RBT (Registered Behavior Technician) — All Questions

What is the main advantage of backward chaining over forward chaining?

• a.The learner requires fewer prompts overall, because the earlier steps are never taught.
• b.The learner learns the sequence faster, because the steps are shorter at the end of a chain.
• c.The learner practices the steps that are hardest first, while attention is at its highest.
• d.The learner completes the chain and contacts its natural reinforcer on every single trial.✓

(d) is correct: because the learner performs the final step, every trial ends with the finished product — the tied shoe, the clean hands, the completed sandwich — so the natural outcome of the chain reinforces responding from the very first trial. (a) is wrong because the earlier steps are taught, just later in the sequence of instruction. (b) is wrong because step length has nothing to do with position in a task analysis, and backward chaining is not inherently faster. (c) is not a feature of backward chaining, since the last step is not necessarily the hardest one.

What is a task analysis?

• a.A breakdown of a complex skill into a sequence of smaller, teachable, observable steps.✓
• b.A record of how long a learner takes to complete each part of a daily routine.
• c.A summary of the antecedents and consequences surrounding each occurrence of a behavior.
• d.An assessment that identifies which items function as reinforcers within a given setting.

(a) is correct: a task analysis divides a multi-step skill into discrete, observable components that can be taught and measured one at a time, and it is the foundation every chaining procedure is built on. (b) describes duration or latency measurement applied to a routine, not the breakdown itself. (c) describes antecedent-behavior-consequence data collection, which is part of descriptive assessment rather than skill breakdown. (d) describes a preference or reinforcer assessment, which belongs to the assessment domain.

An RBT has run a five-step tooth-brushing task analysis for three weeks. The learner is stuck on step two, "apply toothpaste to brush," which requires uncapping the tube, squeezing it, and recapping it in one step. Data show no progress on that step across fifteen sessions. What should the RBT do?

• a.Add a full physical prompt to step two on every trial until the learner begins to perform it.
• b.Complete step two for the learner each trial and continue teaching the remaining steps as written.
• c.Continue running the task analysis as written and report the flat step-two data to the supervising BCBA.✓
• d.Rewrite step two into three smaller steps and continue teaching with the revised task analysis.

(c) is correct: the task analysis is part of the written program, and revising it is a program-design decision belonging to the BCBA — the RBT's job is to keep implementing with fidelity and to bring the fifteen sessions of flat data forward promptly so the BCBA can act. (a) escalates prompting on the RBT's own initiative and, if the step is genuinely too large, will not resolve the problem the data are showing. (b) also alters the written procedure by removing a step from instruction. (d) has the RBT rewriting the plan, which is outside RBT scope even when the change would probably help.

A ten-step task analysis for making a sandwich specifies that the RBT record the learner's performance on each step. To save time the RBT records only whether the sandwich was completed. Which risk does this create for the program?

• a.The learner's prompt level will rise, because there is no record of what was prompted last time.
• b.The learner will lose the steps already mastered, because they are no longer being reinforced.
• c.The chain will break down, because completion data cannot show whether the order was correct.
• d.The BCBA cannot see which steps are improving, so decisions about the chain lose their basis.✓

(d) is correct: step-level data are what reveal where the chain is progressing and where it is stuck, and collapsing them into a single completion score hides exactly the information the program's decisions depend on. (a) is a real practical annoyance but the RBT still delivers the prompt level the plan specifies, so this is not the primary risk. (b) is wrong because reinforcement delivery is not changed by how data are recorded. (c) is the closest miss: order is part of the plan, and completion data are indeed uninformative, but the chain does not break down because of a recording choice — the loss is in the decision-making, not in the learner's performance.

One RBT teaches a learner to hold a pencil, then to make a mark, then to trace a longer and longer line, reinforcing each closer version of a written letter. A second RBT teaches a learner to complete a six-step handwashing sequence, one step at a time. Which statement describes these two procedures?

• a.The first is chaining and the second is shaping, since letters are written in a fixed order.
• b.The first is shaping and the second is chaining, since one refines a response and one links steps.✓
• c.Both RBTs are shaping, because both are reinforcing gradual progress toward a final outcome.
• d.Both RBTs are chaining, because both are building complex skills out of simpler components.

(b) is correct: shaping reinforces successive approximations of a single response as it changes along some dimension, while chaining links separate, already-possible responses into a sequence guided by a task analysis. (a) simply reverses the two definitions. (c) is wrong for the mirror reason: the six handwashing steps are distinct responses in an order, not approximations of one another. (d) is wrong because reinforcing closer versions of one response is not linking discrete steps.

A learner already performs six of the nine steps of a coffee-making task analysis independently and imitates a model readily. The BCBA asks which chaining format the RBT would expect the plan to specify for this learner. What is the most reasonable expectation?

• a.Backward chaining, since ending each trial with the finished coffee is highly reinforcing.
• b.Forward chaining, since teaching one step at a time protects the learner from repeated errors.
• c.Shaping, since the learner's approximations of the full routine can be reinforced as they improve.
• d.Total-task chaining, since the learner can attempt every step and needs prompts on only three.✓

(d) is correct: total-task chaining suits a learner who can already perform much of the sequence and has an imitative repertoire, because every step is practiced each trial and prompts are applied only where they are needed. (a) would have the RBT complete six steps the learner can already do, wasting most of the trial. (b) has the same problem in reverse and slows instruction by isolating steps that are already independent. (c) misapplies shaping, which changes one response gradually rather than assembling a nine-step routine.

During a total-task chaining trial for setting the table, the learner completes steps one through four independently but skips step five, placing the napkin, and moves on to step six. The plan directs the RBT to prompt any step not performed independently within five seconds. What should the RBT do?

• a.Record the skipped step as an error and end the trial without prompting the learner further.
• b.Restart the entire sequence from step one so the learner performs the chain in the correct order.
• c.Prompt step five at the point it was skipped, then continue the sequence from step six.✓
• d.Allow the learner to finish and then run the whole task analysis again from the beginning.

(c) is correct: in total-task chaining every step is taught within the trial, and the plan tells the RBT to prompt the step the learner did not perform, which keeps the order intact and teaches step five in its place in the chain. (a) leaves the step untaught, so the learner practices skipping it and the chain is never completed correctly. (b) punishes four independent steps by making the learner repeat them and wastes the trial. (d) is a slower version of the same problem and doubles the response effort without addressing the missed step.

A new program sheet lists a nine-step task analysis for making a bed and a mastery criterion, but it does not state whether the RBT should use forward, backward, or total-task chaining, and no training was provided on this program. The session starts in five minutes. What should the RBT do?

• a.Choose backward chaining, because the finished bed provides a natural reinforcer at the end.
• b.Run other programmed targets this session and contact the BCBA about the missing chaining format.✓
• c.Choose total-task chaining, because it is the most commonly used format for teaching daily living skills.
• d.Prompt the learner through all nine steps without recording data until the format is clarified.

(b) is correct: the plan is genuinely silent on how to teach this chain, so the situation is not covered and choosing a format would mean designing the program — the RBT keeps the session productive with programs that are fully specified and gets clinical direction promptly. (a) has the RBT selecting the teaching procedure, since picking backward chaining for its natural reinforcer is still program design. (c) makes the same error by another route, because total-task chaining being the most commonly used format does not make choosing it the RBT's call. (d) runs an undefined procedure anyway and abandons data collection, which leaves the BCBA with neither fidelity nor information.

An RBT notices that the learner performs steps one through five of a chain smoothly but always pauses and looks at the RBT before step six. The RBT has been saying "now the soap" at that point in every trial for two months. What does this pattern most likely indicate?

• a.The learner has not yet mastered step five, so the chain cannot proceed past that point.
• b.The learner is satiated on the reinforcer delivered at the end of this particular chain.
• c.The task analysis needs an additional step inserted between step five and step six.
• d.Step six is under the control of the RBT's verbal prompt rather than of step five's completion.✓

(d) is correct: in a behavior chain each completed step should serve as the cue for the next one, and a consistent pause-and-check means the learner is waiting for the RBT's words instead — a prompt that was never faded. (a) is wrong because steps one through five are described as smooth and independent. (b) is wrong because satiation would show up as slower or stopped responding throughout the chain, not as a pause at one specific transition. (c) treats a stimulus-control problem as a task-analysis problem; adding a step would not remove the learner's reliance on the verbal cue.

In discrimination training, what is the difference between an SD and an S-delta?

• a.An SD is presented by the instructor, and an S-delta is presented by the natural environment.
• b.An SD signals that responding will be reinforced, and an S-delta signals that it will not.✓
• c.An SD precedes the response, and an S-delta follows it as a signal that the trial has ended.
• d.An SD evokes the target response, and an S-delta evokes an incompatible replacement response.

(b) is correct: the two stimuli differ in what they signal about the availability of reinforcement, which is precisely what makes responding come under the control of one and not the other. (a) is wrong because both can be arranged by an instructor or occur naturally; who presents them is irrelevant to the definition. (c) is wrong because both are antecedent stimuli; neither functions as a consequence. (d) is wrong because an S-delta does not evoke a different response — it signals that the response will not be reinforced, so responding drops in its presence.

A program teaches Owen to touch the card labeled "cat" when asked and to leave the two distractor cards alone. Owen touches a distractor card and the RBT, wanting to keep him encouraged, says "good trying!" and gives him a chip anyway. What is the most likely result of this practice?

• a.Owen will make fewer errors, because reinforcement keeps him engaged with the teaching task.
• b.Owen will generalize the response, because reinforcement is now available across all three of the cards.
• c.Owen will develop prompt dependence, because he will begin waiting for the RBT's encouragement.
• d.Owen's incorrect responses will be strengthened, so the discrimination will not come under control.✓

(d) is correct: discrimination training works because reinforcement follows responding to the SD and does not follow responding to the S-deltas, and reinforcing errors erases that difference so the cards stop controlling Owen's behavior. (a) confuses encouragement with contingency; the chip follows an incorrect response, so it strengthens that response. (c) names a different problem, which arises from prompts that are never faded rather than from reinforced errors. (b) misuses generalization, which is responding correctly to untrained but relevant stimuli, not responding indiscriminately because everything pays. The RBT should run the plan's reinforcement contingency as written rather than softening it, and can raise concerns about Owen's frustration with the supervisor afterward.

Nadia correctly touches the "spoon" card on nearly every trial. The RBT notices that the spoon card has been placed on the left side of the table for every trial this month. Nadia's plan calls for randomized placement. How should the RBT proceed?

• a.Present the spoon card alone for several trials to confirm that Nadia can identify it correctly.
• b.Continue with the current placement but add a third distractor card to increase the difficulty.
• c.Randomize the position of the cards each trial as the plan states, so position cannot control responding.✓
• d.Continue with the current placement, since Nadia's accuracy shows the discrimination is mastered.

(c) is correct: if the target is always in the same spot, position rather than the picture may be controlling responding, and randomizing placement — which the plan already requires — is what tests whether Nadia is discriminating the card itself. (a) removes the discrimination entirely; with one card on the table there is nothing to discriminate and any reach appears correct. (b) makes the array harder while leaving the confound in place, so the results remain uninterpretable. (d) treats accuracy as proof of discrimination when a position bias produces exactly the same accuracy.

During receptive identification trials, an RBT notices that she glances at the correct card just before saying the instruction, and the learner answers correctly almost every time. When a second RBT runs the same targets, accuracy falls to chance. What does this pattern indicate?

• a.The learner has satiated on the reinforcer used by the first RBT during these trials.
• b.The learner's responding is under the control of the first RBT's glance rather than the instruction.✓
• c.The learner has generalized the skill to a new instructor but not yet to new materials.
• d.The second RBT is presenting the instruction incorrectly and needs retraining on the program.

(b) is correct: an unplanned cue such as a glance, a pause, or a shift in tone can take over control of responding, which is why accuracy collapses the moment the cue is gone — the discrimination was never established. (a) is wrong because satiation would depress responding with the first RBT too, not just the second. (c) has it backwards: a truly generalized skill would hold up with a new instructor, and the drop is the evidence it has not been learned. (d) blames the second RBT without evidence; the informative fact is that removing one person's inadvertent cue removed the correct responding.

A plan teaches a learner to select the letter "b" from an array. It begins with the "b" printed large and in bright red beside a small gray "d," and across sessions the size and color difference is gradually reduced until both letters look identical in form. Which procedure does this plan use?

• a.Stimulus fading, because an exaggerated feature of the target is gradually reduced to normal.✓
• b.Time delay, because the interval before the prompt is gradually increased across the sessions.
• c.Response prompting, because the learner is shown how to make the selection on each trial.
• d.Shaping, because successively closer approximations of the correct selection are reinforced.

(a) is correct: stimulus fading exaggerates a physical dimension of the teaching stimulus itself — here size and color — and then reduces that exaggeration until the learner responds to the natural features of the letter. (b) is wrong because no interval is being manipulated; the prompt is built into the stimulus rather than delivered after a delay. (c) is wrong because nothing is being added to the learner's response, such as a model or physical guidance; the change is in the materials. (d) is wrong because the response required is the same selection each time, not a gradually changing form.

A learner reliably touches a picture of a dog when it is the only card on the table. The plan's next phase places the dog card alongside two unrelated pictures and asks the learner to touch the dog. What is the purpose of adding the two extra cards?

• a.To introduce stimuli in whose presence responding is not reinforced, establishing the discrimination.✓
• b.To increase the difficulty of the task so that the learner attends longer to the teaching materials used.
• c.To provide additional teaching targets so that three pictures can be taught in each trial.
• d.To promote generalization by ensuring the learner responds correctly across different picture sets.

(a) is correct: a single card on the table tests nothing, because any reach looks correct; adding cards that do not produce reinforcement creates the S-deltas that make the dog picture a genuine discriminative stimulus. (b) treats added difficulty as the goal, but the point is the contingency, not the effort. (c) misreads the array, since the distractors are not being taught as targets in this trial. (d) confuses discrimination with generalization; generalization would involve new dog pictures or new settings, not distractor cards presented alongside the target.

An RBT is teaching a learner to hand over a green card when the RBT holds up a green cup and to hand over a red card when the RBT holds up a red cup. Correct matches earn a token, and incorrect matches earn no consequence and a re-presentation. What is the RBT implementing?

• a.Stimulus generalization, because responding transfers from the cups to the corresponding cards.
• b.Conditioned reinforcement, because the token has acquired value through pairing with backups.
• c.Discrimination training, because reinforcement follows responding to one stimulus and not another.✓
• d.Errorless teaching, because prompts are used to prevent the learner from responding incorrectly.

(c) is correct: reinforcing responses in the presence of one stimulus while withholding reinforcement in the presence of another is the defining arrangement of discrimination training. (a) is wrong because generalization is responding to novel untrained stimuli, whereas these two cups are the trained stimuli. (b) is true as a background fact about the token but does not name the teaching procedure the RBT is running. (d) is wrong because no prompt is described that would prevent errors; the learner is allowed to respond and errors occur.

A learner has been taught to raise her hand when the RBT says "Who wants a turn?" She now also raises her hand when a teacher, a parent, or a peer asks the same question. From a behavior-analytic standpoint, how should the RBT describe this?

• a.A failure of discrimination training, because the response is occurring outside the teaching condition.
• b.A form of prompt dependence, because the learner responds only to a spoken adult question.
• c.An example of stimulus generalization, because responding transferred to similar untrained stimuli.✓
• d.An example of response generalization, because the form of her response has begun to vary.

(c) is correct: the same response occurring in the presence of stimuli that share features with the trained stimulus — the same question asked by new people — is stimulus generalization, and here it is the desired outcome. (a) treats a success as a failure; the response is still occurring under the correct class of antecedents. (b) is wrong because the learner is responding independently to the question, not waiting for an added prompt. (d) misnames the effect, since response generalization means new forms of the behavior appear, whereas the hand raise is unchanged.

A learner has mastered selecting the "apple" card, which has always been the only card in the set with a red background. When the BCBA prints new cards on white backgrounds, the learner selects at chance. What does this most likely show?

• a.The learner requires more repetitions before the mastered target can be considered stable.
• b.The new cards should be reintroduced one at a time to rebuild the learner's confidence.
• c.The learner has entered an extinction burst caused by the change in teaching materials.
• d.Responding came under the control of an irrelevant feature rather than the picture itself.✓

(d) is correct: when an incidental feature such as background color reliably predicts the correct answer, that feature can acquire the stimulus control the program intended for the picture, and removing it exposes that the discrimination was never established. (a) attributes the collapse to insufficient practice, but more trials with the same confound would only strengthen the wrong control. (b) proposes a next step rather than explaining the result, and reintroducing the cards gradually does not address what actually controlled responding. (c) misapplies extinction burst, which is a temporary increase in a behavior after reinforcement is withheld, not a drop in accuracy after a materials change.

A program for a brand-new self-care skill directs the RBT to begin each trial with hand-over-hand guidance, then move to a partial physical prompt, then a gesture, then no prompt, as the learner succeeds at each level. Which prompting procedure is this?

• a.Graduated guidance, because the RBT's physical contact is faded within each individual trial.
• b.Most-to-least prompting, because the RBT begins with the most intrusive prompt and reduces it.✓
• c.Time delay, because the RBT waits progressively longer before delivering assistance each trial.
• d.Least-to-most prompting, because the RBT provides only the support the learner turns out to need.

(b) is correct: starting with the level of assistance that guarantees a correct response and systematically reducing intrusiveness across trials is most-to-least prompting, which is typically chosen for brand-new skills where errors are likely. (a) is the closest miss: graduated guidance also starts with physical contact, but it fades the guidance moment to moment within the trial rather than stepping down a hierarchy across trials. (c) is wrong because the manipulation here is the type of prompt, not the interval before it is delivered. (d) reverses the direction; least-to-most starts with an independent opportunity and adds help only after the learner fails.

A program directs the RBT to give the instruction, wait five seconds, then give a gestural prompt if there is no response, wait again, then model, and finally guide the learner's hand only if all earlier levels fail. Which prompting procedure is this?

• a.Most-to-least prompting, because the hierarchy ends with the least intrusive level of assistance.
• b.Constant time delay, because a fixed five-second interval is inserted before each prompt level.
• c.Least-to-most prompting, because assistance is increased only after the learner does not respond.✓
• d.Errorless teaching, because the learner is guided to the correct answer on every single trial.

(c) is correct: starting with an opportunity to respond independently and stepping up the hierarchy only as needed is least-to-most prompting, which is generally chosen when part of the skill is already in the learner's repertoire. (a) has the direction backwards and misreads the hierarchy, which ends with the most intrusive level, not the least. (b) names a real component present here — the fixed wait — but time delay procedures manipulate the interval before a single prompt, whereas this plan escalates through several prompt types. (d) is wrong because this procedure deliberately allows errors and non-responses before help arrives, which is what errorless teaching is designed to avoid.

A BCBA writes a most-to-least prompting procedure for teaching a learner to use a sharp kitchen knife safely, noting that errors during this task carry real risk. A new RBT asks why least-to-most was not chosen instead. What is the BEST explanation?

• a.Least-to-most prompting requires an imitative repertoire, which most new learners do not have.
• b.Least-to-most prompting allows errors to occur first, which is unacceptable when errors are dangerous.✓
• c.Least-to-most prompting always produces prompt dependence, so it is reserved for mastered skills.
• d.Least-to-most prompting cannot be used with self-care or daily living skills in a home setting.

(b) is correct: least-to-most begins by letting the learner attempt the response alone, so errors are part of the procedure — acceptable for a matching task, not for a task where an error means a cut. (c) is false: prompt dependence comes from prompts that are never faded, and least-to-most is specifically structured to give independence the first chance on every trial. (d) is an overgeneralization, since least-to-most is used constantly with daily living skills when the task is safe. (a) confuses prompt levels with prompt hierarchies; a least-to-most hierarchy can end in physical guidance and does not depend on imitation. Asking the BCBA to switch procedures would be unnecessary here, since the plan's rationale is sound and already written.

A learner performs a target response correctly on about half of the opportunities without any help, but on the other half he sits without responding. His plan is being revised, and the BCBA is choosing between prompt hierarchies. Which hierarchy fits this learner's current performance best?

• a.Full physical prompting on every trial, because consistency across trials produces faster learning.
• b.No prompting at all, because independent responding is already occurring at half of the opportunities.
• c.Most-to-least prompting, because the fifty percent error rate shows the skill is not yet acquired.
• d.Least-to-most prompting, because he already responds independently on many of the opportunities.✓

(d) is correct: when a response is partly in the repertoire, least-to-most gives the learner the chance to do it alone on every trial and supplies help only when it is actually needed, which protects the independent responses he already makes. (a) delivers heavy assistance on every single trial, guiding a response the learner can already produce himself half the time. (b) leaves half the opportunities to fail with no teaching at all, so the skill would not progress. (c) would deliver heavy assistance on the half of trials he can already complete alone, which wastes opportunities and invites prompt dependence.

While teaching a learner to zip a jacket, the RBT keeps her hands lightly on the learner's hands at the start of the movement, then reduces to a touch on the wrist, then shadows just above the learner's hands without touching, all within the same trial as the learner's movement becomes steadier. Which procedure is this?

• a.Graduated guidance, because physical assistance is faded moment to moment within the trial.✓
• b.Stimulus fading, because a physical feature of the teaching materials is gradually reduced.
• c.Progressive time delay, because the interval before assistance grows longer as the trial proceeds.
• d.Least-to-most prompting, because assistance is adjusted upward whenever the learner hesitates.

(a) is correct: graduated guidance means physical assistance is adjusted continuously as the response unfolds, including shadowing the learner's hands without contact, and it is faded within trials rather than at fixed steps. (b) is wrong because nothing about the jacket or zipper is being altered; the change is in the RBT's physical contact. (c) is wrong because the manipulation is the amount of physical assistance, not the length of a waiting interval. (d) is wrong because least-to-most sets discrete prompt levels tied to whether the learner responded, rather than continuously varying pressure inside a single movement.

A plan directs the RBT to run the first five trials of a new target by delivering the model prompt at the same instant as the instruction, and from trial six onward to wait exactly three seconds after the instruction before modeling. Which procedure is described?

• a.Progressive time delay, because the waiting interval lengthens gradually across the trials.
• b.Constant time delay, because a single fixed interval follows an initial block of zero-second trials.✓
• c.Least-to-most prompting, because the learner is given a chance to respond before assistance arrives.
• d.Most-to-least prompting, because the model is faded to a less intrusive gestural prompt.

(b) is correct: constant time delay begins with zero-second trials that guarantee correct responding, then shifts to one unchanging delay — here three seconds — which is exactly the two-phase structure described. (a) would require the interval to grow step by step, such as one second, then two, then three, which the plan does not do. (c) describes escalating through prompt types after a failure, whereas this plan uses a single prompt with a fixed wait. (d) is wrong because the type of prompt never changes; only its timing does.

An RBT delivers the instruction and a full model together for one session, waits one second before modeling in the next, then two seconds, then three, then four, as the learner begins responding before the model appears. Which procedure is the RBT implementing?

• a.Constant time delay, because the same prompt is being used throughout the entire teaching program.
• b.Prompt fading by intrusiveness, because the model is gradually reduced to a partial gesture.
• c.Progressive time delay, because the interval before the prompt increases in steps across sessions.✓
• d.Errorless teaching with no delay, because the model is delivered on every one of the trials.

(c) is correct: progressive time delay starts at a zero-second delay and then lengthens the interval in planned increments, which transfers control from the prompt to the instruction as the learner begins to beat the prompt. (a) is wrong because a constant delay uses one fixed interval after the zero-second block rather than a growing one. (b) is wrong because the model itself is unchanged; only its timing shifts. (d) is wrong because the delay grows, so after the first session the learner has an opportunity to respond before the model arrives.

What is the defining feature of an errorless teaching procedure?

• a.The learner is prompted before an error can occur, and the prompt is then faded systematically.✓
• b.The learner is corrected immediately after any error so the mistake is never practiced twice.
• c.The learner is given unlimited time to respond so that guessing is never necessary at all.
• d.The learner is reinforced for every response, correct or incorrect, to maintain engagement.

(a) is correct: errorless procedures deliver assistance early enough that the learner responds correctly from the first trial, then fade that assistance so control transfers to the natural instruction. (b) describes error correction, which is what errorless teaching is designed to make unnecessary; correcting after the fact means the error already happened. (c) describes a long response interval, which permits errors and does not prevent them. (d) is not errorless teaching at all and would destroy the contingency between correct responding and reinforcement.

A learner has been taught to wash his hands with a verbal prompt for each step. He now completes every step correctly but stands still at the sink until the RBT says the step aloud, even for steps he has performed correctly for months. What does this pattern describe?

• a.Response generalization, because the same washing response has spread to new situations.
• b.Satiation, because the reinforcer delivered at the end of the routine has lost its value.
• c.Prompt dependence, because responding waits for the prompt rather than the natural cues.✓
• d.Stimulus overselectivity, because the learner responds to only one feature of the sink area.

(c) is correct: prompt dependence is exactly this — accurate responding that occurs only when the added assistance is present, because the prompt was never faded and control never transferred to the task's own cues. (a) is wrong because nothing new has appeared; the same response occurs in the same setting under the same prompt. (b) is wrong because the learner performs correctly whenever prompted, which would not happen if the reinforcer had lost its value. (d) describes responding to a narrow, irrelevant feature of a stimulus, which is a discrimination problem rather than a reliance on added help.

A learner's plan includes a written prompt-fading schedule and states that independent responses earn thirty seconds of a preferred item while prompted responses earn brief praise only. The learner has started waiting for the prompt on every trial. Reviewing her own practice, the RBT sees she has been giving the preferred item after prompted responses too. What should the RBT do?

• a.Continue as she has been and report the prompt-waiting pattern to the BCBA at the next meeting.
• b.Contact the supervising BCBA to request a new prompt hierarchy for this particular target.
• c.Withhold all reinforcement after prompted responses until the learner responds without help.
• d.Return to the plan's differential reinforcement and follow the written prompt-fading schedule.✓

(d) is correct: the plan already contains both remedies for prompt dependence — a fading schedule and a much richer consequence for independent responding — so the fix is for the RBT to implement what is written with fidelity. (a) keeps running the procedure incorrectly, which is the cause of the problem rather than a report-worthy mystery. (b) is unnecessary escalation: the hierarchy is not the problem, the implementation is, and asking for a new procedure would hide an integrity error the RBT can correct immediately and mention at the next supervision contact. (c) invents a stricter contingency than the plan specifies, and putting prompted correct responses on full extinction is a change the RBT is not authorized to make.

Which pair correctly separates stimulus prompts from response prompts?

• a.Stimulus prompts are delivered by an instructor; response prompts occur naturally in the setting.
• b.Stimulus prompts are always visual in form; response prompts are always physical or vocal.
• c.Stimulus prompts alter the teaching materials; response prompts act on the learner's behavior.✓
• d.Stimulus prompts are used during acquisition; response prompts are used during maintenance phases.

(c) is correct: a stimulus prompt changes something about the antecedent materials, such as making the target larger, brighter, or closer, while a response prompt is something the instructor does to the learner's responding, such as a model, gesture, verbal instruction, or physical guidance. (a) is wrong because both types are arranged by the instructor. (b) is wrong because stimulus prompts can involve position or texture as well as appearance, and response prompts include gestures and models that are visual. (d) is wrong because prompt type has nothing to do with program phase; both are used during acquisition and both must be faded.

In an early phase of a matching program, the RBT places the correct card noticeably closer to the learner than the two distractors, and across sessions moves it until all three cards sit in a straight line. Which type of prompt was used and how was it removed?

• a.A response prompt, removed by moving through the hierarchy from physical to gestural assistance.
• b.A response prompt, removed by increasing the interval before the assistance was delivered.
• c.A stimulus prompt, removed by reinforcing only the responses that occurred without any help.
• d.A stimulus prompt, removed by gradually fading the position advantage until the array is even.✓

(d) is correct: moving the target closer is a position prompt, which changes the antecedent array rather than the learner's response, and it is faded by shrinking the positional advantage until it no longer exists. (a) misclassifies the prompt as a response prompt, since nothing was done to the learner — only to where the cards sat. (b) makes the same misclassification and adds a time-delay fading method that was never used here. (c) identifies the prompt type correctly but names the wrong fading method, since differential reinforcement alone does not remove a positional advantage that is still present in the array.

Reviewing the past month of data, an RBT sees that a learner has been at the full physical prompt level on the same target for every trial since the program began, and the plan's fading criterion of three consecutive prompted-correct trials was met in the first week. What is the most accurate description of the problem?

• a.The prompt was never faded even though the plan's criterion to reduce it was met.✓
• b.The prompt level is too intrusive for this skill and should be replaced with a gestural prompt.
• c.The reinforcement schedule is too dense for a skill that the learner performs with assistance.
• d.The target was selected before the learner had the prerequisite skills the task requires.

(a) is correct: prompts are supports meant to be removed, the plan states the exact criterion for moving down a level, and that criterion was met weeks ago — leaving the prompt in place is a fidelity failure that produces prompt dependence. (b) is a judgment about the plan's design rather than a description of what went wrong, and the plan's own hierarchy already specifies the next level. (c) is not supported by anything in the scenario and is not what the data show. (d) speculates about prerequisites when the recorded fact is simply that the fading step was skipped.

Which list orders these response prompts from least intrusive to most intrusive?

• a.Gestural prompt, verbal instruction, full physical guidance, model prompt, partial physical guidance.
• b.Model prompt, gestural prompt, verbal instruction, full physical guidance, partial physical guidance.
• c.Full physical guidance, partial physical guidance, verbal instruction, gestural prompt, model prompt.
• d.Verbal instruction, gestural prompt, model prompt, partial physical guidance, full physical guidance.✓

(d) is correct: intrusiveness generally increases as the instructor moves from telling, to indicating, to demonstrating, to touching lightly, to guiding fully through the movement. (a) scrambles the sequence, putting full physical guidance in the middle and ending with the lighter partial physical prompt. (b) starts with a demonstration and then places full physical guidance before partial physical guidance, which inverts the last two levels. (c) reverses the order, running from most to least intrusive.

A least-to-most procedure states that the RBT waits five seconds after the instruction before delivering the first prompt. In practice the RBT prompts after about one second because waiting feels uncomfortable. What is the most likely effect on the learner?

• a.Errors will increase, because the learner is being asked to respond faster than she is currently able.
• b.Independent responding will be suppressed, because the learner is not given time to respond alone.✓
• c.The prompt will lose its effectiveness, because it is now delivered on nearly every trial.
• d.The instruction will lose stimulus control, because it is followed too closely by a consequence.

(b) is correct: the response interval exists so the learner can demonstrate what she can do alone, and cutting it to one second means the prompt almost always arrives first, so independence is never given room to appear. (a) is wrong because prompting sooner makes correct responses more likely, not errors; the cost is independence, not accuracy. (c) misdescribes the mechanism, since frequent prompting does not weaken the prompt itself — the learner still follows it. (d) is the closest miss: control does shift, but it shifts to the prompt rather than being lost, and a prompt is not a consequence.

A new program tells the RBT to "fade prompts as the learner progresses" but gives no prompt levels, no waiting interval, and no criterion for moving between levels. The RBT has run the program twice and each session looked different. What is the BEST course of action?

• a.Keep running the program as best the RBT can and note the inconsistency in the session notes.
• b.Ask the supervising BCBA to specify the prompt levels and fading criteria before running it again.✓
• c.Suspend the target until the learner's next assessment, when the program will be reviewed anyway.
• d.Choose a least-to-most hierarchy with a five-second wait and apply it consistently in every session ahead.

(b) is correct: the plan is missing the details that make consistent implementation possible, procedure design is the BCBA's responsibility, and inconsistency across sessions is itself a fidelity problem worth stopping for — this is a genuinely uncovered situation. (a) knowingly continues an inconsistent procedure and delays the information the BCBA needs. (c) removes a programmed target from the learner's services on the RBT's own decision and waits far longer than necessary for a fix. (d) has the RBT writing the missing procedure, which falls outside the RBT's role no matter how sensible the choice.

A program states that after any prompted correct response the RBT should immediately re-present the same instruction with no prompt and reinforce an independent correct response more richly. What is the purpose of that re-presented trial?

• a.To collect a second data point so that accuracy for the trial block is measured reliably.
• b.To transfer stimulus control from the prompt to the instruction by requiring an unprompted response.✓
• c.To confirm that the prompt selected for this target was intrusive enough to produce a response.
• d.To give the learner an additional opportunity to earn reinforcement and stay motivated during work.

(b) is correct: the re-presented, unprompted trial is a transfer trial, and its whole point is to move control of the response from the RBT's help to the instruction itself, with the richer reinforcer paying for the independent version. (a) treats a teaching step as a measurement step; the data are a byproduct, not the purpose. (c) is wrong because the prompted trial already demonstrated the prompt worked; the transfer trial tests whether the learner can now do it alone. (d) names a real side benefit but not the reason the procedure exists — extra reinforcement without transfer would not build independence.

Kira's program specifies least-to-most prompting with a five-second wait after each instruction. Kira responds slowly, and a classroom aide tells the RBT to "just help her right away, she gets frustrated when she has to sit there." What should the RBT do?

• a.Ask the aide to run the next few trials so the RBT can observe Kira's frustration directly.
• b.Stop the program and contact the supervising BCBA before running any further trials with Kira.
• c.Shorten the wait to two seconds as a compromise between the plan and the aide's concern.
• d.Continue using the five-second wait the plan specifies and note the aide's concern for the supervisor.✓

(d) is correct: the written plan specifies the response interval, and running it consistently is what gives Kira the chance to respond independently; the aide's observation is worth passing along, but a colleague's suggestion does not change a written procedure. (a) hands implementation to someone not trained on Kira's program, which is a fidelity and scope problem. (b) is unnecessary escalation — the plan covers exactly this situation, and stopping the program interrupts Kira's services when the RBT can simply implement as written and raise the concern at the next supervision contact. (c) alters the plan on the spot, which breaks treatment integrity and removes most of the independent responding opportunity.

A learner has mastered labeling "cup" using one white plastic cup at the table. His plan's generalization phase directs the RBT to introduce a mug, a paper cup, a travel cup, and a photo of a cup. Which generalization strategy does the plan use?

• a.Programming common stimuli, because familiar items from the learner's home are brought into the setting.
• b.Mediating generalization, because the learner is taught a self-instruction to use in new settings.
• c.Multiple exemplar training, because the learner is taught across a range of examples of the concept.✓
• d.Training loosely, because the instruction and the setting are varied unpredictably across trials.

(c) is correct: teaching with several different examples of the same concept is multiple exemplar training, and it is what keeps the label from attaching to one specific white plastic cup. (a) means deliberately importing stimuli from the learner's natural environment into teaching, which is not what varying cup types accomplishes. (b) involves teaching the learner a portable strategy or self-prompt to carry into new situations, which the plan does not describe. (d) refers to varying non-critical aspects of instruction such as wording, position, or tone rather than systematically adding examples of the target.

Jamal follows the instruction "put it away" reliably for the RBT who taught it, but does not respond when his teacher, his father, or a second RBT gives the same instruction. His plan includes a generalization phase. Which strategy in that phase addresses this problem most directly?

• a.Increase the reinforcer magnitude so the instruction becomes more valuable to follow.
• b.Run additional trials with the original RBT until responding is completely automatic.
• c.Have several different people deliver the instruction across the coming teaching sessions.✓
• d.Introduce a wider variety of objects that Jamal is asked to put away each session.

(c) is correct: responding is under the control of one person, so the fix is to program the very dimension that is failing by having multiple people present the instruction until the response occurs regardless of who asks. (a) changes the payoff but not the stimulus that controls responding, so Jamal would still not respond to his teacher. (b) adds practice in the one condition that already works, which cannot spread responding to new people. (d) varies materials, which is a real generalization tactic but targets the wrong dimension — the problem described is people, not objects.

A learner has mastered a handwashing chain in the clinic bathroom. The plan's generalization step directs the RBT to run the chain in the kitchen sink at home and in the sink at the community center. What is the purpose of this step?

• a.To increase the number of teaching opportunities available across the learner's week.
• b.To collect additional data points so the mastery decision rests on a larger sample.
• c.To confirm the task analysis contains the correct number of steps for the skill.
• d.To bring the chain under the control of sinks generally rather than one particular bathroom.✓

(d) is correct: a skill taught in a single setting can end up controlled by that setting's specific features, and running it at other sinks is what makes the chain occur wherever handwashing is needed. (a) is true incidentally but misses the point, since simply adding opportunities in the clinic would not produce generalization. (b) treats a teaching step as a measurement step; more data points are a byproduct rather than the goal. (c) describes a task-analysis validation question, which is separate from where the chain is practiced.

A learner has mastered tooth brushing in the clinic using clinic supplies, but not at home. The plan's generalization component states that the RBT should teach using items the learner encounters in the natural environment. What is the BEST way to implement that component?

• a.Contact the supervising BCBA to ask whether the home should be added as a service setting.
• b.Increase the number of clinic trials each session until the chain is completely fluent.
• c.Add a picture schedule of the steps to the clinic mirror and to the bathroom at home.
• d.Use the learner's own toothbrush, toothpaste, and towel from home during clinic sessions.✓

(d) is correct: bringing the learner's actual home materials into teaching is programming common stimuli, so features shared between the two settings can carry the responding across — exactly what the plan's component calls for. (a) is unnecessary escalation: the plan already specifies this generalization strategy, and adding a service setting is a different question that can be raised at the next supervision contact rather than in place of implementing what is written. (b) adds repetitions in the setting that already works, which is the one place more practice cannot help. (c) adds a visual prompt, which supports responding but also creates a new dependency and does not by itself transfer the skill.

At the end of a home session, a learner's father asks the RBT to start teaching the child to unlock and open the front door independently, because the family would find it useful. Nothing in the current plan addresses this skill, and the RBT has had no training on it. What should the RBT do?

• a.Thank the father, and report the request to the supervisor, who decides what gets programmed.✓
• b.Add the skill to the program sheet as a new target and begin collecting baseline data on it.
• c.Explain that RBTs may only teach skills taught during the initial forty-hour training course.
• d.Begin teaching the skill informally at the end of sessions, since the caregiver has requested it.

(a) is correct: selecting and writing targets is the BCBA's responsibility, so the RBT's job is to receive the caregiver's request respectfully and communicate it to the supervisor in a timely way so the team can decide. (b) has the RBT adding a target and opening a baseline, which is program design rather than implementation. (c) gives an inaccurate reason and would leave the family feeling dismissed; the limit is the written plan and supervision, not the training curriculum's content. (d) has the RBT teaching an unprogrammed skill, which is outside the RBT's role and unsupervised, and a front-door skill carries obvious safety considerations.

How do stimulus generalization and response generalization differ?

• a.Stimulus generalization is planned by the team; response generalization occurs only by accident.
• b.Stimulus generalization involves new settings; response generalization involves new reinforcers.
• c.Stimulus generalization occurs during teaching; response generalization occurs after mastery.
• d.Stimulus generalization involves new antecedents; response generalization involves new response forms.✓

(d) is correct: stimulus generalization means the trained response occurs in the presence of untrained but similar antecedent stimuli, while response generalization means untrained variations of the response appear under the trained antecedent. (a) is wrong because both can be programmed deliberately and both can also occur without planning. (b) is half right — settings are one kind of antecedent — but response generalization is about the behavior's form, not about which reinforcer is used. (c) attaches the two terms to program phases, which has nothing to do with the distinction.

A plan directs the RBT to run a monthly generalization probe on a mastered labeling target using photographs the learner has never been taught. How should the probe trials be run?

• a.Present the new photographs and correct every error immediately so the learner learns them.
• b.Present the trained photographs first, then the new ones, and record the combined accuracy.
• c.Present the new photographs with no prompts and record the learner's unassisted responses.✓
• d.Present the new photographs with the usual prompt level, then record the prompted responses.

(c) is correct: a probe measures what the learner can do without help on untrained material, so prompts and teaching are withheld and the response is simply recorded. (a) turns the probe into a teaching trial, which both contaminates the measure and starts instruction on targets the plan has not assigned. (b) mixes trained and untrained items into one score, which hides whether the untrained photographs were answered at all. (d) prompts the response and therefore measures the prompt rather than generalization.

A learner has met mastery on eight requesting targets in the clinic, and his mother reports he never uses any of them at home. The RBT reviews the program and finds it contains only clinic-based acquisition targets, with no generalization phase, no home component, and no probe schedule. What should the RBT do?

• a.Teach the mother to run the same clinic trials so the targets occur in both settings.
• b.Continue the clinic program as written, since the targets have all met their mastery criterion.
• c.Report to the supervising BCBA that the plan contains no generalization component at all.✓
• d.Begin running the mastered targets during home sessions to build generalization directly.

(c) is correct: the plan simply does not cover generalization, and adding a phase, a setting, or a probe schedule is program design — so the right move is to bring the caregiver's report and the gap in the program to the BCBA promptly. (a) does the same and additionally puts the RBT in a caregiver-training role that belongs to the supervisor. (b) implements faithfully but ignores clinically important information the BCBA needs; fidelity does not mean staying silent about a plan that is not producing usable skills. (d) has the RBT creating and delivering unwritten programming by running mastered targets in a setting the plan does not include.

What distinguishes a maintenance procedure from an acquisition procedure?

• a.Acquisition procedures use tangible reinforcers, while maintenance procedures rely only on social praise.
• b.Acquisition procedures are run in the clinic, while maintenance procedures are run in the home.
• c.Acquisition procedures teach a new skill, while maintenance procedures keep a mastered skill occurring.✓
• d.Acquisition procedures use prompts, while maintenance procedures use only naturally occurring cues.

(c) is correct: the difference is the purpose — acquisition builds a response the learner cannot yet perform, and maintenance keeps an already-mastered response occurring over time, typically with thinner reinforcement and periodic checks. (a) is wrong because the type of reinforcer is a program decision rather than what defines the phase. (b) confuses the phase with the setting; either can happen in either place. (d) is a common by-product but not the definition, since maintenance can still involve occasional prompting and acquisition can be run with very few prompts.

A learner has just met the mastery criterion on ten color-labeling targets. The plan states that mastered targets move to the maintenance list and are probed once per week with reinforcement delivered intermittently. How should the RBT run these targets from now on?

• a.Probe them weekly with intermittent reinforcement, as the plan's maintenance procedure specifies.✓
• b.Stop running them entirely, since mastered targets no longer require any teaching time.
• c.Continue daily teaching trials with continuous reinforcement to keep the skill completely solid.
• d.Probe them weekly but continue reinforcing every correct response as during acquisition.

(a) is correct: the plan's maintenance procedure is written precisely for this moment, and periodic probes with a thinner schedule check that the skill is holding without spending acquisition time on it. (b) drops the targets with no check at all, so a skill that decays would go unnoticed until it is gone. (c) keeps mastered targets in acquisition indefinitely, which crowds out new learning and keeps the schedule denser than any natural setting. (d) gets the probe schedule right but keeps continuous reinforcement, which is exactly the component maintenance is meant to thin.

A plan states: if a maintenance target falls below criterion on two consecutive weekly probes, return it to the acquisition list and resume the teaching procedure. A learner's shoe-tying target has now missed criterion on two probes in a row. What should the RBT do?

• a.Continue weekly probes and add extra reinforcement until the scores recover on their own.
• b.Run one additional probe before acting, in case the two low scores were caused by illness.
• c.Move the target back to the acquisition list and resume the teaching procedure as written.✓
• d.Contact the supervising BCBA and wait for direction before changing anything about this target.

(c) is correct: the plan states the decision rule and the condition triggering it has been met, so the RBT implements it — that is what a written decision rule is for. (a) invents a reinforcement change the plan does not authorize and leaves the target in maintenance when the rule says to move it. (b) adds a third probe the plan does not call for, which delays teaching for a skill already known to be slipping. (d) is unnecessary escalation: the situation is explicitly covered by the plan, so waiting for direction stalls the learner's programming, though noting the illness question for the next supervision contact is reasonable.

A learner returns after a three-week family trip with no services. On the first session back, she is below criterion on nearly every mastered target across four different programs. The plans contain no rule for handling an extended break in services. What should the RBT do?

• a.Report the across-the-board drop to the supervising BCBA so the programs can be adjusted.✓
• b.Continue probing the targets weekly and expect the skills to recover as sessions resume.
• c.Run the mastered targets with full prompting for a week to rebuild them before probing again.
• d.Return all of the affected targets to acquisition and resume teaching each of them today.

(a) is correct: a loss spanning four programs after a service interruption is a clinical pattern the plans do not address, and deciding how to restart programming is the BCBA's call — this is a genuinely uncovered situation, so prompt reporting is the right move. (b) recognizes that some recovery is likely but leaves the supervisor uninformed about a substantial change in the learner's performance. (c) invents a prompting protocol that is nowhere in the written procedures. (d) has the RBT moving many targets between phases, which is a program-level decision.

A program sheet directs the RBT to run three mastered maintenance targets within every block of acquisition trials. A new RBT asks why time is being spent on skills the learner already has. What is the BEST explanation?

• a.It creates a longer inter-trial interval between the harder acquisition trials in the block.
• b.It provides extra data points that make the acquisition graph easier for the BCBA to read.
• c.It reduces the number of acquisition trials, which prevents the learner from becoming fatigued.
• d.It keeps mastered skills occurring while giving frequent contact with reinforcement during hard work.✓

(d) is correct: interspersed maintenance trials serve two purposes at once — they keep already-learned responses in the repertoire and they let the learner earn reinforcement regularly during a block that would otherwise be mostly errors. (a) misdescribes the procedure: a maintenance trial is a full trial with its own instruction and consequence, not a pause. (b) is wrong because maintenance data are recorded separately and do not clarify the acquisition graph. (c) treats a side effect as the reason and frames fewer teaching trials as the goal, which it is not.

Which description defines shaping?

• a.Reinforcing each step of a task analysis until the whole sequence is performed independently.
• b.Differentially reinforcing successive approximations toward a response not yet in the repertoire.✓
• c.Delivering a prompt before an error occurs and then removing the prompt across trials.
• d.Reinforcing a response in the presence of one stimulus and withholding it in the presence of another.

(b) is correct: shaping builds a response that is not yet in the repertoire by reinforcing versions of it that come closer and closer to the target, while no longer reinforcing versions that fall short. (a) describes chaining, which links distinct steps in an order rather than refining one response. (c) describes errorless prompting and prompt fading, which support a response the learner can already make with help. (d) describes discrimination training, which changes when a response occurs rather than what the response looks like.