, taste or touch; it is evoked by a nonverbal stimulus and maintained by social reinforcement.
Tangible function	A behavior has a tangible function when it is maintained by social positive reinforcement in the form of access to preferred items or activities.
Task analysis	Breaking a complex skill into a sequence of smaller, teachable steps, listed in order; the written list is also called a task analysis.
Three-term contingency	The basic unit of operant behavior: an antecedent stimulus, the behavior that follows it, and the consequence that the behavior produces (often written A-B-C or SD-R-SR).
Time delay	A prompt-fading procedure that inserts a pause between the SD and the prompt, starting at 0 seconds, so the learner can respond before the prompt is given.
Time-out (from positive reinforcement)	A negative punishment procedure in which access to positive reinforcement is removed for a specified period contingent on a behavior, decreasing that behavior.
Token economy	A reinforcement system in which a learner earns tokens for target behaviors and later exchanges them for backup reinforcers.
Total task chaining	A chaining procedure in which the learner performs every step of the task analysis in each session, receiving prompts on any step they cannot yet do independently.
Trend	Trend is the overall direction in which data points on a graph move over time: increasing, decreasing, or showing no clear change (zero trend).
Trials to criterion	Trials to criterion is the number of response opportunities a learner needs to reach a preset performance criterion, such as three correct responses in a row.

U

Unconditioned reinforcer	A stimulus that functions as a reinforcer without any learning history, such as food, water, warmth, or escape from pain; also called a primary or unlearned reinforcer.

V

Validity	Valid measurement directly measures the behavior that matters, using a dimension relevant to the question, under the conditions and times that matter.
Variability	Variability is how much data points differ from one another within a phase; high variability means values bounce up and down widely from session to session.
Variable interval	A schedule of reinforcement in which the first response after an unpredictable amount of time is reinforced, with intervals varying around an average such as 2 minutes (VI 2-min).
Variable ratio	A variable ratio (VR) schedule delivers reinforcement after a number of responses that changes unpredictably around an average, such as an average of every 5th response on VR 5.
Verbal operants	Categories of verbal behavior defined by what controls them and what reinforces them, not by the words used; the elementary ones include the mand, tact, echoic and intraverbal.
Verbal prompt	A response prompt in which the RBT uses spoken words, such as instructions, hints, questions or the first sound of an answer, to help the learner respond correctly.
Visual prompt	A prompt that uses something the learner sees, such as a picture, written word, checklist, color cue or arrow, to help them make the correct response.
Visual schedule	A visual display, such as pictures, symbols, objects or words, showing what will happen and in what order, used to make routines predictable.

W

Whole interval recording	Whole interval recording scores an interval only if the target behavior occurs throughout the entire interval, without stopping.

Practise the definitions with the RBT flashcards.