RBT practice test 21

B: Avoidance. Punishment can lead clients to escape or avoid the people, places and activities linked to it. Hiding when the RBT arrives is avoidance.

• A: An extinction burst happens when a reinforcer is withheld, not after punishment.
• C: Spontaneous recovery is the return of an extinguished behavior after time away.
• D: Resurgence is the return of an old behavior when an alternative loses reinforcement.

Task D.6 · 40-hour curriculum section E

C: Deliver the reinforcer, since "ball" exceeds the current criterion. Any response that meets or exceeds the current criterion is reinforced. A response closer to the terminal behavior is exactly what shaping aims for, and it is worth reporting to the supervisor.

• A: A response that goes beyond the criterion still meets it and should not be put on extinction.
• B: Asking for a less complete response would reinforce a weaker approximation.
• D: Moving back a step would lower the criterion after the client did better.

Task C.10 · 40-hour curriculum section E

B: They understate how much the student was on task. Under whole interval recording any break leaves the interval unscored, so a student who was on task for nearly all of each minute can score close to 0%. The RBT keeps applying the scoring rule and shares the pattern with the supervisor, who decides whether the measurement system should change.

• A: Whole interval recording tends to underestimate: a brief glance away leaves the whole minute unscored.
• C: Interval data give a percentage of intervals, not a number of episodes.
• D: Looking only at the end of each interval is how momentary time sampling works.

Task A.2 · 40-hour curriculum section C

B: Reinforcement for an appropriate alternative behavior. Punishment reduces behavior but does not teach what to do instead. Plans pair it with reinforcement for appropriate behavior, ideally one that meets the same need.

• A: Extinction is targeted at specific behavior, never at everything the client does.
• C: Escalating punishers is not a standard part of a plan.
• D: Removing all reinforcers would make time-in poor and is not a standard practice.

Task D.5 · 40-hour curriculum section E

B: Strengths show what the client can already do, which teaching can build on. Knowing what a client already does well tells the team where to start teaching and which existing skills can support new ones. Deficits show what still needs to be taught.

• A: Skills the client already has usually do not need to be taught; goals focus on deficits.
• C: What maintains problem behavior is found through functional assessment, not skill strengths.
• D: Reinforcers are identified through preference and reinforcer assessments.

Task B.2 · 40-hour curriculum section D

A: No elopement, because the movement does not meet the definition. An operational definition states exactly what counts. Recording only what meets it keeps the data consistent across observers.

• B: Leaving the seat is not part of this definition, which requires moving more than 3 meters.
• C: Only the supervisor can change the definition.
• D: Picking up a toy is not elopement, and the movement did not meet the definition.

Task B.3 · 40-hour curriculum section D · Task A.5

C: 75%. Selection percentage = times chosen ÷ times presented × 100 = 6 ÷ 8 × 100 = 75%.

• A: 25% is the percentage of times the puzzle was not chosen (2 ÷ 8).
• B: 60% would be 6 out of 10, not 6 out of 8.
• D: 80% would be 6.4 out of 8, not 6 out of 8.

Task B.1 · 40-hour curriculum section D

A: Faster improvement per session. Steepness shows how quickly the measure is changing. A steeper increase means larger gains per session.

• B: A steep path rises more per session, which is faster, not slower.
• C: Steepness describes how fast the data change, not how much they bounce.
• D: The data path shows the client's performance, not the criterion.

Task A.7 · 40-hour curriculum section C

C: 0.5 per minute. Rate is the count divided by the time actually observed: 10 elopements in 20 minutes is 0.5 per minute. Using rate lets sessions of different lengths be compared.

• A: 10 is the count; the graph calls for responses per minute.
• B: This divides by the usual 30 minutes rather than the 20 minutes actually observed.
• D: This divides the minutes by the count instead of the count by the minutes.

Task A.4 · 40-hour curriculum section C

B: It may break the code, since the gifts are now expected. A small gift is acceptable when it is an occasional expression of gratitude. Ongoing or cumulative gifts can rise to a violation when they become a regularly expected source of income or value to the recipient.

• A: The code says ongoing or cumulative gifts can violate the standard even if each one is small.
• C: When the coffee is consumed does not change the pattern of gifts.
• D: The code does not exclude food or drinks; a coffee bought for someone is a gift.

Task F.8 · RBT Ethics Code 1.11

A: When the learner meets a set performance criterion. BST repeats rehearsal and feedback until the learner performs the skill to a set criterion, such as completing all steps correctly. The Initial Competency Assessment works the same way: feedback and reassessment until competence is shown.

• B: One rehearsal may not be enough to perform the skill accurately.
• C: Saying they understand is not the same as performing it correctly.
• D: There is no fixed number; practice continues until the criterion is met.

Task F.4 · 40-hour curriculum section G

B: Which RBT actually ran each session. A change in who delivers services is a variable that can affect behavior and data. Accurate records show who ran each session so the supervisor can take it into account.

• A: Recording the wrong person's name makes the record false.
• C: Removing real data hides information; the record should show the change instead.
• D: Even with the same plan, a different person can affect the client's behavior and the data.

Task E.3 · RBT Ethics Code 2.02 · 40-hour curriculum section F

D: Escape from tasks. Most incidents (7 of 10) were followed by task removal, so the data point most strongly to escape. The RBT reports the data, and the supervisor interprets them along with other assessment results.

• A: Only 2 of 10 incidents were followed by attention.
• B: Only 1 of 10 incidents was followed by getting an item.
• C: Each incident was followed by a social consequence, which does not point to automatic reinforcement.

Task D.1 · 40-hour curriculum section A

A: Follow the plan calmly and record the crying. Emotional responding is an expected secondary effect of extinction. The RBT follows the plan, stays calm and records what happened so the supervisor can review it. Anything more than the plan anticipates is reported promptly.

• B: Ending the session after crying lets the behavior produce escape and changes the plan.
• C: Removing the task after crying reinforces escape-maintained behavior.
• D: A reprimand is not in the plan and adds a punisher for an emotional response.

Task D.6 · 40-hour curriculum section E

C: To make sure a correct response follows the error. Error correction gives the client help so that a correct response follows an error, which makes it less likely the error will be repeated. The exact steps are set by the supervisor in the plan.

• A: Error correction is a teaching step that leads to a correct response, not a punishment procedure.
• B: Error correction happens within the session, trial by trial; it is not a rule for ending sessions.
• D: Prompt levels are recorded in the data, but measuring them is not the purpose of error correction.

Task C.3 · 40-hour curriculum section E

B: Overgeneralization, or stimulus generalization that is too broad. The response is occurring to stimuli outside the intended class, which is overgeneralization (unwanted stimulus generalization). Discrimination training, planned by the supervisor, teaches the client to say "dog" only for dogs.

• A: The client is using the same word, not new response forms, so this is not response generalization.
• C: Discrimination would mean responding differently to dogs and other animals; the client is responding the same way to all of them.
• D: Maintenance is about the skill lasting over time; the problem here is which stimuli evoke the response.

Task C.8 · 40-hour curriculum section E

A: One whose behavior is maintained by escape from activities. If behavior is maintained by escape, time-out removes the client from the activity they want to escape. That can work as negative reinforcement and make the behavior more likely.

• B: Losing access to a preferred game is a real loss, so time-out may work well.
• C: Time-out removes access to peer attention, so it fits this function.
• D: A rich time-in makes time-out a real loss.

Task D.5 · 40-hour curriculum section E

A: The poor results may come from the implementation rather than the plan. When a plan is not implemented as written, the client never really experienced the plan. Lack of progress could be due to the plan or to the implementation errors, and the supervisor cannot tell which until fidelity improves.

• B: Fidelity data say nothing about the function of behavior.
• C: Low fidelity means the plan was not tested as designed, so it cannot show the design was wrong.
• D: Fidelity is about implementation; the client's data can still be recorded and graphed.

Task A.8 · 40-hour curriculum section E

C: Record the probe result accurately and report the drop to the supervisor. A large drop on a maintenance probe is important data. The RBT records it as it occurred and reports it, and the supervisor decides whether the target returns to acquisition or needs another change.

• A: Removing a target from the program is a supervisor decision.
• B: Recording prompted responses as correct misrepresents the client's performance.
• D: Without a rule in the plan, changing the target's phase is the supervisor's decision.

Task C.9 · 40-hour curriculum section A

B: 2 stickers. After the game, 14 - 8 = 6 tokens remain. 6 / 3 = 2 stickers, with no tokens left over.

• A: 1 sticker uses only 3 of the 6 remaining tokens.
• C: 3 stickers would cost 9 tokens, but only 6 remain after the game.
• D: 4 stickers is 14 / 3 rounded down, which forgets to subtract the game first.

Task C.11 · 40-hour curriculum section E

D: Misrepresentation of BACB certification. Only people who hold RBT certification may present themselves as RBTs, and an inactive RBT may not represent themselves as active. The BACB may seek legal and other remedies when its certification marks are misused or misrepresented.

• A: Finishing the training is only one eligibility step; the person is not certified.
• B: A pending application does not make someone an RBT.
• C: An employer cannot grant a BACB credential or permission to use its title.

Task F.6 · RBT Handbook p. 1 · RBT Ethics Code 3.05

B: Pass it to the supervisor or other designated person. Billing records must be accurate, and questions about them go through the organization's process. The RBT relays the concern rather than handling or dismissing it.

• A: Dismissing the concern does not resolve a possible error.
• C: The caregiver's concern should first go to the organization through the supervisor.
• D: The RBT should not change billing records outside the organization's process.

Task E.1 · RBT Ethics Code 2.02 · RBT Ethics Code 2.06

A: The programs run and the client's responses. A session note records what services were provided and how the client responded, along with details like date, time and location. Opinions and personal matters do not belong.

• B: Personal matters do not belong in a clinical record.
• C: Opinions about caregivers are judgments, not documentation of services.
• D: Diagnosis is outside the RBT's role and not observed.

Task E.4 · 40-hour curriculum section F

C: After the 40-hour training and no more than 90 days before applying. The RBT Handbook says the Initial Competency Assessment is completed after the 40-hour training and no more than 90 days before submitting the certification application. The completed assessment is uploaded with the application.

• A: The assessment must come after the 40-hour training is complete.
• B: 180 days is the maximum length of the 40-hour training, not the assessment window.
• D: The completed assessment is uploaded with the application, before the exam.

Task F.2 · RBT Handbook p. 3

A: For the client to ask for crackers with no model. The echoic is used as a prompt for the mand. Fading it moves control to the client's motivation, so the request happens on its own.

• B: Repeating more words is an echoic goal; here the echoic is the prompt to fade.
• C: Naming pictures is a tact goal, not a mand goal.
• D: The goal is to strengthen the request, not end it.

Task C.4 · 40-hour curriculum section A · 40-hour curriculum section E