RBT practice test: Behavior Reduction, set 3

Set 3 of 9 for content area D, Behavior Reduction (14 of the 75 scored exam questions). Every answer is explained.

20 questions

Question 1When is spontaneous recovery most likely to be seen?
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A: At the start of a session after time away. Spontaneous recovery typically appears at the beginning of a session after a break, such as a weekend, once the behavior had decreased under extinction.
- B: That describes when resurgence is likely.
- C: That describes when an extinction burst is likely.
- D: Spontaneous recovery is linked to extinction, not to adding punishment.
Task D.6 · 40-hour curriculum section E
Question 2An RBT is about to start working with a new client who has a history of aggression. What should the RBT do before the first session?
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B: Read the crisis plan and ask the supervisor about unclear steps. RBTs prepare for service by reviewing the client's plan, including crisis procedures, and getting clarification and training from the supervisor before they need to use it.
- A: Each client's plan is individual; methods from past clients may not apply.
- C: There is no time to learn a plan during a crisis; it must be known in advance.
- D: Caregiver input is useful, but the RBT follows the supervisor's plan.
Task D.7 · 40-hour curriculum section E · RBT Ethics Code 2.04
Question 3In a middle-school class, a student tears up the math worksheet soon after it is handed out. The teacher then sends the student to the hallway to calm down. The behavior rarely happens during free time. Which function does this pattern suggest?
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D: Escape from the task. The behavior occurs when a demand is presented and is followed by removal from the task. Removal of an aversive task is negative reinforcement, so the pattern points to escape.
- A: Being sent to the hallway reduces contact with the teacher; the clear outcome is that the work ends.
- B: No preferred item is withheld or delivered in this pattern.
- C: The behavior is linked to demands and to a social consequence, not to sensation it produces by itself.
Task D.1 · 40-hour curriculum section A
Question 4Which statement describes an abolishing operation?
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D: It lowers the value of a reinforcer for a time. An abolishing operation, such as recent access to plenty of a reinforcer, temporarily lowers that reinforcer's value and makes behavior that produced it less likely.
- A: Raising a reinforcer's value is an establishing operation.
- B: Signaling availability of reinforcement describes a discriminative stimulus.
- C: Withholding reinforcement after behavior is extinction.
Task D.2 · 40-hour curriculum section E
Question 5A client is in FCT for tangible items and signs "tablet" while the tablet is charging. The plan says that when a requested item is not available, the RBT says when it will be available and offers a listed alternative. What should the RBT do?
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C: Follow the plan's steps and note the event for the supervisor. The plan already covers unavailable items, so the RBT follows those steps and notes what happened so the supervisor can review it.
- A: The plan gives a set response for unavailable items; the RBT follows it.
- B: Ignoring the taught request can weaken it and bring back problem behavior.
- D: Discouraging the request works against the response FCT is building.
Task D.3 · 40-hour curriculum section E · RBT Ethics Code 2.02
Question 6Which RBT behavior best fits planned ignoring of a client's attention-maintained behavior?
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B: Keeping a neutral face and avoiding eye contact and comments. Planned ignoring withholds all forms of attention after the target behavior: looks, comments, facial expressions and physical contact. The RBT keeps the client safe and gives attention for appropriate behavior instead.
- A: Announcing the ignoring is a comment, so it still gives attention.
- C: An explanation is attention delivered right after the behavior.
- D: A reprimand is attention and may reinforce attention-maintained behavior.
Task D.4 · 40-hour curriculum section E
Question 7A client's plan includes a punishment procedure. Which way of delivering it is most likely to make it effective?
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A: Immediately after each occurrence of the target behavior. Punishment works best when it is immediate and consistent, following every occurrence. The RBT delivers it exactly as the plan specifies.
- B: A delayed consequence is weakly linked to the behavior and works poorly.
- C: Punishment is most effective when it follows every occurrence, especially at first.
- D: Slowly increasing intensity can let the person adapt to the punisher.
Task D.5 · 40-hour curriculum section E
Question 8The supervisor's plan for a client's escape-maintained refusal anticipates mild crying and says to continue the procedure calmly. The client cries quietly and is safe. What should the RBT do?
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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
Question 9A tornado warning is issued during a home session. What should the RBT do?
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A: Follow emergency procedures and shelter with the client and family. During weather emergencies, the RBT follows the organization's and household's emergency procedures, moving to safety with the client and family, and reports afterward.
- B: A tornado warning calls for emergency procedures, not business as usual.
- C: Leaving puts the RBT at risk on the road and abandons the session.
- D: Taking shelter cannot wait for permission.
Task D.7 · 40-hour curriculum section E · RBT Ethics Code 2.01
Question 10In a group home, an adult often rocks and hums. Staff observe the same rate when the adult is alone in their room and when someone is with them, and no one responds to the rocking. Which function does this pattern suggest?
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B: Automatic reinforcement. The behavior occurs at similar rates with or without other people and produces no social consequence, which suggests the behavior is reinforced by the sensation it produces.
- A: No one responds to the rocking, and it happens just as often when alone.
- C: No demands are present when the rocking occurs.
- D: No item is withheld or delivered after the rocking.
Task D.1 · 40-hour curriculum section A
Question 11What is one reason NCR with attention reduces attention-maintained problem behavior?
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C: Frequent attention lowers its value as a reinforcer for a while. Regular attention acts as an abolishing operation, lowering the value of attention for a while, so behavior that produces attention becomes less likely. Problem behavior also no longer reliably produces extra attention.
- A: NCR is not a punishment procedure; nothing aversive follows the behavior.
- B: Teaching a request for attention is FCT.
- D: Giving attention only after appropriate behavior is DRA, which is contingent.
Task D.2 · 40-hour curriculum section E
Question 12In DRA, what kind of alternative behavior does the supervisor usually choose?
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B: One that takes no more effort than the problem behavior. Alternatives that are easy for the client and produce the same reinforcer are more likely to replace problem behavior.
- A: A harder alternative may lose out to the easier problem behavior.
- C: Function-based DRA uses the reinforcer that maintains problem behavior.
- D: Behaviors already in the client's repertoire, or easy to teach, are usually chosen so they can be reinforced right away.
Task D.3 · 40-hour curriculum section E
Question 13An RBT is implementing attention extinction for a client's crying. The RBT notices that each time the client cries, the task is also put away and the client gets out of work. What should the RBT do?
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C: Report the observation and data to the supervisor. If the behavior may be producing a reinforcer the plan does not address, extinction may not be complete. The RBT reports it so the supervisor can look at the function and adjust the plan.
- A: Adding a procedure without the supervisor changes the plan.
- B: The observation may matter to the plan and should be shared, not dismissed.
- D: Stopping the procedure is a plan change only the supervisor can make.
Task D.4 · 40-hour curriculum section E · RBT Ethics Code 2.06
Question 14A client's caregiver has often paired the word "Stop" with loss of privileges. Now the word "Stop" alone decreases the behavior it follows. What is "Stop" now?
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D: A conditioned punisher. A conditioned punisher is a stimulus that becomes a punisher by being paired with other punishers. Words, gestures and warnings often work this way.
- A: Unconditioned punishers work without any learning history; "Stop" gained its effect through pairing.
- B: A conditioned reinforcer increases behavior; "Stop" decreases it.
- C: A discriminative stimulus comes before behavior and signals reinforcement; "Stop" follows the behavior here.
Task D.5 · 40-hour curriculum section E
Question 15Compared with its level before extinction, a spontaneously recovered behavior is usually:
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B: Brief and lower than before extinction. Spontaneous recovery is typically short-lived and weaker than the original behavior, as long as the reinforcer is still withheld.
- A: That pattern describes a burst; recovered behavior is usually weaker.
- C: It usually fades again if the reinforcer stays withheld.
- D: It is usually short-lived if extinction continues.
Task D.6 · 40-hour curriculum section E
Question 16A client with a known severe food allergy gets hives and has trouble breathing after a snack. The client's emergency action plan says to use their auto-injector and call 911, and the RBT has been trained to do so. What should the RBT do?
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C: Follow the action plan: use the auto-injector and call 911. For a medical emergency, the RBT follows the client's emergency action plan as trained, without delay, then notifies the supervisor and caregiver.
- A: The emergency plan already says what to do, and delay can be life-threatening.
- B: Trouble breathing is an emergency that needs immediate action, not monitoring.
- D: A severe allergic reaction requires emergency services, not a later doctor's visit.
Task D.7 · 40-hour curriculum section E · RBT Ethics Code 2.01
Question 17An RBT's ABC data on 10 incidents of property destruction show 7 followed by removal of a task, 2 followed by attention and 1 followed by getting an item. Which function do these data point to most strongly?
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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
Question 18Before asking a teen to hand over their phone, which they often refuse, the RBT asks them to give a high five, say their name and touch their nose. The teen does each quickly and gets praise, and then the RBT asks for the phone. Which procedure is this?
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B: High-p request sequence. Several quick requests with a history of compliance, each followed by praise, come right before a request with low compliance. That is a high-p request sequence.
- A: Shaping reinforces successive approximations of a new behavior.
- C: Priming previews an activity or material before it happens.
- D: Demand fading removes demands and then adds them back gradually.
Task D.2 · 40-hour curriculum section E
Question 19A DRO plan uses a 5-minute interval. The RBT forgot to start the timer and gave the reinforcer after about 9 minutes, when they remembered. What should the RBT do?
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D: Record what happened accurately and tell the supervisor. The procedure was not implemented as written, which affects procedural fidelity and the data. Honest documentation and reporting let the supervisor judge the effect.
- A: Recording 5 minutes would make the data inaccurate.
- B: Extra reinforcers are not part of the plan.
- C: Leaving errors out hides fidelity problems from the supervisor.
Task D.3 · 40-hour curriculum section E · RBT Ethics Code 2.02
Question 20Who decides whether an extinction procedure will be used with a client?
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D: The supervisor, based on assessment of the behavior's function. Extinction must match the function of behavior, so the supervisor designs it from assessment results. The RBT implements it as written.
- A: RBTs implement plans; they do not choose interventions.
- B: Caregivers give input, but the behavior plan is designed by the supervisor.
- C: Procedures come from the written plan, not from whoever is present.
Task D.4 · 40-hour curriculum section E · RBT Ethics Code 2.02

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	2
D.6 Secondary effects of extinction and punishment	3
D.7 Crisis and emergency procedures	3

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

Question 1When is spontaneous recovery most likely to be seen?

Question 2An RBT is about to start working with a new client who has a history of aggression. What should the RBT do before the first session?

Question 3In a middle-school class, a student tears up the math worksheet soon after it is handed out. The teacher then sends the student to the hallway to calm down. The behavior rarely happens during free time. Which function does this pattern suggest?

Question 4Which statement describes an abolishing operation?

Question 5A client is in FCT for tangible items and signs "tablet" while the tablet is charging. The plan says that when a requested item is not available, the RBT says when it will be available and offers a listed alternative. What should the RBT do?

Question 6Which RBT behavior best fits planned ignoring of a client's attention-maintained behavior?

Question 7A client's plan includes a punishment procedure. Which way of delivering it is most likely to make it effective?

Question 8The supervisor's plan for a client's escape-maintained refusal anticipates mild crying and says to continue the procedure calmly. The client cries quietly and is safe. What should the RBT do?

Question 9A tornado warning is issued during a home session. What should the RBT do?

Question 10In a group home, an adult often rocks and hums. Staff observe the same rate when the adult is alone in their room and when someone is with them, and no one responds to the rocking. Which function does this pattern suggest?

Question 11What is one reason NCR with attention reduces attention-maintained problem behavior?

Question 12In DRA, what kind of alternative behavior does the supervisor usually choose?

Question 13An RBT is implementing attention extinction for a client's crying. The RBT notices that each time the client cries, the task is also put away and the client gets out of work. What should the RBT do?

Question 14A client's caregiver has often paired the word "Stop" with loss of privileges. Now the word "Stop" alone decreases the behavior it follows. What is "Stop" now?

Question 15Compared with its level before extinction, a spontaneously recovered behavior is usually:

Question 16A client with a known severe food allergy gets hives and has trouble breathing after a snack. The client's emergency action plan says to use their auto-injector and call 911, and the RBT has been trained to do so. What should the RBT do?

Question 17An RBT's ABC data on 10 incidents of property destruction show 7 followed by removal of a task, 2 followed by attention and 1 followed by getting an item. Which function do these data point to most strongly?

Question 18Before asking a teen to hand over their phone, which they often refuse, the RBT asks them to give a high five, say their name and touch their nose. The teen does each quickly and gets praise, and then the RBT asks for the phone. Which procedure is this?

Question 19A DRO plan uses a 5-minute interval. The RBT forgot to start the timer and gave the reinforcer after about 9 minutes, when they remembered. What should the RBT do?

Question 20Who decides whether an extinction procedure will be used with a client?

What this test covers