RBT practice test: Behavior Acquisition, set 2

Set 2 of 12 for content area C, Behavior Acquisition (19 of the 75 scored exam questions). Every answer is explained.

20 questions

Question 1Which is a known limitation of shaping?
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B: It can be slow and needs close attention to each response. Shaping progress depends on the client's responses, so it can be slow, and the RBT must watch each response closely to reinforce only those that meet the current criterion.
- A: Shaping is used with motor, social and many other kinds of behavior, not only verbal behavior.
- C: Shaping uses reinforcement and extinction, not punishment.
- D: Shaping can be combined with prompts when the plan calls for it.
Task C.10 · 40-hour curriculum section E
Question 2A client's plan includes response cost of one token for each instance of hitting. The client hits once. How should the RBT carry this out?
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C: Calmly remove one token right away, without lecturing. Response cost should be carried out exactly as written: the specified amount, right after the behavior, in a calm and neutral way. Extra talk or attention can itself reinforce problem behavior.
- A: Removing more tokens than the plan specifies changes the procedure and may increase emotional responding.
- B: A long delay weakens the link between the behavior and the consequence.
- D: Repeated warnings are not part of the plan and change the procedure.
Task C.11 · 40-hour curriculum section E
Question 3A school-age client finishes a math worksheet, and the RBT immediately gives 5 minutes of tablet time, as the plan directs. Over the week, the client finishes worksheets more often. Which procedure is the RBT implementing?
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A: Positive reinforcement. Tablet time is added right after the worksheet is finished, and finishing worksheets increases. Adding a stimulus that increases the behavior it follows is positive reinforcement.
- B: Negative reinforcement removes a stimulus; here something is added.
- C: Negative punishment removes a stimulus and decreases behavior; here behavior increases.
- D: Noncontingent reinforcement is delivered on a time schedule, but here the tablet depends on finishing the worksheet.
Task C.1 · 40-hour curriculum section A
Question 4Why are tokens that can be traded for many different items less likely to lose their effectiveness during a long session than a single type of snack?
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A: Their value does not depend on one specific motivating operation.. Because tokens can be exchanged for many backup reinforcers, they stay valuable even when the client is satiated on one item. A single snack loses value as the client has more of it.
- B: Tokens are conditioned reinforcers, and they can lose value if their backup reinforcers lose value.
- C: Tokens can be delivered on many schedules, including intermittent ones.
- D: Preference varies by client; tokens are not always preferred over edibles.
Task C.2 · 40-hour curriculum section E
Question 5A plan gives a client 5 seconds to respond to each instruction. After 5 seconds the client has not responded. What should the RBT do?
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C: Record no response and follow the plan's next step. When the response window ends without a response, the RBT records the trial as the plan defines it and moves to the plan's prompting or error-correction step.
- A: Repeating the instruction can teach the client to wait for several instructions.
- B: The response window ends at 5 seconds; waiting longer changes the procedure.
- D: Delivering the reinforcer after no response reinforces not responding.
Task C.3 · 40-hour curriculum section E
Question 6At snack time, a child reaches toward crackers that the RBT placed on the counter, in view but out of reach. The RBT waits, the child says "cracker," and the RBT hands over a cracker. Which procedure is the RBT using?
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B: Incidental teaching. The child's reach (initiation) set up the opportunity, the RBT waited for a request, and the requested item was the reinforcer. These are the core steps of incidental teaching.
- A: In DTT the adult starts each trial with an instruction; here the child started the exchange.
- C: In NCR the item is given on a time schedule regardless of behavior; here it followed the request.
- D: Task interspersal mixes easy and hard targets within instruction; it does not describe this exchange.
Task C.4 · 40-hour curriculum section E
Question 7Which skill is best described as a behavior chain?
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C: Brushing teeth from start to finish. A behavior chain is a series of linked responses performed in order. Toothbrushing has several steps (get the brush, add toothpaste, brush, rinse), each leading to the next.
- A: Pointing to a card is a single response.
- B: Saying one word is a single response.
- D: Raising a hand is a single response.
Task C.5 · 40-hour curriculum section E
Question 8Which statement best describes the difference between stimulus generalization and stimulus discrimination?
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B: Generalization is responding the same way to similar stimuli; discrimination is responding differently to different stimuli. In stimulus generalization, a response learned with one stimulus also occurs with similar stimuli. In stimulus discrimination, the response occurs in the presence of some stimuli and not others. Teaching usually needs both: enough generalization to new examples and enough discrimination to avoid non-examples.
- A: Both are defined by how responding relates to stimuli, and both can occur in any setting.
- C: Discrimination is built through differential reinforcement (reinforcement in the presence of the SD, none in the presence of the S-delta), not punishment.
- D: A change in response form describes response generalization; stimulus discrimination is about which stimuli occasion the response.
Task C.6 · 40-hour curriculum section E
Question 9For a new handwashing skill, an RBT starts with full physical guidance. After the client meets the plan's criterion, the RBT switches to a light touch at the elbow, and later to pointing only. Which procedure is the RBT using?
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D: Most-to-least prompting. Most-to-least prompting begins with the most assistive prompt and moves to less intrusive prompts as the learner meets the plan's criterion at each level.
- A: Least-to-most prompting starts with the least help on each trial and adds more only if needed.
- B: Stimulus fading changes the materials; here the RBT's own help is reduced.
- C: Constant time delay keeps the prompt the same and changes when it is given.
Task C.7 · 40-hour curriculum section E
Question 10Over time, the supervisor's plan replaces edible reinforcers for a client's requests with the natural results of asking, such as getting the requested item. How does this support generalization?
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C: Natural reinforcers are available in the settings where the skill is used. Contrived reinforcers like edibles are often not available outside sessions. When a skill is maintained by consequences that occur naturally in daily life, it is more likely to occur and continue in those settings.
- A: Edible reinforcers are often useful during early teaching; they do not prevent learning.
- B: Data are still needed to see whether the skill occurs in new settings.
- D: The aim of the change is wider use of the skill, not responding only in the clinic.
Task C.8 · 40-hour curriculum section E
Question 11The plan says that if a maintenance target scores below 80% on two consecutive probes, it returns to acquisition. A target's last four probes were 100%, 90%, 70% and 60%. What should the RBT do?
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B: Follow the plan's rule and return the target to acquisition. The last two probes (70% and 60%) are both below 80%, so the plan's rule has been met. Following a written decision rule is implementing the plan, and the supervisor should still be told.
- A: The plan requires two consecutive low probes, not three, and that condition has been met.
- C: Removing a target is not what the plan says and is a supervisor decision.
- D: Continuing as before ignores the plan's decision rule.
Task C.9 · 40-hour curriculum section A
Question 12An RBT first reinforces a client for saying "b," then reinforces only "ba," and then reinforces only "ball." Which procedure is the RBT implementing?
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B: Shaping. Each reinforced response is a closer approximation of the word "ball," and earlier forms stop being reinforced as the criterion moves. That is shaping.
- A: Forward chaining links separate behaviors in a sequence; here a single response is gradually changed.
- C: Stimulus fading changes an antecedent cue, not the client's response.
- D: Most-to-least prompting changes the level of help given, not the form of the response that earns reinforcement.
Task C.10 · 40-hour curriculum section E
Question 13A teen's plan uses points recorded in a phone app, which can be exchanged for weekend outings. Can these points serve as tokens?
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A: Yes; points can be tokens if they are traded for backups. Tokens can take many forms, including points, check marks, stamps or chips. What makes them tokens is that they are earned for target behavior and exchanged for backup reinforcers.
- B: Tokens do not have to be physical objects.
- C: Many items can serve as tokens, not just stickers and chips.
- D: Points can be delivered on any schedule the plan specifies, not only after every response.
Task C.11 · 40-hour curriculum section E
Question 14An adult client finds the bright overhead lights uncomfortable. The plan teaches the client to say "Lights down, please," and the RBT dims the lights each time the client asks. Requests increase over the next few weeks. Which procedure does this show?
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D: Negative reinforcement. The request is followed by the reduction of an uncomfortable stimulus (bright light), and the request increases. Removing or reducing a stimulus in a way that increases behavior is negative reinforcement.
- A: Positive reinforcement adds a stimulus; here the bright light is reduced.
- B: Positive punishment adds a stimulus and decreases behavior; requests increased.
- C: Negative punishment removes a stimulus and decreases behavior; requests increased.
Task C.1 · 40-hour curriculum section A
Question 15In a pairing procedure meant to establish a new token as a reinforcer, the client is given a cracker and is shown the token only after finishing eating. After many trials, the token still does not affect the client's behavior. Which change to the procedure is most likely to help?
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A: Present the token just before or as the cracker is delivered.. Pairing works best when the neutral stimulus comes just before or together with the established reinforcer, so the token reliably signals that the cracker is coming.
- B: Presenting the token without the cracker weakens the pairing instead of building it.
- C: A longer delay after the cracker makes the token even less likely to signal it.
- D: Random presentation means the token does not predict the cracker, so pairing will not occur.
Task C.2 · 40-hour curriculum section E
Question 16Which sequence shows the core parts of a discrete trial in the correct order?
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A: Instruction, learner response, consequence, intertrial interval. A discrete trial begins with a brief instruction (the discriminative stimulus), followed by the learner's response and then a consequence, with a short intertrial interval before the next trial. A prompt, when the plan calls for one, is given with or right after the instruction.
- B: The consequence follows the response; it cannot come before the instruction that starts the trial.
- C: A discrete trial starts with the instructor's instruction (the SD), and the response comes after it.
- D: The intertrial interval is the pause after the consequence, between one trial and the next.
Task C.3 · 40-hour curriculum section E
Question 17A client says "cracker" only right after the RBT says "cracker." What is the goal of the plan's prompt fading?
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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
Question 18A step in a client's laundry task analysis does not match the washing machine in the client's new apartment. What should the RBT do?
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C: Tell the supervisor so the task analysis can be revised. RBTs report problems with a procedure to their supervisor, who updates the plan. Accurate data and an accurate task analysis both depend on it.
- A: Revising the task analysis is the supervisor's role.
- B: Scoring a skipped step as independent makes the data inaccurate.
- D: Stopping a program is a plan change the RBT cannot make on their own.
Task C.5 · RBT Ethics Code 2.02 · RBT Ethics Code 2.06
Question 19In a two-target program, an RBT presents "Touch dog" and "Touch cat" in strict alternation: dog, cat, dog, cat. The client is correct on nearly every trial. What is the main concern?
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C: The client may be responding to the pattern, not the instruction. A predictable order lets the client respond to the sequence rather than to what the RBT says. Plans present targets in a varied, unpredictable order so that only the instruction predicts which response will be reinforced.
- A: Being correct on nearly every trial means reinforcement is frequent.
- B: No prompts are being used; prompt dependence means waiting for help before responding.
- D: Clear differences between targets make a discrimination easier, not harder.
Task C.6 · 40-hour curriculum section E
Question 20What is the goal of fading a prompt?
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C: To move control of the response from the prompt to the natural instruction or cue. Prompts are temporary. Fading them gradually transfers stimulus control from the prompt to the SD that should produce the response in everyday life.
- A: Making a prompt more noticeable is the opposite of fading it.
- B: Fading involves prompts, which come before the response, not reinforcers.
- D: The goal is fewer prompts, not more.
Task C.7 · 40-hour curriculum section E

Answer every question to see your score.

What this test covers

Questions in this test by task
Task	Questions
C.1 Positive and negative reinforcement	2
C.2 Conditioned reinforcers	2
C.3 Discrete-trial teaching	2
C.4 Naturalistic teaching	2
C.5 Task analysis and chaining	2
C.6 Discrimination training	2
C.7 Prompting and prompt fading	2
C.8 Generalization	1
C.9 Maintenance vs. acquisition	1
C.10 Shaping	2
C.11 Token economies	2

2 easier, 15 exam-level and 3 harder questions. Each task link opens its study page.

Question 1Which is a known limitation of shaping?

Question 2A client's plan includes response cost of one token for each instance of hitting. The client hits once. How should the RBT carry this out?

Question 3A school-age client finishes a math worksheet, and the RBT immediately gives 5 minutes of tablet time, as the plan directs. Over the week, the client finishes worksheets more often. Which procedure is the RBT implementing?

Question 4Why are tokens that can be traded for many different items less likely to lose their effectiveness during a long session than a single type of snack?

Question 5A plan gives a client 5 seconds to respond to each instruction. After 5 seconds the client has not responded. What should the RBT do?

Question 6At snack time, a child reaches toward crackers that the RBT placed on the counter, in view but out of reach. The RBT waits, the child says "cracker," and the RBT hands over a cracker. Which procedure is the RBT using?

Question 7Which skill is best described as a behavior chain?

Question 8Which statement best describes the difference between stimulus generalization and stimulus discrimination?

Question 9For a new handwashing skill, an RBT starts with full physical guidance. After the client meets the plan's criterion, the RBT switches to a light touch at the elbow, and later to pointing only. Which procedure is the RBT using?

Question 10Over time, the supervisor's plan replaces edible reinforcers for a client's requests with the natural results of asking, such as getting the requested item. How does this support generalization?

Question 11The plan says that if a maintenance target scores below 80% on two consecutive probes, it returns to acquisition. A target's last four probes were 100%, 90%, 70% and 60%. What should the RBT do?

Question 12An RBT first reinforces a client for saying "b," then reinforces only "ba," and then reinforces only "ball." Which procedure is the RBT implementing?

Question 13A teen's plan uses points recorded in a phone app, which can be exchanged for weekend outings. Can these points serve as tokens?

Question 14An adult client finds the bright overhead lights uncomfortable. The plan teaches the client to say "Lights down, please," and the RBT dims the lights each time the client asks. Requests increase over the next few weeks. Which procedure does this show?

Question 15In a pairing procedure meant to establish a new token as a reinforcer, the client is given a cracker and is shown the token only after finishing eating. After many trials, the token still does not affect the client's behavior. Which change to the procedure is most likely to help?

Question 16Which sequence shows the core parts of a discrete trial in the correct order?

Question 17A client says "cracker" only right after the RBT says "cracker." What is the goal of the plan's prompt fading?

Question 18A step in a client's laundry task analysis does not match the washing machine in the client's new apartment. What should the RBT do?

Question 19In a two-target program, an RBT presents "Touch dog" and "Touch cat" in strict alternation: dog, cat, dog, cat. The client is correct on nearly every trial. What is the main concern?

Question 20What is the goal of fading a prompt?

What this test covers