RBT practice test: Behavior Acquisition, set 10

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

A: It is not reinforced, and the plan's error correction is used. Discrimination training reinforces the response only when the SD is present. A response in the presence of the S-delta is not reinforced, and the RBT then uses the error correction written in the plan.

• B: Reinforcing "red" in the presence of the blue card teaches that "red" pays off with any card.
• C: Any reinforcement in the presence of the S-delta weakens the discrimination, and the plan says not to reinforce it.
• D: Removing tokens is response cost, a punishment procedure that is not in this plan; discrimination training relies on withholding reinforcement.

Task C.6 · 40-hour curriculum section E

A: Follow the plan and share the idea and data with the supervisor. RBTs implement the plan as written and bring suggestions and concerns to the supervisor, who decides on changes. Sharing data helps the supervisor make that decision.

• B: Changing the procedure without the supervisor's direction goes beyond the RBT's role.
• C: Running a comparison is a change to the plan that only the supervisor can make.
• D: Treatment decisions are the supervisor's; the RBT can pass caregiver input to the supervisor.

Task C.7 · 40-hour curriculum section E · RBT Ethics Code 2.02 · RBT Ethics Code 2.06

A: General case analysis. General case analysis selects teaching examples that sample the full range of stimulus and response variations found in the natural environment, so the learner can use any machine they meet, not just the ones taught.

• B: Programming common stimuli makes the teaching setting resemble one target setting; it does not sample a full range of variations.
• C: Training loosely varies noncritical features of teaching, while these machine features are the relevant ones the teen must respond to.
• D: Indiscriminable contingencies concern reinforcement schedules, not the choice of teaching examples.

Task C.8 · 40-hour curriculum section E

D: The skill may not be maintained yet under thinner reinforcement. Strong performance only with dense reinforcement suggests the skill depends on that reinforcement. The RBT should report the pattern so the supervisor can decide how to thin reinforcement more gradually.

• A: Performance drops sharply under the maintenance conditions, so it is not fully maintained.
• B: Nothing in the data involves new people or settings.
• C: The client performs at 100% with dense reinforcement, so the skill was acquired.

Task C.9 · 40-hour curriculum section A

D: When the target does not yet occur and is hard to prompt. Shaping builds behavior that is not yet in the client's repertoire, starting from something the client already does. It is especially helpful when the behavior cannot simply be prompted, as with many speech sounds.

• A: If the behavior already occurs at high rates, there is nothing new to shape.
• B: Linking separate steps into a routine is chaining.
• C: Reducing a behavior to zero is not the purpose of shaping.

Task C.10 · 40-hour curriculum section E

C: Giving a token right after the behavior and naming the behavior. Tokens work best when delivered immediately after the target behavior, together with specific praise that names the behavior. This makes the contingency clear and pairs praise with the token.

• A: Giving tokens only at the end of the session delays reinforcement and does not link tokens to specific behaviors.
• B: Giving tokens on request reinforces asking for tokens rather than the target behavior.
• D: Tokens given on a time schedule regardless of behavior are not contingent on the target behavior.

Task C.11 · 40-hour curriculum section E

D: Fixed interval 2 minutes. On a fixed interval schedule, the first response after a set amount of time has passed is reinforced. Responses before the interval ends are not reinforced.

• A: A fixed ratio 2 would reinforce every second request, regardless of time.
• B: A fixed-time schedule delivers reinforcement every 2 minutes whether or not the client responds.
• C: A variable interval schedule uses intervals that change around an average, not a set 2 minutes.

Task C.1 · 40-hour curriculum section A

C: Water for a client who is thirsty. Unconditioned (primary) reinforcers, such as food, water and warmth, are effective without any learning history, although their value still depends on motivating operations such as thirst.

• A: Praise gains its value through a history of pairing with other reinforcers, so it is a conditioned reinforcer.
• B: Stickers become reinforcers through learning, so they are conditioned reinforcers.
• D: Tokens gain their value by being exchanged for backup reinforcers, so they are conditioned reinforcers.

Task C.2 · 40-hour curriculum section E

B: Antecedent, behavior, consequence. The three-term contingency is antecedent, behavior and consequence. In a discrete trial these are the instruction (SD), the learner's response, and the reinforcer or error correction that follows.

• A: These are phases of an intervention, not the parts of a contingency.
• C: These are teaching steps for building independence, not the three-term contingency.
• D: The intertrial interval is a pause between trials; the third term of the contingency is the consequence.

Task C.3 · 40-hour curriculum section A · 40-hour curriculum section E

D: Echoic. An echoic repeats a vocal model with the same sounds. Echoics are often used as prompts for mands and tacts in naturalistic teaching.

• A: The child is not asking for anything; they are repeating a sound.
• B: A tact is controlled by a nonverbal stimulus such as an object or picture, not by someone else's sound.
• C: An intraverbal is a different response to someone's words; this one matches them.

Task C.4 · 40-hour curriculum section A

D: The client may become dependent on the taps. When a prompt is never faded, the learner can become prompt dependent. The steps should be recorded as prompted, and the supervisor's plan for fading the taps should be followed.

• A: Satiation concerns the reinforcer, not the taps before each step.
• B: Tapping does not turn chaining into shaping.
• C: The taps come before steps as prompts, not at the end as a reinforcer.

Task C.5 · 40-hour curriculum section E

C: The RBT saying "bus". The response occurs only after the verbal model, so the prompt controls it. The goal of prompt fading is to transfer control to the picture and question, so the client says "bus" without hearing it first.

• A: The client does not say "bus" when the picture is shown alone, so the picture does not yet control the response.
• B: The question is asked on every trial, but the client answers only after hearing "bus."
• D: A reinforcer follows the response; it cannot be what occasions it on that trial.

Task C.7 · 40-hour curriculum section E

A: Rotate through the listed instructions as the plan directs. Rotating the listed instructions teaches the client to respond to several wordings of the same request, which promotes generalization. Following the program sheet as written also keeps procedural fidelity.

• B: Using only one wording goes against the plan and can tie the response to that wording.
• C: Adding new wordings that are not in the plan changes the procedure without supervisor direction.
• D: Choosing only the easiest instruction changes the plan and limits generalization.

Task C.8 · 40-hour curriculum section E

A: The skill produces natural reinforcement in the client's daily life. Skills that keep producing reinforcement in everyday life, such as getting a drink after asking for one, tend to be maintained without formal teaching.

• B: Reliance on edible reinforcers that disappear when services end makes maintenance less likely.
• C: Skills that are never practiced or reinforced after mastery are at risk of being lost.
• D: Teaching only at a table does not by itself support maintenance in daily life.

Task C.9 · 40-hour curriculum section A

A: Withhold the reinforcer, since 25 seconds misses the criterion. In shaping, only responses that meet the current criterion are reinforced. Changing the criterion is a supervisor decision unless the plan gives a rule for it.

• B: Responses below the current criterion are no longer reinforced, even if they improve on baseline.
• C: Changing the criterion without a plan rule changes the procedure without supervisor direction.
• D: Adding a bonus token reinforces a response that did not meet criterion and adds a procedure not in the plan.

Task C.10 · 40-hour curriculum section E

A: Give praise as the plan allows, but no token. Giving tokens only for independent responses is a form of differential reinforcement that favors unprompted responding. Following the plan's rule exactly keeps the contingency clear.

• B: Giving a token for a prompted response goes against the plan's rule.
• C: Adding bonus tokens later is not part of the plan.
• D: Removing a token is response cost, which the plan does not include for prompted responses.

Task C.11 · 40-hour curriculum section E

B: Positive reinforcement. The teacher's comment is added after the calling out, and calling out has increased. Whatever the teacher intends, a consequence that is added and increases the behavior is functioning as positive reinforcement.

• A: Punishment would decrease calling out, but it has increased.
• C: Nothing is being removed after calling out; the teacher's comment is added.
• D: Extinction means the behavior no longer produces its reinforcer, but the teacher responds every time.

Task C.1 · 40-hour curriculum section A

B: Their effectiveness still depends on motivating operations such as deprivation.. Unconditioned reinforcers need no learning history, but how effective they are at a given moment still depends on motivating operations. Food works well when a person is hungry and much less well after a large meal.

• A: Unconditioned reinforcers lose effectiveness with satiation.
• C: Unconditioned reinforcers need no pairing; it is neutral stimuli that are paired to become conditioned reinforcers.
• D: Well-established conditioned reinforcers can be more effective than unconditioned reinforcers in some situations.

Task C.2 · 40-hour curriculum section E

C: Ask the supervisor for training before running it. RBTs use procedures only after they have been trained on them, and they bring questions to their supervisor. Asking for training first protects the client and the data.

• A: Guessing from another program may not match how this program is written.
• B: Online sources may not match the client's plan; the supervisor gives direction.
• D: Skipping a program without telling the supervisor leaves the plan unimplemented.

Task C.3 · RBT Ethics Code 2.04 · RBT Ethics Code 1.06