RBT practice test: Behavior Reduction, set 2

Set 2 of 9 for content area D, Behavior Reduction (14 of the 75 scored exam questions). Every answer is explained.

20 questions

Question 1Under the RBT Ethics Code, when may an RBT use a restrictive procedure such as a physical hold?
Show answer
C: When it is in a documented plan and the RBT's competence is verified. The RBT Ethics Code allows restrictive or punishment-based procedures only when they are part of a documented behavior-change plan and after the supervisor has verified the RBT's competence. Laws and organization policies may add further limits.
- A: Refusal alone does not justify a restrictive procedure.
- B: Caregiver requests do not meet the code's requirements.
- D: Use with other clients does not put it in this client's plan.
Task D.7 · 40-hour curriculum section E · RBT Ethics Code 2.05
Question 2A client's calling out is maintained by attention. When is calling out most likely to increase?
Show answer
C: After a long time without any attention. Going without attention is a motivating operation (deprivation) that makes attention more valuable, so attention-maintained behavior becomes more likely.
- A: Recent plentiful attention lowers its value for a while, so calling out is less likely.
- B: Attention is already available during the game.
- D: Just-delivered attention lowers its momentary value, so calling out is less likely.
Task D.1 · 40-hour curriculum section A
Question 3A client's mouthing of objects is maintained by automatic reinforcement. The plan gives the client continuous access to chewable items that produce similar oral stimulation. What type of procedure is this?
Show answer
A: Noncontingent reinforcement. Providing matched stimulation freely, without requiring any behavior, is NCR. For automatically reinforced behavior, the items aim to provide a similar sensation so the problem behavior is less needed.
- B: DRA would deliver a reinforcer only after a specific alternative behavior.
- C: Response cost removes a reinforcer after problem behavior.
- D: Overcorrection requires effortful behavior after problem behavior and is a punishment procedure.
Task D.2 · 40-hour curriculum section E
Question 4What does differential reinforcement involve?
Show answer
B: Reinforcing a target response, not problem behavior. Differential reinforcement reinforces a target response class (an alternative behavior, the absence of problem behavior, or a lower rate) while problem behavior no longer produces the reinforcer.
- A: Differential reinforcement uses reinforcement, not punishment.
- C: Reinforcing everything equally is the opposite of reinforcing differentially.
- D: Time-based delivery regardless of behavior is NCR.
Task D.3 · 40-hour curriculum section E
Question 5During home sessions, an RBT implements attention extinction for a client's yelling, as written. The RBT sees that a parent often responds to the yelling with long talks. What is the best next step?
Show answer
C: Tell the supervisor so they can address consistency with the family. Inconsistent extinction can keep the behavior going. The RBT keeps implementing the plan and reports the observation to the supervisor, who works with caregivers on consistency.
- A: The RBT may not stop or change a plan on their own; that is the supervisor's decision.
- B: Adding a procedure that is not in the plan is outside the RBT's role.
- D: Staying consistent is right, but information that could affect progress should go to the supervisor.
Task D.4 · 40-hour curriculum section E · RBT Ethics Code 2.06
Question 6A plan includes response cost. Over two weeks, the client cries most days when tokens are removed and has started refusing to come to the session table. What should the RBT do?
Show answer
C: Report the observations and data to the supervisor promptly. Emotional responses and avoidance can be side effects of punishment. The RBT continues the plan as written and reports promptly so the supervisor can review it.
- A: Stopping a procedure is the supervisor's decision.
- B: Increasing the fine is a plan change and could worsen side effects.
- D: These may be side effects of punishment, and the supervisor needs to know.
Task D.5 · 40-hour curriculum section E · RBT Ethics Code 2.06
Question 7An RBT has been implementing response cost with a client for several weeks. The client now hides under the table whenever that RBT arrives. Which side effect of punishment is this?
Show answer
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
Question 8A session included property destruction and a physical hold written in the plan. When should the RBT notify the supervisor?
Show answer
B: As soon as the situation is safe, following policy. Crisis incidents, especially those involving restrictive procedures, are reported promptly so the supervisor can respond, review and adjust the plan.
- A: Crises and holds need prompt reporting, not a wait until a routine meeting.
- C: The supervisor needs to know about any hold or crisis, injury or not.
- D: Reporting does not depend on a complaint.
Task D.7 · 40-hour curriculum section E · RBT Ethics Code 2.02
Question 9In applied behavior analysis, what does the "function" of a behavior refer to?
Show answer
A: The consequence that keeps the behavior going. The function of a behavior is the reinforcing outcome it produces for the person, which is what keeps it occurring. Functions are identified from the consequences that follow the behavior, not from how it looks.
- B: The physical form is the topography; two behaviors with the same form can serve different functions.
- C: Settings and antecedents give clues, but the function is the consequence that maintains the behavior.
- D: A diagnosis does not tell you which consequence in the environment maintains a behavior.
Task D.1 · 40-hour curriculum section A
Question 10During demand fading, a client's problem behavior rises sharply after moving from three tasks to six. The plan says to return to the previous step if behavior goes above the criterion. What should the RBT do?
Show answer
D: Go back to three tasks and report it. The plan tells the RBT what to do when behavior goes above criterion. The RBT follows that step and records and reports what happened.
- A: Removing all tasks is not what the plan says.
- B: Raising demands further goes against the plan's rule.
- C: Changing to a different procedure is the supervisor's decision.
Task D.2 · 40-hour curriculum section E · RBT Ethics Code 2.02
Question 11An FCT plan requires the client to say, "May I please have a break from this work now?" before getting a break. Why might this fail to reduce problem behavior?
Show answer
B: It takes more effort than problem behavior. If the replacement response is much harder than the problem behavior, problem behavior may remain the more efficient way to get the break. Simple responses usually work better at first.
- A: Polite wording is not a punisher; the issue is effort.
- C: FCT responses can be vocal, signed, picture-based or device-based.
- D: Extinction bursts are related to extinction, not to sentence length.
Task D.3 · 40-hour curriculum section E
Question 12A client has had no chance to ride a bike for months, and their riding skill has weakened. Is this extinction?
Show answer
A: No; in extinction the behavior occurs and goes unreinforced. Extinction is a specific contingency: the behavior happens and its reinforcer no longer follows. A skill fading because it was never practiced is a different process.
- B: A decrease from lack of opportunity is not extinction; the behavior must occur and go unreinforced.
- C: Reinforcement was not withheld after the behavior, because the behavior did not occur.
- D: Extinction can affect any reinforced behavior, including useful skills.
Task D.4 · 40-hour curriculum section E
Question 13Which description fits positive punishment?
Show answer
B: A stimulus is added after a behavior, and the behavior decreases. "Positive" means something is added; "punishment" means the behavior decreases. Positive punishment adds a stimulus after the behavior, and the behavior occurs less often.
- A: Removing a stimulus to reduce behavior is negative punishment.
- C: Adding a stimulus that increases behavior is positive reinforcement.
- D: Removing a stimulus that increases behavior is negative reinforcement.
Task D.5 · 40-hour curriculum section E
Question 14A child's tantrums dropped to near zero after weeks of extinction. On Monday, after a long weekend, the child has a short tantrum at the start of the session. What is this called?
Show answer
D: Spontaneous recovery. Spontaneous recovery is the reappearance of an extinguished behavior after time away, often at the start of a session. It is usually brief and weaker than before.
- A: A burst occurs when extinction first starts, not weeks later.
- B: Resurgence follows the loss of reinforcement for an alternative behavior; no change like that is described.
- C: Response variation means new forms of behavior; this is the same old tantrum.
Task D.6 · 40-hour curriculum section E
Question 15A fire alarm sounds during a session. The client drops to the floor and refuses to move, and the plan uses escape extinction for refusal. What should the RBT do?
Show answer
A: Evacuate with the client using the emergency procedure. In an emergency, safety procedures replace the behavior plan. The RBT follows the evacuation procedure, getting help if needed, and reports what happened afterward.
- B: Behavior plan procedures never take priority over an emergency evacuation.
- C: Leaving a client behind during a fire alarm puts them at serious risk.
- D: Alarms are treated as real; the evacuation procedure starts right away.
Task D.7 · 40-hour curriculum section E · RBT Ethics Code 2.01
Question 16At a day program, an adult says "I'm going to hit you" to staff who are busy charting. Staff usually stop and talk with the person about the statement. The statements rarely occur during one-on-one activities. Which function does this pattern suggest?
Show answer
A: Attention. The statements occur when staff attention is elsewhere, are followed by staff talking with the person, and are rare when attention is already available. That points to attention.
- B: No demands are placed before the statements occur.
- C: No item is withheld or delivered after the statements.
- D: The behavior depends on whether attention is available, which suggests a social function.
Task D.1 · 40-hour curriculum section A
Question 17Which feature shows that a procedure is NCR and not DRO?
Show answer
B: Delivery does not depend on whether problem behavior occurred. In NCR, the scheduled reinforcer is delivered regardless of behavior. In DRO, it is delivered only if problem behavior did not occur during the interval.
- A: Both NCR and DRO can use the reinforcer that maintains the problem behavior.
- C: Both procedures often use timers.
- D: Both procedures can deliver the reinforcer at the end of a set interval.
Task D.2 · 40-hour curriculum section E
Question 18Why are differential reinforcement procedures considered a positive approach to reducing problem behavior?
Show answer
C: They use reinforcement instead of punishment. Differential reinforcement reduces problem behavior by reinforcing other responses, so the client gains access to reinforcement instead of losing it.
- A: Most differential reinforcement includes extinction, which withholds the reinforcer for problem behavior.
- B: Change usually takes time; no procedure always works within one or two sessions.
- D: Data are collected on all procedures so the supervisor can judge progress.
Task D.3 · 40-hour curriculum section E
Question 19A plan puts a client's attention-maintained yelling on extinction. A new RBT stops talking to the client for the entire session. What is the problem?
Show answer
B: Only yelling should lose attention; other behavior should still get it. Extinction targets the contingency between one behavior and its reinforcer. Attention should still follow appropriate behavior, which also makes it more likely the client will use those behaviors.
- A: Leaving the room is not required; the RBT withholds attention after yelling only.
- C: DRO delivers reinforcement for intervals without the behavior; this RBT gives none at all.
- D: Removing toys is not part of attention extinction and is not in the plan.
Task D.4 · 40-hour curriculum section E
Question 20Which of these may an RBT never use as a consequence for a client's behavior?
Show answer
D: Withholding a meal the client needs. Withholding food, water or other basic needs harms the client and is never an acceptable consequence. RBTs do no harm and use only procedures in the client's plan.
- A: Response cost is acceptable when it is written in the plan and the RBT is verified competent.
- B: Time-out is acceptable when it is in the plan and the RBT is verified competent.
- C: Overcorrection is acceptable when it is in the plan and the RBT is verified competent.
Task D.5 · 40-hour curriculum section E · RBT Ethics Code 2.01

Answer every question to see your score.

What this test covers

Questions in this test by task
Task	Questions
D.1 Functions of behavior	3
D.2 Antecedent interventions	3
D.3 Differential reinforcement	3
D.4 Extinction	3
D.5 Positive and negative punishment	3
D.6 Secondary effects of extinction and punishment	2
D.7 Crisis and emergency procedures	3

6 easier, 9 exam-level and 5 harder questions. Each task link opens its study page.

Question 1Under the RBT Ethics Code, when may an RBT use a restrictive procedure such as a physical hold?

Question 2A client's calling out is maintained by attention. When is calling out most likely to increase?

Question 3A client's mouthing of objects is maintained by automatic reinforcement. The plan gives the client continuous access to chewable items that produce similar oral stimulation. What type of procedure is this?

Question 4What does differential reinforcement involve?

Question 5During home sessions, an RBT implements attention extinction for a client's yelling, as written. The RBT sees that a parent often responds to the yelling with long talks. What is the best next step?

Question 6A plan includes response cost. Over two weeks, the client cries most days when tokens are removed and has started refusing to come to the session table. What should the RBT do?

Question 7An RBT has been implementing response cost with a client for several weeks. The client now hides under the table whenever that RBT arrives. Which side effect of punishment is this?

Question 8A session included property destruction and a physical hold written in the plan. When should the RBT notify the supervisor?

Question 9In applied behavior analysis, what does the "function" of a behavior refer to?

Question 10During demand fading, a client's problem behavior rises sharply after moving from three tasks to six. The plan says to return to the previous step if behavior goes above the criterion. What should the RBT do?

Question 11An FCT plan requires the client to say, "May I please have a break from this work now?" before getting a break. Why might this fail to reduce problem behavior?

Question 12A client has had no chance to ride a bike for months, and their riding skill has weakened. Is this extinction?

Question 13Which description fits positive punishment?

Question 14A child's tantrums dropped to near zero after weeks of extinction. On Monday, after a long weekend, the child has a short tantrum at the start of the session. What is this called?

Question 15A fire alarm sounds during a session. The client drops to the floor and refuses to move, and the plan uses escape extinction for refusal. What should the RBT do?

Question 16At a day program, an adult says "I'm going to hit you" to staff who are busy charting. Staff usually stop and talk with the person about the statement. The statements rarely occur during one-on-one activities. Which function does this pattern suggest?

Question 17Which feature shows that a procedure is NCR and not DRO?

Question 18Why are differential reinforcement procedures considered a positive approach to reducing problem behavior?

Question 19A plan puts a client's attention-maintained yelling on extinction. A new RBT stops talking to the client for the entire session. What is the problem?

Question 20Which of these may an RBT never use as a consequence for a client's behavior?

What this test covers