RBT practice test: Behavior Acquisition, set 9

Set 9 of 12 for content area C, Behavior Acquisition (19 of the 75 scored exam questions). Every answer is explained.

20 questions

Question 1While teaching a client to use a spoon, an RBT keeps their hand close to the client's hand. The RBT guides only as much as needed at each moment, lightens the touch as soon as the client starts the motion, and moves the hand away as the client continues alone. Which procedure is this?
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A: Graduated guidance. Graduated guidance gives physical help only as needed and reduces it immediately as the learner begins to respond, sometimes ending with the RBT's hand simply following, or shadowing, the learner's movement.
- B: Most-to-least prompting steps down prompt levels across trials or sessions by a criterion; here help changes moment to moment within one response.
- C: A full physical prompt guides the whole response; here help is lessened during the response.
- D: Least-to-most prompting waits for an independent attempt and then adds help; here help starts close and is reduced.
Task C.7 · 40-hour curriculum section E
Question 2In the common phases of an intervention (baseline, intervention, generalization and maintenance), what does the generalization phase focus on?
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B: Whether the skill occurs with new people, places and materials. The generalization phase extends and tests the skill beyond the teaching conditions, with new people, places and materials, so it is useful in the client's daily life.
- A: Measuring the skill before teaching is baseline.
- C: Checking that the skill continues over time is the focus of maintenance.
- D: Direct teaching to mastery is the intervention phase.
Task C.8 · 40-hour curriculum section E · 40-hour curriculum section A
Question 3Which reinforcement arrangement is most typical for a target that is still in acquisition?
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A: Reinforcement for every correct response. When a skill is being learned, dense reinforcement, often continuous reinforcement for every correct response, produces the fastest learning. Reinforcement is usually thinned later, as the skill moves toward maintenance.
- B: A thin variable schedule is more typical once a skill is learned and being maintained.
- C: Relying only on natural consequences is a later goal, not the usual arrangement during initial learning.
- D: Monthly probes are a maintenance check, not an acquisition procedure.
Task C.9 · 40-hour curriculum section A
Question 4Which two processes make up the differential reinforcement used in shaping?
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A: Reinforcing the current approximation; extinction of earlier ones. In shaping, responses that meet the current criterion are reinforced, while earlier approximations that used to be reinforced are now placed on extinction. This shifts responding toward the terminal behavior.
- B: Shaping does not use punishment for earlier approximations; they simply stop being reinforced.
- C: Prompting and prompt fading are a different procedure.
- D: Noncontingent reinforcement is not contingent on any response, so it cannot select closer approximations.
Task C.10 · 40-hour curriculum section E
Question 5A client hands over 10 tokens for 10 minutes on a tablet, as the plan allows. The RBT then asks the client to do three more tasks before handing over the tablet. What is the problem?
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D: Delaying the backup after exchange can weaken the tokens. Tokens keep their value because they reliably lead to backup reinforcers. Adding demands after the exchange breaks that rule and can weaken the tokens.
- A: Adding any extra tasks after the exchange goes against the plan, whatever the number.
- B: Tablet time is a common and appropriate backup reinforcer.
- C: Removing tokens here would be response cost without a plan, and the client did nothing to warrant it.
Task C.11 · 40-hour curriculum section E
Question 6In a store, a child screams, and the caregiver hands over candy. The screaming stops right away. Over time, the caregiver hands over candy sooner and sooner after screaming starts. What best explains the caregiver's behavior?
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A: Negative reinforcement, because giving candy ends the screaming. For the caregiver, giving candy ends an aversive event (the screaming), and giving candy has increased. That is negative reinforcement of the caregiver's behavior, while the child's screaming may be positively reinforced by the candy.
- B: Quiet is the end of the screaming; giving candy works by removing the screaming, which makes it negative reinforcement.
- C: The screaming comes before the caregiver's response; it is not a consequence that decreases giving candy.
- D: Negative punishment would decrease giving candy, but it has increased.
Task C.1 · 40-hour curriculum section A
Question 7In a home program, a child finds the bag of plastic chips used as tokens and starts taking chips whenever they like. Why is this a problem for the token system?
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D: Free access breaks the link between the target behavior and earning tokens.. Tokens work only when the target behavior is the way to get them. If tokens are freely available, the behavior no longer earns them, and the system loses its effect. The RBT should tell the supervisor so the team can secure the tokens.
- A: Free access does not change tokens into unconditioned reinforcers.
- B: Response cost is the removal of tokens after a behavior, not taking extra tokens.
- C: Free access to tokens does not raise the value of backup reinforcers.
Task C.2 · 40-hour curriculum section E
Question 8After giving a client a reinforcer for a correct response, an RBT writes the data, waits about three seconds, and then gives the next instruction. What is this brief pause called?
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D: Intertrial interval. The intertrial interval is the short pause between the end of one trial (the consequence) and the instruction that starts the next. RBTs often use it to record data and reset materials.
- A: Latency is the time from an instruction to the start of the client's response, not the pause between trials.
- B: A prompt delay is the time between the instruction and the prompt within a trial.
- C: A limited hold is a time window in which a response must occur to be reinforced, not the gap between trials.
Task C.3 · 40-hour curriculum section E
Question 9Which 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
Question 10A plan uses forward chaining for toothbrushing. Steps 1 and 2 are mastered, step 3 is the current training step, and the plan says the RBT fully prompts any steps after the training step. The client completes steps 1 to 3 independently. When should the RBT deliver the planned reinforcement?
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C: Right after step 3, the current training step. In forward chaining, reinforcement follows completion of the current training step. The rest of the chain is then completed the way the plan says, here with full prompts from the RBT.
- A: In forward chaining the client is not yet expected to do the later steps alone, so reinforcement does not wait for the whole chain.
- B: Step 1 is already mastered; reinforcement follows the step currently being trained.
- D: Step 2 is already mastered; reinforcement follows the step currently being trained.
Task C.5 · 40-hour curriculum section E
Question 11A program teaches a child to follow two spoken instructions, "Clap" and "Stomp," with no model given. The child claps after both instructions. Which stimuli does the child need to learn to discriminate between?
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D: The two spoken instructions. Here the instructions are the discriminative stimuli: "Clap" should occasion clapping and "Stomp" should occasion stomping. The child currently responds the same way to both, so the instructions do not yet control different responses.
- A: Clapping and stomping are the responses; discrimination is about the stimuli that come before them.
- B: Nothing in the situation involves different staff; the same RBT gives both instructions.
- C: Reinforcers follow the response; the child must respond differently to the two instructions that come before it.
Task C.6 · 40-hour curriculum section E
Question 12A plan says to wait 0 seconds before prompting in the first sessions, then 1 second, then 2 seconds, and so on, adding time as the client succeeds. Which procedure is this?
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A: Progressive time delay. In progressive time delay, the delay between the instruction and the prompt is lengthened gradually. This gives the learner more and more chance to respond before help arrives.
- B: Constant time delay moves from 0 seconds to one fixed delay rather than increasing in steps.
- C: Most-to-least prompting changes the type of prompt; here only the wait before the prompt changes.
- D: Stimulus fading changes the materials; here only timing changes.
Task C.7 · 40-hour curriculum section E
Question 13At the clinic, an RBT taught a child to say "cup" when shown a red plastic cup. At home, the child says "cup" when they see a blue ceramic mug, which was never used in teaching. What does this show?
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C: Stimulus generalization. The taught response ("cup") occurred in the presence of a new stimulus that shares the relevant features of the teaching stimulus. That is stimulus generalization.
- A: Response generalization would be a new form of response, such as saying "mug" or "drink", which did not happen here.
- B: Response maintenance refers to performance lasting over time after teaching, not performance with new stimuli.
- D: Stimulus fading is a prompting procedure that gradually removes an added cue, not an outcome of teaching.
Task C.8 · 40-hour curriculum section E
Question 14Why do teams keep checking skills after they are mastered?
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A: Skills can weaken over time without practice or reinforcement. Mastery shows the skill was learned, not that it will last. Periodic checks catch any decline early so the supervisor can respond.
- B: Mastered skills are checked, not retaught from the start on a schedule.
- C: Baseline data are collected before teaching, not after mastery.
- D: Maintenance checks look at performance over time; generalization is a separate goal with its own procedures.
Task C.9 · 40-hour curriculum section A
Question 15Why should a shaping step not be reinforced for much longer than the plan calls for?
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D: The client may get stuck at that approximation, making the next step harder. If an approximation is reinforced too long, it becomes very strong and the client may keep repeating it rather than varying toward the next approximation.
- A: Staying at one step does not change the procedure into chaining.
- B: There is no fixed number of times an approximation may be reinforced; the plan sets the criterion for moving on.
- C: How long a step lasts does not change whether a reinforcer is conditioned or unconditioned.
Task C.10 · 40-hour curriculum section E
Question 16Which of these should not be used as a backup reinforcer in a token economy?
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D: Access to the client's regular meals. Backup reinforcers should be extra items and activities, not things a client has a right to, such as regular meals, rest, bathroom use or contact with family.
- A: Extra tablet time is an added privilege and is a common backup reinforcer.
- B: Choosing an activity is an added privilege and an appropriate backup reinforcer.
- C: Small prize items are common, appropriate backup reinforcers.
Task C.11 · 40-hour curriculum section E
Question 17The plan says: "When the client reaches mastery on FR 1, move to FR 2." The client reached the criterion in the last session. What should the RBT do in today's session?
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D: Reinforce every second correct response, as the plan states.. The supervisor has already written the next step and the criterion for it. The RBT implements the plan as written, which means moving to FR 2 (reinforcing every second correct response).
- A: Skipping steps changes the plan and can cause responding to break down.
- B: The plan sets the criterion for the change; the RBT does not wait for the client to signal it.
- C: Mastery leads to schedule thinning in this plan, not to stopping reinforcement altogether.
Task C.1 · 40-hour curriculum section A
Question 18Before any pairing has taken place, a plastic chip that has no effect on a client's behavior is best described as which of the following?
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B: A neutral stimulus. A stimulus that has no reinforcing effect yet is a neutral stimulus. Pairing it with established reinforcers can turn it into a conditioned reinforcer.
- A: A backup reinforcer is what tokens are traded for, and the chip currently has no effect on behavior.
- C: An unconditioned reinforcer works without learning, but the chip has no effect at all.
- D: A discriminative stimulus signals that reinforcement is available for a response; the chip has no such history yet.
Task C.2 · 40-hour curriculum section E
Question 19A plan lists the instruction for a target as "Touch nose." Which way of presenting it follows the plan best?
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A: Say "Touch nose" once, clearly, when the client is attending. An instruction should be brief, clear and delivered as written, once, when the client is oriented to the RBT or the materials. Unplanned prompts and extra words change the procedure.
- B: Extra words make the instruction long and inconsistent with the plan.
- C: Pointing adds a gestural or model prompt that the plan did not call for.
- D: Giving the instruction when the client is not attending makes an error or no response more likely.
Task C.3 · 40-hour curriculum section E
Question 20During a drawing activity, the RBT gives a child paper but keeps the crayons in hand, so the child has to ask for them. What is the RBT doing?
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C: Contriving a motivating operation. Holding back a needed item makes it more valuable at that moment (an establishing operation) and gives the child a reason to mand for it.
- A: Planned ignoring withholds attention after problem behavior; here an item is held back to set up a request.
- B: Response cost removes a reinforcer after a behavior; nothing was taken away after a behavior.
- D: Demand fading lowers and then gradually raises task demands, which is not happening here.
Task C.4 · 40-hour curriculum section E

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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	1
C.6 Discrimination training	1
C.7 Prompting and prompt fading	2
C.8 Generalization	2
C.9 Maintenance vs. acquisition	2
C.10 Shaping	2
C.11 Token economies	2

3 easier, 14 exam-level and 3 harder questions. Each task link opens its study page.

Question 1While teaching a client to use a spoon, an RBT keeps their hand close to the client's hand. The RBT guides only as much as needed at each moment, lightens the touch as soon as the client starts the motion, and moves the hand away as the client continues alone. Which procedure is this?

Question 2In the common phases of an intervention (baseline, intervention, generalization and maintenance), what does the generalization phase focus on?

Question 3Which reinforcement arrangement is most typical for a target that is still in acquisition?

Question 4Which two processes make up the differential reinforcement used in shaping?

Question 5A client hands over 10 tokens for 10 minutes on a tablet, as the plan allows. The RBT then asks the client to do three more tasks before handing over the tablet. What is the problem?

Question 6In a store, a child screams, and the caregiver hands over candy. The screaming stops right away. Over time, the caregiver hands over candy sooner and sooner after screaming starts. What best explains the caregiver's behavior?

Question 7In a home program, a child finds the bag of plastic chips used as tokens and starts taking chips whenever they like. Why is this a problem for the token system?

Question 8After giving a client a reinforcer for a correct response, an RBT writes the data, waits about three seconds, and then gives the next instruction. What is this brief pause called?

Question 9Which advantage is most often given for naturalistic teaching?

Question 11A program teaches a child to follow two spoken instructions, "Clap" and "Stomp," with no model given. The child claps after both instructions. Which stimuli does the child need to learn to discriminate between?

Question 12A plan says to wait 0 seconds before prompting in the first sessions, then 1 second, then 2 seconds, and so on, adding time as the client succeeds. Which procedure is this?

Question 13At the clinic, an RBT taught a child to say "cup" when shown a red plastic cup. At home, the child says "cup" when they see a blue ceramic mug, which was never used in teaching. What does this show?

Question 14Why do teams keep checking skills after they are mastered?

Question 15Why should a shaping step not be reinforced for much longer than the plan calls for?

Question 16Which of these should not be used as a backup reinforcer in a token economy?

Question 17The plan says: "When the client reaches mastery on FR 1, move to FR 2." The client reached the criterion in the last session. What should the RBT do in today's session?

Question 18Before any pairing has taken place, a plastic chip that has no effect on a client's behavior is best described as which of the following?

Question 19A plan lists the instruction for a target as "Touch nose." Which way of presenting it follows the plan best?

Question 20During a drawing activity, the RBT gives a child paper but keeps the crayons in hand, so the child has to ask for them. What is the RBT doing?

What this test covers