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.
A prompt is extra help that is not part of the natural situation. It is given along with or just after the SD to increase the chance that the learner responds correctly, so the correct response can be reinforced. Prompts are always temporary: the goal is for the learner to respond to the natural SD without help.
There are two main families. Response prompts act on the learner's response, such as verbal prompts, gestural prompts, modeling prompts and physical prompts. Stimulus prompts change the teaching materials themselves, such as making the correct card larger, placing it closer, or adding color or a picture. Visual prompts such as pictures, written words and checklists are also common.
Prompts can be described by how intrusive or how much help they give. A prompt hierarchy in the plan lists the prompts in order, and procedures such as least-to-most, most-to-least, graduated guidance and time delay describe how they are delivered and faded.
RBTs give only the prompts written in the plan, give them at the planned time, and record the prompt level accurately. Adding unplanned prompts, such as nodding or looking at the correct item, can create prompt dependence and make data misleading.
Example and non-example
| Example | When teaching a child to wave goodbye, the RBT says "Bye!" and models a wave. The child waves and gets praise. The modeled wave is the prompt. |
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| Non-example | Praising the child after they wave is a consequence, not a prompt, because it comes after the response. |
Don't confuse it with
| Discriminative stimulus | The SD is the natural cue for the response; a prompt is added help that will be faded. |
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Test yourself
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Question 1Why should an RBT avoid giving prompts during a skills assessment unless the assessment instructions allow them?
Show answer
C: Prompted responses can make the client seem more skilled. A skills assessment is meant to show what the client can do on their own. Extra help inflates the results, so goals might be skipped for skills the client cannot yet do independently.
- A: Prompt dependence develops when prompts are not faded over time; one prompt does not always cause it.
- B: Prompts are a normal part of teaching; there is no rule limiting them to functional analysis.
- D: A prompt is help given before or during a response; it is not a punishment procedure.
Task B.2 · 40-hour curriculum section D
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Question 2While giving the instruction "Touch the cup" with three pictures on the table, an RBT glances at the cup picture each time. Why is this a problem?
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A: The glance can act as an unplanned prompt and inflate the client's score. Clients can learn to follow small cues from the adult, such as eye gaze. An unplanned cue can produce correct responses without the client knowing the word, so the score overstates the skill.
- B: The concern is that the glance helps the client, not that it makes the item harder.
- C: The item still tests listener responding; a mand is a request for something wanted.
- D: A client can notice a glance whether or not they make eye contact, so the cue is a problem either way.
Task B.2 · 40-hour curriculum section D · Task C.7
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Question 3During an assessment item, an RBT realizes they mouthed the first sound of the answer just before the client responded correctly. What should the RBT do?
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D: Score the response as prompted and mention the error to the supervisor. Mouthing the first sound is a prompt, so the response was not independent. Honest scoring and reporting the error keep the data accurate.
- A: The client had help, so the response was not independent.
- B: Hiding the trial makes the record inaccurate and conceals an error.
- C: The client did respond correctly with a prompt; scoring it incorrect misstates what happened, and re-giving the item is not in the rules.
Task B.2 · 40-hour curriculum section D · RBT Ethics Code 2.02
Answer every question to see your score.
On the RBT exam
This term belongs to task C.7 Prompting and prompt fading in content area C, Behavior Acquisition, which is 19 of the 75 scored questions.