Generalization
When a learned behavior occurs in settings, with people or materials, or in forms that were not directly part of training.
Generalization means a skill does not stay limited to the exact conditions in which it was taught. A child who learned to greet the RBT in the clinic and now greets their teacher at school, or who learned to identify a picture of a dog and now names real dogs at the park, shows generalization. The RBT Test Content Outline describes generalization procedures as conducting intervention across settings, people and stimuli.
Two common types are stimulus generalization (the behavior occurs in the presence of untrained stimuli, settings or people) and response generalization (untrained but functionally similar responses occur). Some texts also discuss maintenance, behavior continuing over time, alongside generalization.
Generalization often does not happen on its own, so it is planned from the start. Supervisors use strategies such as teaching with multiple exemplars, training in natural settings, involving different people, using natural reinforcers, varying instructions, and using intermittent reinforcement. Naturalistic teaching often supports generalization.
RBTs carry out generalization procedures as written, such as varying materials, running a program in a different room, or having a caregiver practice, and they collect generalization probe data so the supervisor can see whether skills transfer.
Example and non-example
| Example | A teen learned to order food at the clinic's pretend café. During a community outing, they order at a real café using similar words, without prompts. |
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| Non-example | A child correctly names the five flash cards used in every session but does not name the same objects in a picture book. The skill has not generalized. |
Don't confuse it with
| Maintenance | Maintenance is a behavior continuing over time after teaching ends; generalization is a behavior occurring in untrained conditions or forms. |
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| Stimulus discrimination | Discrimination is responding differently to different stimuli; generalization is responding similarly to stimuli beyond those used in training. |
Test yourself
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Question 1A supervisor asks for some skills to be assessed both at the clinic and at the client's home, with different adults. What is the main reason?
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D: A skill seen in one setting may not occur in another, so this checks generalization. A skill learned in one place or with one person may not appear in other places or with other people. Testing across settings and people shows whether the skill has generalized.
- A: There is no general rule that an assessment is valid only when given in two places.
- B: Scores do not reliably go up or down in any particular setting.
- C: Avoiding boredom is not why skills are tested across settings and people.
Task B.2 · 40-hour curriculum section D
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Question 2Which advantage is most often given for naturalistic teaching?
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C: Varied everyday cues and natural reinforcers help skills generalize. Because skills are taught in real settings with many examples, people and natural consequences, they are more likely to occur outside of teaching sessions.
- A: Naturalistic teaching usually gives fewer trials per minute, because it depends on natural opportunities.
- B: Naturalistic teaching still requires data on opportunities and responses.
- D: Prompts and prompt fading are still used in naturalistic teaching.
Task C.4 · 40-hour curriculum section E
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Question 3An RBT notices that a client requests items well with the RBT but almost never requests them with the client's caregiver. What should the RBT do?
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B: Report the pattern to the supervisor with data. A skill that occurs with one person but not others is a generalization concern. The RBT reports it objectively so the supervisor can plan for it.
- A: Designing programs is the supervisor's role.
- C: Stopping a program is a plan change the RBT cannot make.
- D: Giving the caregiver new procedures is not the RBT's decision.
Task C.4 · 40-hour curriculum section F
Answer every question to see your score.
On the RBT exam
This term belongs to task C.8 Generalization in content area C, Behavior Acquisition, which is 19 of the 75 scored questions.