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.
A behavior chain is a series of linked responses performed in a set order, like the steps of brushing teeth or making a sandwich. Each response changes the environment, and that change has two functions: it acts as a conditioned reinforcer for the response that produced it, and it acts as a discriminative stimulus for the next response. Opening the toothpaste produces an open tube, which reinforces opening it and sets the occasion for squeezing toothpaste onto the brush. The final response produces a terminal reinforcer, such as clean teeth or a finished snack.
Because the links depend on each other, a chain can break down if one step is missing or the order changes. This is why skills are taught from a task analysis and through chaining procedures.
Problem behavior can also occur in chains. A client may first sigh, then push materials away, then hit. Supervisors sometimes plan to interrupt such a sequence at an early link. An RBT who notices a predictable sequence leading to problem behavior should describe it to the supervisor.
Example and non-example
| Example | Getting a drink: walk to the kitchen, take a cup, place it under the tap, turn on the water, turn it off, drink. Each step creates the condition for the next, and drinking ends the chain. |
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| Non-example | Saying "hello" to several different people in a row is a series of separate responses, each with its own SD, not a chain in which each response sets up the next. |
Don't confuse it with
| Chaining | A behavior chain is the sequence of behavior itself; chaining is the teaching procedure used to build it. |
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| Task analysis | A task analysis is the written list of steps; the behavior chain is the learner's actual linked performance. |
Test yourself
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Question 1What is a behavior chain?
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B: A sequence of linked steps in a set order. In a behavior chain, each response produces a stimulus change that reinforces that response and serves as the cue for the next one, ending with a terminal reinforcer.
- A: Unrelated skills are not linked; a chain is a fixed sequence of linked steps.
- C: Gradually changing one response is shaping.
- D: A maintenance list is not a sequence of linked responses.
Task C.5 · 40-hour curriculum section E
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Question 2In a behavior chain, which step is followed by the terminal reinforcer?
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C: The last step. The terminal reinforcer follows completion of the final response in the chain. Backward chaining uses this by teaching the last step first.
- A: The first step's result leads to the second step, not the end of the chain.
- B: The terminal reinforcer comes at the end of the chain, wherever the hardest step falls.
- D: Each step's result links to the next step; the terminal reinforcer comes only at the end.
Task C.5 · 40-hour curriculum section E
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Question 3In a handwashing chain, the client turns the tap and water starts running. What role does the running water play in the chain?
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A: It reinforces turning the tap and cues wetting hands. In a chain, the stimulus change produced by each step works as a conditioned reinforcer for that step and as the discriminative stimulus for the next step.
- B: The terminal reinforcer comes at the end; running water is an early link.
- C: Running water is a natural result of the step, not a prompt the RBT adds.
- D: Each step's result does affect the chain by linking it to the next step.
Task C.5 · 40-hour curriculum section E
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On the RBT exam
This term belongs to task C.5 Task analysis and chaining in content area C, Behavior Acquisition, which is 19 of the 75 scored questions.