Your FREE Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) Practice Test 2026 – 400+ Q&A

Correct answer: Control, meaning a demonstration that manipulating a variable consistently alters behavior

Control, meaning a demonstration that manipulating a variable consistently alters behavior, is the third and highest level of scientific understanding: once a functional relation is shown, behavior can be deliberately influenced, which is what application requires. Verification, meaning a demonstration that removing a treatment restores baseline behavior, and replication, meaning a demonstration that repeating a condition recreates earlier behavior, are steps of baseline logic (prediction, verification, and replication) used to build an experimental argument, not aims of the science. Generality, meaning a demonstration that teaching a response influences untrained behavior, is one of the seven dimensions of applied behavior analysis, not one of the levels of description, prediction, and control.

Correct answer: Prediction

Prediction is reached when repeated observation shows that events covary reliably enough to anticipate when a behavior will occur, even though no variable has been manipulated. Description is the earlier level of systematically observing and recording events without forecasting them. Control is the highest level and requires showing that manipulating a variable changes the behavior, which this analyst has not yet done. Explanation is not one of the three levels of scientific understanding in behavior analysis, which are description, prediction, and control.

Correct answer: Relying on objective observation of measurable events over personal opinion

Relying on objective observation of measurable events over personal opinion is empiricism, the attitude that knowledge rests on objective, quantifiable observation rather than on opinion or speculation. Relying on active manipulation of chosen variables over passive correlation describes experimentation; relying on repeated demonstrations of observed effects over single findings describes replication; and relying on persistent scrutiny of established facts over settled conviction describes philosophic doubt. Each of those is a separate attitude of science.

Correct answer: Parsimony

Parsimony requires that simple, logical explanations grounded in established principles be ruled out before more complex or abstract accounts are considered, which is exactly what this analyst insists on. Empiricism is the reliance on objective observation and measurement, determinism is the assumption that the universe, including behavior, is lawful and orderly, and replication is the repetition of experiments to establish the reliability of findings; none of them is the rule of exhausting simpler explanations first.

Correct answer: Behavior is selected by consequences, much as species are shaped by natural selection

"Behavior is selected by consequences, much as species are shaped by natural selection" states selectionism: consequences select and maintain behavior within a lifetime in the same way that natural selection shapes species across generations. "Behavior is triggered by stimuli, much as machines are started by flipping switches" is a push-button stimulus-response view that leaves out selection by consequences. "Behavior is directed by intentions, much as aircraft are steered by human pilots" is mentalism, which places the cause of behavior inside the person. "Behavior is fixed by heredity, much as physical features are passed down through genes" is hereditary determinism; genes supply the capacities that consequences act on, but they do not select the behavior an individual learns.

Correct answer: Selects socially significant behavior that improves everyday life outcomes

An analyst who selects socially significant behavior that improves everyday life outcomes is meeting the applied dimension, which concerns choosing targets that matter to the client and the people around them. One who generates sizable behavior improvements that carry genuine practical value is meeting the effective dimension; one who programs durable behavior changes that continue outside treatment settings is addressing generality; and one who writes complete behavior protocols that permit exact replication elsewhere is meeting the technological dimension. Each of those is a different dimension from applied.

Correct answer: Analytic

Analytic is the dimension met when a functional relation is convincingly demonstrated, showing that the intervention, and not an uncontrolled variable, produced the change. Effective asks whether the change is large enough to matter in practice, behavioral asks whether the target is a precisely measured behavior, and generality asks whether the change lasts over time, appears in new settings, or spreads to untreated behaviors; none of them requires ruling out other explanations for the change.

Correct answer: Behavioral

Behavioral is the dimension violated, because it requires the target to be a precisely defined, observable, and measurable behavior rather than a construct such as self-esteem. Technological concerns describing procedures completely enough for replication, analytic concerns demonstrating that the intervention produced the change, and effective concerns producing change of practical value; none of them is the requirement that a measurable response be named in the first place.

Correct answer: Effective

Effective is the dimension that asks whether the behavior change is large enough to have practical value for the client, not merely whether it can be detected. Applied concerns choosing socially significant target behaviors in the first place, analytic concerns showing that the intervention caused the change, and generality concerns whether the change lasts and spreads to new settings or behaviors; none of them judges the size or practical value of the change itself.

Correct answer: Applied, behavioral, analytic, technological, conceptually systematic, effective, and generality

Applied, behavioral, analytic, technological, conceptually systematic, effective, and generality are the seven dimensions named by Baer, Wolf, and Risley in 1968. The list applied, behavioral, analytic, individualized, clinically significant, effective, and generality replaces technological and conceptually systematic with ideas that were never on the original list; applied, behavioral, objective, technological, conceptually systematic, reliable, and replicable swaps measurement and research terms in for analytic, effective, and generality; and applied, behavioral, objective, individualized, clinically significant, reliable, and replicable makes both substitutions.

Correct answer: Conceptually systematic

Conceptually systematic is the dimension lacking, because it requires that procedures be described and justified in terms of the basic principles, such as reinforcement and extinction, from which they derive. Technological concerns describing each procedure precisely enough to be replicated, effective concerns whether the reduction in self-injury is large enough to matter, and analytic concerns demonstrating that the package caused the change; a package could meet all three and still not be tied to principles.

Correct answer: Behavior is the product of genetic endowment continually interacting with environmental history

"Behavior is the product of genetic endowment continually interacting with environmental history" is the radical behaviorist position: biology supplies the organism and its capacities, reinforcement history shapes what it does, and both are natural, observable influences open to scientific study. "Behavior is the product of environmental history acting alone, with genetic endowment irrelevant" is the blank-slate caricature of behaviorism. "Behavior is the product of inborn genetic endowment, with environmental history merely secondary" is a nativist view. "Behavior is the product of a free agent working with genetic endowment and environmental history" appeals to an autonomous inner self, which radical behaviorism rejects as mentalistic.

Correct answer: Because radical behaviorism treats thoughts and feelings as covert responses regulated like overt behavior

The textbook is wrong "because radical behaviorism treats thoughts and feelings as covert responses regulated like overt behavior": Skinner accepted private events as real and analyzed them with the same environmental variables used for public behavior. "Because radical behaviorism treats thoughts and feelings as autonomous mental causes behind overt behavior" describes mentalism, which Skinner rejected. "Because radical behaviorism treats thoughts and feelings as hypothetical constructs behind public behavior" describes the hypothetical-construct approach of methodological and cognitive accounts. "Because radical behaviorism treats thoughts and feelings as private experiences unlike public behavior" describes mind-body dualism; radical behaviorism holds that private events differ from public ones only in how accessible they are.

Correct answer: Treats the feeling as the initiating cause, when it is itself behavior needing explanation

The main error is that the account treats the feeling as the initiating cause, when it is itself behavior needing explanation: radical behaviorism accepts that the man feels fear, but the fear and the flinch are both responses to the loud noise and must be explained by the same environmental variables. Saying it treats the feeling as the hidden cause, when it is private behavior closed to observation, voices the methodological behaviorist objection to private events that radical behaviorism rejects. Saying it treats the feeling as the mental cause, when it is physiology better studied by biologists, wrongly hands private events over to biology. Saying it treats the feeling as the real cause, when it is a mere mental fiction that does not exist, repeats the myth that radical behaviorism denies that feelings exist.

Correct answer: An account is accepted because it guides procedures that dependably produce useful change

"An account is accepted because it guides procedures that dependably produce useful change" is the pragmatic standard: behavior analysis judges an explanation by whether it works, that is, whether it leads to effective and predictable change in behavior. "An account is accepted because it explains the behavior with the fewest hidden assumptions" describes parsimony, a different attitude of science. "An account is accepted because it guides procedures that respected experts have endorsed" appeals to authority rather than to results, and "an account is accepted because it agrees closely with the established theories of behavior" appeals to theoretical consistency; neither asks whether the account produces useful results.

Correct answer: Its exclusion of private events from experimental research

Radical behaviorism set out to overcome its exclusion of private events from experimental research, bringing thoughts and feelings into the science as behavior. Methodological behaviorism was not marked by its inference of private events from introspective reports; it rejected introspection, which is exactly why it left private events out. Its reliance on objective measures of public behavior is a strength that radical behaviorism kept, and its attribution of public behavior to unconscious motives was never part of methodological behaviorism, which avoided inner causes altogether.

Correct answer: Supplies a lawful framework in which environmental events predict and alter behavior

Determinism is preferred because it supplies a lawful framework in which environmental events predict and alter behavior: if behavior has identifiable causes in the environment, it can be predicted and changed, which is the basis of every intervention. It is not that determinism supplies a moral framework in which environmental events excuse and justify behavior; it is a working scientific assumption, not a verdict about blame. Nor is it true that determinism supplies a biological framework in which inherited traits fix and constrain behavior, since behavior-analytic determinism stresses changeable environmental causes, or that it supplies a mechanical framework in which inherited reflexes start and drive behavior, since most behavior of interest is operant and selected by its consequences.

Correct answer: Inferred from the yelling itself, which makes the reasoning circular

A bad temper is an explanatory fiction because the supposed cause is inferred from the yelling itself, which makes the reasoning circular: the person yells because of a bad temper, and the only evidence of the temper is the yelling, so nothing independent or manipulable has been identified. A cause hidden from the public gaze, which makes the reasoning unscientific, misstates the problem, because radical behaviorism can study private events. A label borrowed from everyday language, which makes the reasoning imprecise, treats the issue as one of vocabulary, and a cause estimated from teacher ratings, which makes the reasoning subjective, describes an indirect assessment method that plays no part in this explanation.

Correct answer: Mentalism points to strong inner willpower, while the environmental account points to earned classroom privileges

"Mentalism points to strong inner willpower, while the environmental account points to earned classroom privileges" is correct: mentalism places the cause of completing assignments inside the student, whereas a behavior-analytic account looks to observable, manipulable consequences that follow the behavior. "Mentalism points to regular teacher praise, while the environmental account points to personal motivational drive" reverses the two positions. "Mentalism points to strong inner willpower, while the environmental account points to personal motivational drive" wrongly puts both causes inside the student, and "Mentalism points to regular teacher praise, while the environmental account points to earned classroom privileges" wrongly gives both accounts environmental causes.

Correct answer: The drawing frequency rises when the display is made contingent

"The drawing frequency rises when the display is made contingent" is the defining test: a stimulus functions as positive reinforcement only if presenting it contingent on a response increases the future frequency of that response. "Preference is high when the drawing display is formally assessed" shows only that the child prefers the display, and a preferred item does not necessarily function as a reinforcer. "The display follows promptly when the drawing is just completed" describes immediacy, which helps reinforcement work but does not show that it is working. "The teacher considers it a reward when the drawing is on display" describes the teacher's view, but reinforcement is defined by its effect on behavior, not by what anyone intends or believes.

Correct answer: The one with the increase involved a reinforcer, whereas the other intervention did not

Reinforcement is defined by its effect on future behavior, so "the one with the increase involved a reinforcer, whereas the other intervention did not": adding a stimulus is positive reinforcement only when responding rises. "The one with the increase involved a reinforcer, and the other functioned as punishment" goes too far, because punishment requires a decrease in responding and the principle implies only that the other intervention was not reinforcement. "The one with the increase had a stronger stimulus, whereas the other intervention did not" credits a property of the stimulus rather than its effect on behavior, and "the one with the increase had a stronger stimulus, and the other functioned as punishment" makes both errors.

Correct answer: Removal of the ongoing chime after buckling strengthened early buckling

Removal of the ongoing chime after buckling strengthened early buckling is negative reinforcement: the response removes an aversive stimulus, and the response becomes more likely, here occurring sooner on each trip. Addition of an aversive chime after buckling strengthened early buckling reflects the common mistake of reading negative as presenting something unpleasant; buckling here turns the chime off rather than producing it. Removal of the ongoing chime after buckling suppressed further buckling describes a decrease, which contradicts the faster buckling in the scenario, and addition of an aversive chime after buckling suppressed further buckling describes positive punishment.

Correct answer: Strengthens behavior by removing or postponing aversive stimuli

Negative reinforcement strengthens behavior by removing or postponing aversive stimuli; negative refers to subtraction, and reinforcement always means the behavior increases. A procedure that weakens behavior by subtracting or withholding preferred stimuli is negative punishment, the penalty the trainee has in mind. One that strengthens behavior by offering or increasing preferred stimuli is positive reinforcement, and one that weakens behavior by presenting or intensifying aversive stimuli is positive punishment.

Correct answer: Automatic reinforcement from the sensory feedback that flapping produces

Because flapping stays high whether the child is in a busy room or alone and whether or not adults respond, the most parsimonious account is automatic reinforcement from the sensory feedback that flapping produces. Social reinforcement from the caregiver attention that flapping attracts is ruled out because the rate does not change with attention, and social reinforcement from the instructional escape that flapping secures is ruled out because the behavior continues alone, where there are no demands to escape. Tangible reinforcement from the preferred objects that flapping produces has no support, because nothing in the scenario delivers items after flapping.

Correct answer: Because the behavior itself produces the reinforcer, which caregivers find it hard to withhold

Extinction means withholding the reinforcer, and with automatic reinforcement that is hard: "Because the behavior itself produces the reinforcer, which caregivers find it hard to withhold" gives the reason, whereas a socially mediated reinforcer can simply stop being delivered. "Because the behavior produces the reinforcer intermittently, which makes it hard to extinguish" is wrong because automatic reinforcement usually follows nearly every response. "Because the behavior produces a more potent reinforcer, which social reinforcers fail to match" is wrong because automatic reinforcers are not necessarily stronger; the difficulty lies in controlling their delivery, not in their size. "Because the behavior produces a hidden reinforcer, which functional analyses fail to detect" is wrong because the alone or no-interaction condition of a functional analysis is designed to detect automatic reinforcement.

Correct answer: Water given to a traveler who has been deprived of liquids

Water given to a traveler who has been deprived of liquids is an unconditioned reinforcer: its effectiveness comes from the species' biological history, with deprivation making it more potent, and no learning is required. Praise given to a child who has been deprived of attention, money given to a laborer who has been deprived of earnings, and applause given to a comic who has been deprived of acclaim all involve deprivation too, but praise, money, and applause become reinforcers only through a learning history of pairing or exchange, so they are conditioned reinforcers.

Correct answer: Depends on a history of pairing with established reinforcers

The chime is a conditioned reinforcer because its function depends on a history of pairing with established reinforcers, here praise and preferred snacks that were already effective. A function that depends on being traded with staff for backup reinforcers describes a token or generalized reinforcer, but the chime was never exchanged for anything. A function that depends on a motivating operation, such as deprivation of food, describes a variable that alters how effective a reinforcer is at the moment but is not what made the chime reinforcing. A function that depends on an unconditioned reflex, such as orienting to noise, would be unlearned, the opposite of a conditioned reinforcer.

Correct answer: Can be exchanged for many backup reinforcers, reducing dependence on any one deprivation

A generalized conditioned reinforcer can be exchanged for many backup reinforcers, reducing dependence on any one deprivation, so satiation on a single item does not wipe out its value. A token that can be exchanged for one highly preferred reinforcer, avoiding satiation on any occasion, is really the single-backup sticker that lost its power, since one backup is still subject to satiation. A token that can be delivered for correct answers with no exchange, removing reliance on any backups, would soon lose its value, because conditioned reinforcers need continued backing. A token that can be valued for innate physical properties, removing reliance on any learned pairings, misdescribes a learned reinforcer as an unconditioned one.

Correct answer: A host who gets thanked after each greeting greets more diners at the door over time

A host who gets thanked after each greeting greets more diners at the door over time shows operant conditioning: the greeting is emitted, is followed by a consequence, and increases. A diner who smells bread baking before supper salivates more at the smell over time shows respondent conditioning, because the smell has been paired with food. A child who hears a drill before each filling begins to tense at the sound over time also shows respondent conditioning, with the drill sound paired with an uncomfortable procedure. A tenant who hears heavy trucks pass after dark startles less at the noise over time shows habituation, a weakening of the startle reflex with repeated exposure, which is also a respondent process.

Correct answer: Is described by its environmental effect and selected by its consequences

An operant is a response class that is described by its environmental effect and selected by its consequences, so responses of very different forms that produce the same effect belong to the same operant. A class that is identified by its physical topography and selected by its consequences confuses a functional class with a topographical one. A class that is described by its environmental effect and elicited by its antecedents describes respondent control, and one that is identified by its physical topography and elicited by its antecedents describes a reflex.

Correct answer: Conditioned response

The blink now produced by the tone alone is the conditioned response, because the tone acquired its eliciting function only through pairing with the air puff. The conditioned stimulus is the tone itself, not the blink it produces. The unconditioned response is the blink elicited directly by the air puff, and the unconditioned stimulus is the air puff, which elicits blinking without any prior pairing.

Correct answer: The conditioned stimulus is presented repeatedly alone until its elicited response fades

Respondent extinction is shown when the conditioned stimulus is presented repeatedly alone until its elicited response fades, that is, the conditioned stimulus keeps occurring without the unconditioned stimulus until it no longer elicits the conditioned response. When the unconditioned stimulus is presented many times until its reflexive response weakens, the process is habituation. When the conditioned stimulus is paired with relaxation until its anxious response diminishes, the process is counterconditioning, and when the neutral stimulus is paired with meat powder until its salivary response strengthens, the process is respondent acquisition.

Correct answer: Operant behavior is emitted and selected by consequences, while respondent behavior is reflexive and elicited by antecedents

"Operant behavior is emitted and selected by consequences, while respondent behavior is reflexive and elicited by antecedents" states the defining contrast between the two. "Operant behavior is automatic and triggered by a stimulus, while respondent behavior is purposeful and reinforced by outcomes" reverses them. "Operant behavior is emitted and selected by consequences, while respondent behavior is purposeful and reinforced by outcomes" wrongly makes both kinds of behavior depend on consequences, and "Operant behavior is automatic and triggered by a stimulus, while respondent behavior is reflexive and elicited by antecedents" wrongly makes both depend on antecedent stimuli.

Correct answer: Varying amount of time has elapsed, averaging a set value

On a variable-interval schedule, reinforcement becomes available for the first response after a varying amount of time has elapsed, averaging a set value. An unvarying amount of time has elapsed, meeting a set value, describes a fixed-interval schedule; a varying number of responses has occurred, averaging a set value, describes a variable-ratio schedule; and an unvarying number of responses has occurred, meeting a set value, describes a fixed-ratio schedule.

Correct answer: Variable-interval schedule

A variable-interval schedule thins reinforcement while producing a steady, moderate rate of responding that resists extinction, because the unpredictable timing gives no signal to pause. A progressive-ratio schedule raises the response requirement after each reinforcer and produces long pauses tied to the growing ratio, a fixed-interval schedule produces a scalloped pattern with a pause after each reinforcer, and a fixed-duration schedule reinforces behavior only after it has continued without a break for a set time, which suits duration targets rather than a steady rate of discrete responses.

Correct answer: A salesperson closing a sale after an unpredictable number of visits that averages out

A salesperson closing a sale after an unpredictable number of visits that averages out is on a variable-ratio schedule, which produces high, persistent responding. A pieceworker earning a bonus after a predictable number of shirts that stays constant is on a fixed-ratio schedule. A worker discovering a reply after an unpredictable stretch of hours that averages out illustrates a variable-interval schedule, because the passage of time, not the number of checks, makes the reply available, and a commuter catching a train after a predictable stretch of minutes that stays constant illustrates a fixed-interval arrangement.

Correct answer: Persist much longer before declining

Behavior maintained on a variable-ratio schedule will persist much longer before declining, because unpredictable, intermittent reinforcement makes the onset of extinction hard to discriminate; this is the partial-reinforcement extinction effect. The idea that it will decline much sooner before stopping, because it was reinforced less often, gets the effect backward. The claim that it will decline equally fast before stopping ignores how reinforcement history affects resistance to extinction, and the claim that it will increase steadily before stabilizing describes a lasting rise that extinction does not produce; any extinction burst is brief and is followed by a decline.

Correct answer: Fixed interval schedule

Slow responding just after each reinforcer that speeds up as the interval runs out is the scallop produced by a fixed interval schedule: only the first response after a set amount of time is reinforced, so early responses never pay off and responding accelerates as reinforcement becomes available. A variable ratio schedule produces high, steady responding with little pausing. A fixed ratio schedule produces a pause after reinforcement followed by an abrupt switch to a high, steady run (break-and-run), not gradual acceleration. A variable interval schedule produces a moderate, steady rate without scallops, because reinforcement can become available at any moment.

Correct answer: Responses made too early go unreinforced

On a fixed interval schedule a response is reinforced only after the interval has elapsed, so responses made too early go unreinforced; with that history, the start of each interval signals that reinforcement is not yet available, and responding pauses before it accelerates. "Reinforcer intake causes brief satiation" is a common but mistaken account: the pause lengthens with the interval and appears even with reinforcers far too small to satiate. "Preceding high-rate runs produce fatigue" fails for the same reason, because the pause tracks the time requirement rather than the effort just spent. "Reinforcers follow fixed response counts" describes a fixed ratio schedule, not a fixed interval schedule.

Correct answer: A history of earning reinforcement, making it more likely

The green light is a discriminative stimulus because, in its presence, pressing has a history of earning reinforcement, making it more likely when the light is on than when it is off. "A history of contacting punishment, making it less likely" describes a discriminative stimulus for punishment, and "A history of contacting extinction, making it less likely" describes an S-delta; both are the reverse of what happened in the light. "A history of reflexive elicitation, making it more likely" describes a conditioned stimulus in respondent conditioning, but switch pressing is an emitted operant controlled by its consequences, not a reflex.

Correct answer: S-delta stimulus

A stimulus correlated with the absence of reinforcement for a response, which therefore comes to lower that response, is an S-delta stimulus (also called an extinction stimulus). A neutral stimulus has no effect on the response, whereas this stimulus clearly reduces it. An abolishing operation lowers responding by reducing the value of a reinforcer, as satiation does, not through a history of nonreinforcement in a stimulus's presence. Motivating operation is the umbrella term for variables that change how effective a reinforcer is, so it describes a change in motivation rather than a signal that a response will go unreinforced.

Correct answer: Stimulus discrimination

Naming d as b while naming b correctly is a failure of stimulus discrimination: the learner is not yet responding differently to two antecedent stimuli that look alike, so the name reinforced in the presence of b also occurs in the presence of d. Stimulus generalization is what is happening too much here, not what is failing, since the trained name spreads to a similar stimulus. Auditory discrimination concerns telling sounds apart, but this confusion is between letters that look alike. Response generalization refers to new, untrained forms of a response, whereas this learner makes the same response to the wrong stimulus.

Correct answer: Confine responding largely to the reinforced stimulus

Reinforcing a response in the presence of one stimulus while withholding reinforcement in the presence of another is meant to confine responding largely to the reinforced stimulus, producing differential responding under stimulus control. To extend responding evenly to the unreinforced stimulus would be stimulus generalization, the opposite of the goal. To weaken responding steadily to each presented stimulus would be extinction across the board, yet responding is still reinforced in the presence of one stimulus. To tie responding reflexively to each eliciting stimulus describes respondent conditioning, whereas discrimination training brings an emitted operant under the control of its antecedents through its consequences.

Correct answer: Establishing and evocative effects

A motivating operation that makes a reinforcer more effective and evokes behavior that has produced it is exerting establishing and evocative effects: the establishing effect is its value-altering effect (the reinforcer becomes more effective) and the evocative effect is its behavior-altering effect (related behavior occurs more often right now). "Discriminative and evocative effects" confuses a motivating operation with a discriminative stimulus, which signals that a reinforcer is available rather than changing how effective it is. "Establishing and abative effects" gets the behavior change backward, because an abative effect decreases behavior. "Discriminative and abative effects" combines both errors.

Correct answer: After hot yardwork, a gardener seeks water more readily

"After hot yardwork, a gardener seeks water more readily" shows the behavior-altering (evocative) effect: heat and exertion momentarily increase the current frequency of behavior that has produced water. "After a sleepless night, a boy finds rest more valuable" shows the value-altering effect, a change in how effective rest is as a reinforcer rather than a change in behavior. "After seeing friends, a teen cracks jokes more promptly" shows discriminative-stimulus control: the friends signal that laughter is available without changing its value. "After praise for sharing, a toddler shares more eagerly" shows the effect of reinforcement on future behavior, a learning effect rather than a motivating operation.

Correct answer: An establishing operation that raises the value of the game

Restricting access to the game in the morning is deprivation arranged in advance, so it contrives an establishing operation that raises the value of the game as a reinforcer in the afternoon session and evokes behavior that has produced it. An abolishing operation that depletes the value of the game would come from satiation, such as free play right before the session. A discriminative stimulus that indicates access to the game signals availability without changing the game's value, and nothing in this arrangement signals availability. A response-cost procedure that withdraws access to the game is negative punishment, which removes a reinforcer contingent on a response, but this restriction does not depend on any behavior.

Correct answer: Decreasing its momentary value and diminishing responding

Satiation works as an abolishing operation by decreasing its momentary value and diminishing responding: the snack is temporarily less effective as a reinforcer, and the behavior that has produced it occurs less. "Pairing its flavor with illness and inhibiting responding" describes a conditioned taste aversion, in which a flavor paired with illness becomes aversive, and nothing was paired with illness here. "Ending its usual contingency and extinguishing responding" describes extinction, but the snack is still being offered as a consequence. "Signaling its inaccessibility and discouraging responding" describes an S-delta, yet nothing signals that the snack is unavailable; it is simply less valuable right now.

Correct answer: Abolishing operation, because it erodes the value of food

Treated as a motivating operation, an appetite-suppressing medication is best described as "Abolishing operation, because it erodes the value of food": it makes food a weaker reinforcer for the time being and lowers behavior that has produced food. "Establishing operation, because it lifts the value of food" gets the direction backward. "S-delta stimulus, because it signals that food is unavailable" and "Discriminative stimulus, because it signals that food is near" both treat the medication as a signal about availability, but a motivating operation changes how effective food is as a reinforcer rather than signaling whether food can be obtained.

Correct answer: A motivating operation

A long, effortful task works as a motivating operation (an establishing operation for escape): its value-altering effect makes escape a more powerful reinforcer, and its behavior-altering effect evokes escape-maintained behavior. A reinforcing consequence is the escape itself, the consequence whose value is being changed, not the variable that changes it. A conditioned stimulus elicits respondent behavior after pairing and has no value-altering effect. A discriminative stimulus signals that escape is available for responding but does not change how effective escape is as a reinforcer.

Correct answer: When frigid weather hits, a learner signs 'jacket' and gets it

"When frigid weather hits, a learner signs 'jacket' and gets it" is a mand: the cold is a motivating operation that evokes the response, and the response produces the specific reinforcer it names. "When jets soar overhead, a learner says 'plane' and gets praise" is a tact, evoked by a nonverbal stimulus and maintained by generalized reinforcement. "When an adult says 'ball', a learner repeats it and gets praise" is an echoic, matching a vocal model point to point. "When asked two plus two, a learner answers 'four' and gets hugs" is an intraverbal, a verbal response to a verbal stimulus without point-to-point correspondence.

Correct answer: Produce the specific reinforcer the learner wants

Mands are usually taught first because they produce the specific reinforcer the learner wants, so they benefit the learner directly and are naturally reinforcing to acquire. To come under the control of the physical environment is the defining feature of a tact, not a mand. To build point-to-point correspondence with the model describes an echoic. To transfer from the tact repertoire without teaching misstates how verbal operants develop: tacts and mands are functionally independent, so a mand usually has to be taught directly rather than emerging from tact training.

Correct answer: A response to a nonverbal stimulus that earns generalized reinforcement

Saying 'bird' at the sight of a bird, with praise as the consequence, is a tact: a response to a nonverbal stimulus that earns generalized reinforcement. A response to a motivating operation that earns the reinforcer it names is a mand, and the child is not requesting anything. A response to verbal models that duplicates them with formal similarity is an echoic, but no one modeled the word. A response to verbal stimuli that lacks point-to-point correspondence is an intraverbal, but the bird, not anything said to the child, evoked the response.

Correct answer: Tact

Labeling objects, pictures, and events that the learner sees, hears, or feels is the tact repertoire, because each response is evoked by a nonverbal stimulus and maintained by generalized reinforcement. A mand is evoked by a motivating operation and specifies its own reinforcer. Textual behavior is reading printed words aloud, which requires text rather than objects and events. An autoclitic is verbal behavior that modifies the effect of other verbal behavior on the listener, such as "I think" or "definitely," rather than naming things.

Correct answer: Saying 'banana' right after a tutor models the word

"Saying 'banana' right after a tutor models the word" is an echoic: the response is evoked by a vocal model and matches it point to point, with formal similarity. "Saying 'juice' after a long hike in the summer heat" is a mand, evoked by thirst as a motivating operation. "Saying 'dog' just after a terrier trots into the kitchen" is a tact, evoked by the sight of the dog. "Saying 'bark' after a peer asks what noise the dog makes" is an intraverbal, a verbal response to a verbal question with no point-to-point correspondence.

Correct answer: Transfer stimulus control from vocal models to other verbal operants

An echoic repertoire lets a teacher prompt a word with a vocal model and then transfer stimulus control from vocal models to other verbal operants, such as tacts and mands, fading the model until the object or the motivating operation evokes the word on its own. To transfer stimulus control from the printed page to the spoken word describes textual behavior (reading), not echoic training. To teach requests in sessions where no motivating operation is in effect misunderstands the mand, which is evoked by a motivating operation and cannot be taught in its absence, even when an echoic prompt is used. To teach spelling and other written material by copying the printed text describes copying a text, a written repertoire rather than an echoic one.

Correct answer: A response to verbal stimuli that lacks point-to-point correspondence

Answering 'eat' to a spoken question, with no food present and without repeating the question, is an intraverbal: a response to verbal stimuli that lacks point-to-point correspondence. A response to a nonverbal stimulus that earns generalized reinforcement is a tact, but no food or other object evoked the answer. A response to a motivating operation that earns the reinforcer it names is a mand, yet the learner is answering a question, not asking for food. A response to verbal models that duplicates them with formal similarity is an echoic, and the learner did not repeat the teacher's words.

Correct answer: Intraverbal

Answering questions, telling stories, and trading remarks in conversation depend most on the intraverbal repertoire, because each speaker's words are evoked by the other speaker's words without point-to-point correspondence. A tact is evoked by a nonverbal stimulus, so it can describe what is present but does not answer what another speaker says. An autoclitic modifies how a listener responds to other verbal behavior ("I think," "maybe"), a refinement of skilled speech rather than the operant that carries conversation. Transcription is writing what is heard, as in taking dictation, a written repertoire rather than a conversational one.

Correct answer: The antecedents and consequences that control them

A single spoken word can be a mand, a tact, or an intraverbal, so verbal operants are classified by the antecedents and consequences that control them: their function, not their form. The loudness and enunciation that distinguish them are features of topography, and the same topography can serve different functions. The definitions and connotations that they convey belong to a dictionary account of meaning, which cannot tell a request from a label. The intentions and motivations that they express are inferred inner causes; behavior analysts classify verbal behavior by its observable controlling variables instead.

Correct answer: Transitivity

Matching the picture to the printed word, when only the spoken-to-picture and spoken-to-print relations were trained, shows a relation derived through the shared spoken word, which is transitivity. Reflexivity is matching a stimulus to itself. Symmetry is the reversal of a single trained relation, such as matching print to the spoken word after training the spoken word to print. Generalization is responding to physically similar stimuli, but a picture and a printed word do not resemble each other; the relation between them is derived, not generalized.

Correct answer: Reflexivity

Matching an identical sample to itself without being taught to do so demonstrates reflexivity, also called generalized identity matching. Symmetry is the reversal of a trained relation (B to A after A to B was taught). Transitivity is a relation derived through a shared stimulus (A to C after A to B and B to C were taught). Imitation is copying the form of another person's behavior, a response to a model rather than the matching of one stimulus to an identical one.

Correct answer: Untrained relations to emerge beyond directly taught ones

Stimulus equivalence matters for instruction because it allows untrained relations to emerge beyond directly taught ones: after a few relations are taught, others appear on their own, so the learner gains more relations than were trained. Allowing trained responses to occur with physically similar stimuli describes stimulus generalization, which depends on physical resemblance, whereas members of an equivalence class need not look alike. Allowing skills to be acquired through errorless prompt fading describes a teaching procedure that equivalence-based instruction may use but does not itself provide. Allowing learned behaviors to persist without further reinforcement describes maintenance, which equivalence does not explain.

Correct answer: Stimulus generalization

Performing the trained handwashing response at new sinks with different faucets and soap dispensers is stimulus generalization: a response learned under one set of antecedent conditions occurs under similar ones. Response generalization would be new, untrained forms of the behavior, but the response here is the same handwashing. Response maintenance refers to a behavior continuing over time after training ends, not to its spread across settings. Stimulus discrimination is responding differently in the presence of different stimuli, the opposite of what happened.

Correct answer: Response generalization

Nodding, waving, and saying 'hey' after only 'hi' was reinforced is response generalization: untrained responses that serve the same function appear alongside the trained one. Stimulus generalization is the same response occurring under new antecedent conditions, not new forms of the response. Response maintenance is a behavior continuing over time after intervention ends. Stimulus equivalence concerns emergent relations among stimuli, not new forms of a response.

Correct answer: Allocated fairly evenly to the two options

When two concurrent activities deliver reinforcement at about the same rate, the matching law predicts that responding will be allocated fairly evenly to the two options, because relative responding matches relative reinforcement. Responding allocated largely to the one sampled first would reflect an order effect that the matching law does not predict, and responding allocated almost entirely to the same activity describes an exclusive preference that equal rates of reinforcement do not produce. Responding allocated in proportion to the work needed misplaces the controlling variable, since the matching law relates allocation to obtained reinforcement rather than to effort.

Correct answer: How response allocation tracks relative reinforcement

The matching law is a quantitative description of how response allocation tracks relative reinforcement: across concurrently available options, the proportion of responding to each option matches the proportion of reinforcement it provides. How resistance to disruption grows in richer contexts is behavioral momentum. How reinforcer value declines with lengthening delays is delay discounting. How a probable activity reinforces an improbable one is the Premack principle.

Correct answer: Resistance to change when disruption is applied

Behavioral momentum is indexed by resistance to change when disruption is applied, such as extinction, satiation, or distraction: the more a behavior persists under disruption, the greater its momentum. Rate of responding when reinforcement is steady is a separate measure, and momentum research shows that response rate and persistence can diverge. Latency to respond when an instruction is given measures how quickly responding begins, not how well it holds up. Accuracy of responding when a task is presented measures correctness, not persistence under disruption.

Correct answer: Harder to disrupt

Behavioral momentum theory holds that a higher rate of reinforcement in a context strengthens the relation between that context and reinforcement, so behavior there becomes harder to disrupt. Faster to decline and slower to recover both predict less persistence, the reverse of what the theory expects. Less tied to context is not a prediction of the theory either: persistence is tied to the context in which the richer reinforcement is delivered, so the behavior grows stronger in that context rather than less bound to it.

Correct answer: Hand-raising that lets a student escape noise increases

"Hand-raising that lets a student escape noise increases" is negative reinforcement of an appropriate behavior: raising a hand removes an aversive condition, the noise, and the behavior becomes more frequent. "Screaming that lets a student escape the task increases" is also negative reinforcement, but it strengthens problem behavior rather than an appropriate one. "Calling out that costs a student recess time decreases" is negative punishment, in which removing a reinforcer weakens behavior. "Teasing that earns a student stern reprimands decreases" is positive punishment, in which adding an aversive consequence weakens behavior.

Correct answer: Needs no conditioning to become effective

An unconditioned reinforcer, such as warmth for a cold organism, needs no conditioning to become effective: its effectiveness comes from the organism's biology rather than from any learning history, which is what separates it from a conditioned reinforcer. A reinforcer that becomes effective through repeated pairing is, by definition, a conditioned reinforcer. A reinforcer that needs pairing with backups to be effective is a generalized conditioned reinforcer, such as a token, whose value depends on the backup reinforcers it can be exchanged for. Saying it stays effective through long satiation is also wrong, because unconditioned reinforcers lose effectiveness under satiation and regain it with deprivation.

Correct answer: Boost its momentary value and evoke responding for it

Keeping the toy away for several hours is deprivation, an establishing operation arranged to boost its momentary value and evoke responding for it, so the toy works better as a reinforcer during the session. To cut its reinforcing power and abate responding for it would be the effect of an abolishing operation such as satiation. To signal its availability and occasion responding for it describes a discriminative stimulus, which signals that reinforcement is available rather than changing its value. To withhold its delivery and extinguish responding for it describes extinction, which weakens a response by no longer reinforcing it, whereas this deprivation is arranged to strengthen responding.

Correct answer: Symmetry

The printed-to-spoken relation emerging after only spoken-to-printed training is symmetry, the reversal of a single trained relation: if A goes with B, then B goes with A. Transitivity is a relation derived through a shared third stimulus. Reflexivity is matching a stimulus to itself. Exclusion is selecting an unfamiliar comparison because the familiar ones have been ruled out, which is not the reversal of a trained relation.

Correct answer: A richer reinforcement rate than the problem behavior

Because the matching law says responding is allocated in proportion to relative reinforcement, the arrangement that shifts responding toward the appropriate task is a richer reinforcement rate than the problem behavior. The same reinforcement rate as the problem behavior would only split responding roughly evenly between the two. A longer reinforcement delay than the problem behavior would weaken the task's reinforcers and push responding toward the problem behavior. The same reinforcement quality as the problem behavior leaves the two alternatives equal on that dimension, so it gives the task no advantage.

Correct answer: Automatic positive reinforcement from sensory feedback

A vocal sound that produces its own auditory sensation, and that occurs at the same rate whether or not others are present, is maintained by automatic positive reinforcement from sensory feedback: the behavior adds a reinforcing sensory consequence without anyone delivering it. Social positive reinforcement from caregiver attention is ruled out because the rate does not change when others are present. Automatic negative reinforcement from eased irritation would mean the behavior removes an unpleasant internal state, but here it adds a sensation. Social negative reinforcement from removal of demands would require escape from tasks presented by other people, and no demands are involved.

Correct answer: Discriminative stimulus that signals available reinforcement

Because responding was reinforced only when the teacher was looking, the directed gaze has become a discriminative stimulus that signals available reinforcement, setting the occasion for the response. A discriminative stimulus that signals the threat of punishment would make responding less likely, yet the child responds more when the gaze is present. A motivating operation that amplifies reinforcer effectiveness changes how valuable the reinforcer is, whereas the gaze only signals when it is available. A conditioned reinforcer that maintains the response it follows would come after the response as a consequence, but the gaze is present before the child responds.

Correct answer: Respondent conditioning, because the tone elicits conditioned fear

Respondent conditioning, because the tone elicits conditioned fear is correct: once it has been paired with shock, the tone is a conditioned stimulus that elicits fear as a conditioned emotional response, so the fear is respondent behavior even though the avoidance it accompanies is operant. Operant conditioning, because the tone occasions reinforced fear is wrong because the fear is elicited by the tone, not selected by its consequences. Stimulus control, because the warning tone signals reinforcement describes the tone's discriminative role for the avoidance response, not the elicited fear. Stimulus generalization, because the warning tone resembles sirens is wrong because the fear comes from direct pairing of this tone with shock, not from its likeness to other sounds.

Correct answer: Response duration

Response duration is correct because the goal is to shorten each episode of thumb-sucking, and duration measures how long each occurrence lasts. Response frequency counts how many episodes occur, which could stay the same while every episode gets shorter. Response latency is the time from a cue to the start of a response, not how long the response continues. Response magnitude is the force or intensity of a response and says nothing about how long an episode lasts.

Correct answer: The overall duration of observation

The overall duration of observation is correct: rate is a count divided by the time over which it was observed, so 60 responses become a rate (3 per minute) only once the observation time enters the calculation. The average magnitude of responses describes how forceful the responses were, not how often they occurred per unit of time. The number of opportunities offered is the denominator for a percentage or trials-based measure, not for a free-operant rate. The strength of observer agreement shows how consistently the data were recorded and plays no part in computing rate.

Correct answer: Count ignores session lengths, so equal totals can disguise unequal rates

Count ignores session lengths, so equal totals can disguise unequal rates is correct: a raw count says nothing about how long observation lasted, so the same number of responses in a short and a long session reflects different amounts of behavior per minute, which rate corrects. Count already accounts for session lengths, so raw counts can be compared reverses the problem, since only rate builds time into the measure. Count samples fixed intervals, so brief response bursts can go unrecorded describes interval recording, whereas a count tallies every occurrence. Count weights response durations, so prolonged bursts can inflate tallies confuses count with duration, because each occurrence adds one to a count however long it lasts.

Correct answer: Magnitude

Magnitude is correct because it is the force or intensity of a response, so how hard the door is slammed is a question of magnitude. Topography is the physical form or shape of the response, so two slams of identical form could still differ in force. Celeration is the change in response rate over time. Duration is how long each response lasts, which does not capture how forcefully the door is slammed.

Correct answer: Topography

Topography is correct because it is the physical form or shape of a response, which is what separates a whole-arm wave from a wrist-only wave. Magnitude is the force or intensity of a response, so two waves of different form could be equally forceful. Percentage is a ratio of occurrences to opportunities or intervals and carries no information about form. Celeration is the change in rate over time and says nothing about form.

Correct answer: Interresponse time

Interresponse time is correct because it is the time from the end of one response to the start of the next, which is exactly what was recorded and averaged at 4 seconds. Response latency is the time from a stimulus or instruction to the start of a response, not the gap between two responses. Intertrial interval is the time the teacher schedules between discrete trials, not the spacing the learner produces between responses. Reinforcement delay is the time between a response and delivery of its reinforcer.

Correct answer: The requests now arrive at a slower rate

The requests now arrive at a slower rate is correct: interresponse times that grow from 2 to 8 seconds mean the requests are spaced farther apart, so fewer occur per unit of time. The requests now occur at a quicker rate reverses the relation, because a quicker rate would require shorter interresponse times. Each request now has a longer duration confuses the gap between requests with how long each request lasts. Each request now has a longer latency confuses that gap with the delay from an antecedent to the start of a response.

Correct answer: Latency

Latency is correct because it is the time from the instruction to the first cleanup movement, so faster starts show up as shorter latencies. Duration would show how long the cleanup lasts once it begins. Frequency counts how many responses occur in a period, not how soon the first one begins. Intensity is the force of a response, which is unrelated to how quickly the student starts.

Correct answer: Latency to start after instructions

Latency to start after instructions is correct because the problem is the delay between the instruction and the start of responding, and latency measures that delay directly. Interresponse time across the session reflects the spacing between responses, which is normal once the learner starts. Duration to finish after instructions mixes the slow start with the time spent working, so it cannot isolate initiation. Work output rate across the session reflects how quickly responses occur once started, which is not the problem here.

Correct answer: Permanent product recording

Permanent product recording is correct because the analyst measures the tangible result the behavior leaves behind, the completed worksheets, after the fact instead of observing the behavior as it happens. Real-time event recording would require watching the student and counting each problem as it is finished. Continuous duration recording measures how long the behavior lasts while it is observed. Narrative anecdotal recording is a running written account of behavior and its context made during observation, not a count of finished products.

Correct answer: It confirms the finished outcome, not who produced it or how

It confirms the finished outcome, not who produced it or how is correct: a worksheet or other product shows that the outcome exists, but the record alone does not show whether the learner produced it independently or how it was done. It requires live observation, noting how the responses occur describes continuous direct observation, the very requirement that permanent product recording removes. It samples the behavior, so brief bursts or pauses are not counted describes momentary time sampling, whereas every product left behind can be counted. It changes the behavior of the learners who know they are observed describes reactivity, but scoring products after the fact is unobtrusive, which tends to reduce reactivity rather than increase it.

Correct answer: Interval recording

Interval recording is correct because a behavior with no discrete beginning or end that occurs almost continuously cannot be counted instance by instance, so a discontinuous method that scores whether the behavior occurs within each interval is the workable choice. Frequency recording requires discrete, countable instances. Latency recording measures the delay from a stimulus to the onset of a response, which requires a discrete start. Narrative recording is a running written account of behavior in context, useful for description but not a measure of how much the behavior occurs.

Correct answer: Partial interval recording counts behavior at any point of the interval

Partial interval recording counts behavior at any point of the interval is correct, because a single occurrence anywhere in the interval scores it. Whole interval recording credits behavior at any moment of the interval is wrong because whole interval recording scores an interval only when the behavior lasts throughout it. Partial interval recording requires behavior right at the final moment describes momentary time sampling, not partial interval recording. Whole interval recording scores behavior observed at the final instant also borrows the momentary time sampling rule, whereas whole interval recording requires the behavior across the entire interval.

Correct answer: Overestimation, because brief bursts score whole intervals

Overestimation, because brief bursts score whole intervals is correct: partial interval recording credits an entire interval for even a momentary occurrence, so a behavior that fills only a small share of the session can still appear in almost every interval. Underestimation, because brief bursts miss sampled moments describes a risk of momentary time sampling and runs in the wrong direction here. Observer drift, because the target definition shifted would make the data inconsistent over time, but nothing suggests the definition changed, and drift does not explain a gap built into the scoring rule. Reactivity, because the learner knew an observer was there would change the behavior itself, yet both records come from the same sessions and only the interval data look inflated.

Correct answer: Partial interval recording

Partial interval recording is correct because it scores an interval whenever the behavior occurs at any point within it, so its known bias is toward overestimation, which makes it the interval method least likely to miss a dangerous outburst. Whole interval recording scores an interval only when the behavior fills it, so it underestimates and could miss brief outbursts. Momentary time sampling checks only the instant each interval ends and can miss outbursts in between. Measuring interresponse time summarizes the time between successive responses; it is not interval data, so it offers none of the directional interval bias the clinician wants.

Correct answer: Nonoccurrence, because it stopped before the interval closed

Nonoccurrence, because it stopped before the interval closed is correct: whole interval recording scores an interval only when the behavior is present throughout it, so a gap of even one second means the interval is not scored. Occurrence, because it was present for most of the interval applies a majority rule that whole interval recording does not use. Occurrence, because it was detected within the interval is the partial interval rule, not the whole interval rule. Unscorable, because it stopped before the interval concluded is wrong because a change within an interval does not void it; the interval is simply scored as a nonoccurrence.

Correct answer: Whole interval recording

Whole interval recording is correct because an interval is scored only when the behavior lasts throughout it, so many true occurrences go unscored and the behavior looks less prevalent than it is, a conservative estimate. Partial interval recording has the opposite bias and overestimates. Momentary time sampling scores only the instant each interval ends, so its errors can run in either direction rather than consistently underestimating. Average interresponse time summarizes the time between successive responses; it is a continuous timing measure rather than an interval method, so it carries no underestimating bias.

Correct answer: Nonoccurrence, because it was not occurring at the sampled moment

Nonoccurrence, because it was not occurring at the sampled moment is correct: momentary time sampling scores only whether the behavior is happening at the instant the interval ends, here the 30-second mark, regardless of what happened earlier in the interval. Occurrence, because it happened during the middle of the interval applies the partial interval rule instead. Occurrence, because it happened several times before the mark treats the interval like an event count, which momentary time sampling does not use. Unscorable, because it was not ongoing at the sampled moment is wrong because momentary time sampling scores a behavior that is absent at the sampled moment as a nonoccurrence, and what happens between sampled moments is simply not part of the score, so the interval is still scored.

Correct answer: Momentary time sampling

Momentary time sampling is correct because the observer needs to look only at the sampled moments rather than watch continuously, and its error is generally smaller and less systematic than that of the interval methods. Partial interval recording requires watching the whole interval and overestimates. Whole interval recording also requires watching the whole interval and underestimates. Average interresponse time is a continuous timing measure that needs uninterrupted observation to time the gap between responses, so it fails the first criterion.

Correct answer: Trials to criterion

Trials to criterion is correct because the analyst is comparing how many practice opportunities each program needed before the learner met the mastery standard, 22 versus 14, which is exactly what trials to criterion counts. Time to criterion would express acquisition as elapsed minutes or sessions rather than as opportunities. Errors per session tracks mistakes within each session, not the opportunities needed to reach mastery. Prompts per session tracks how much help was given in a session, which also says nothing about how many opportunities mastery took.

Correct answer: Three consecutive sessions at 90 percent accuracy or above

Three consecutive sessions at 90 percent accuracy or above is correct because trials to criterion counts how many opportunities a learner needs to reach a predefined performance standard, and an accuracy-based mastery rule is exactly that kind of standard. Two consecutive sessions at 80 percent agreement or above is an interobserver agreement standard for data quality, not a performance standard for the learner. Four consecutive sessions at 85 percent integrity or above is a treatment integrity standard that describes how faithfully staff deliver the procedure. Five consecutive sessions at 75 percent approval or above describes a social validity rating from consumers, not the learner reaching mastery.

Correct answer: Responding occurred at a higher rate in the second segment

Responding occurred at a higher rate in the second segment is correct because the slope of a cumulative record shows response rate, so a sharper rise means responses were piling up faster than in the gentler first segment. Responding proceeded at a lower rate in the second segment reverses the reading, since slower responding produces a flatter slope. Reinforcement was delivered at a higher rate in the second segment and reinforcement was delivered at a slower rate in the second segment both misread the slope as a record of reinforcement; reinforcer deliveries appear only as separate marks on the record, and the slope itself reflects responding, so a steeper slope says nothing about reinforcement getting richer or leaner.

Correct answer: The data path is a running total of responses

The data path is a running total of responses is correct: each session's responses are added to everything counted before, so the running total can only stay level, when no responses occur, or rise; a slower period simply flattens the slope. The vertical axis is a logarithmic scale of rate describes the standard celeration chart, and a logarithmic axis can still show decreases. The charted line is a moving average of sessions is wrong because a cumulative record plots accumulated counts, not averages, and an average could fall. The record is a tally of reinforcers delivered is wrong because a cumulative record plots every response, with reinforcer deliveries only marked along the line.

Correct answer: The rate is holding steady at one level

The rate is holding steady at one level is correct because a flat, horizontal line on a standard celeration chart means the rate is neither multiplying nor dividing from week to week, a celeration of times one. The rate is doubling at a constant pace would appear as a straight line sloping upward, not a flat one. The bounce is narrowing around the line describes shrinking variability, which a flat line by itself does not show. The line is resting on the record floor would mean the lowest countable rate, one response per counting time, whereas a flat line can sit at any rate.

Correct answer: So that constant proportional change plots as a straight line

So that constant proportional change plots as a straight line is correct because the multiply-divide scale gives equal ratios equal vertical distances, so a rate that grows or shrinks by the same factor each week appears as a straight line and celeration can be read from its slope. So that equal additive change in rate plots as a straight line describes an add-subtract scale, the very scale the chart replaces. So that zero response counts plot as a clearly visible marker is wrong because a logarithmic scale has no zero, which is why zero counts are recorded below the counting floor instead. So that the raw response counts plot as a percentage of trials is wrong because the chart plots counts per minute, not percentages.

Correct answer: Correct responding is accelerating while errors are decelerating

Correct responding is accelerating while errors are decelerating is correct because a times-1.5 celeration means the rate of correct responses is multiplying each week, while a divide-1.4 celeration means the rate of errors is shrinking, the desirable precision-teaching pattern. Correct responding is decelerating while errors are accelerating reverses both values. Correct responding and errors are both accelerating misreads the divide factor for errors as an increase. Correct responding and errors are both decelerating misreads the times factor for correct responding as a decrease.

Correct answer: 90%

90% is correct because total duration IOA divides the shorter total by the longer total and multiplies by 100: 90 divided by 100 is 0.90, or 90 percent. 47% comes from dividing the shorter total by the combined total of 190 seconds, and 53% comes from dividing the longer total by that combined total; neither is the total duration formula. 95% comes from dividing the 10-second difference by the 190-second combined total and subtracting the result from 100 percent, which scales the disagreement by the combined total instead of dividing the shorter total by the longer one.

Correct answer: The data were scored consistently by independent observers

The data were scored consistently by independent observers is correct because interobserver agreement shows how closely two observers' records matched, which speaks to the consistency and believability of the measurement. The data were accurate reflections of the actual responses is wrong because two observers can agree closely and still both be wrong; accuracy requires comparison with true values. The data were valid samples of the defined target behavior is wrong because agreement does not show that the measure captures the behavior it was designed to measure. The data were collected by staff with treatment integrity is wrong because treatment integrity concerns how faithfully the intervention was delivered, which agreement scores do not assess.

Correct answer: Scored-interval IOA

Scored-interval IOA, also called occurrence IOA, is correct because for a low-rate behavior it limits the calculation to intervals in which at least one observer scored the behavior, which removes the inflation produced by easy agreement on the many empty intervals. Unscored-interval IOA, or nonoccurrence IOA, does the reverse by using only intervals in which at least one observer recorded no behavior, and it is the stringent choice for high-rate behavior. Total duration IOA compares the observers' total durations and does not work interval by interval. Trial-by-trial IOA applies to discrete trials, not to interval records of free-operant behavior.

Correct answer: The data are reliable though inaccurate

The data are reliable though inaccurate is correct: the two observers agree closely, so the measurement is reliable in the sense of being consistent across observers, yet both depart from the video-coded true values in the same direction, so the data are not accurate. The data are reliable and accurate treats high agreement as proof of accuracy, which is the error the video check exposes. The data are accurate though unreliable reverses the situation, since the observers agree with each other and it is their match with the true values that fails. The data are unreliable and inaccurate is wrong because the high interobserver agreement shows the recording was reliable.

Correct answer: Abscissa and ordinate

Abscissa and ordinate is correct because the horizontal axis of a line graph is the abscissa, which usually marks sessions or time, and the vertical axis is the ordinate, which shows the dependent variable such as the count of responses. Ordinate and abscissa reverses the two axes, naming the vertical axis as the horizontal one and the horizontal axis as the vertical one. Ordinate and gridline is wrong because the ordinate is the vertical axis, not the horizontal one, and a gridline is a background reference line, not an axis. Baseline and abscissa is wrong because baseline is a phase of the study rather than an axis, and the abscissa is horizontal, not vertical.

Correct answer: Variability

Variability is correct because data that bounce widely, here between 2 and 18 responses, with no clear pattern describe how much the data points differ from one another. Mean level is the typical or average value of the data, which can be the same for tightly clustered and widely scattered data. Consistency refers to how similar the data patterns are across phases of the same condition, not to the scatter within one phase. Reliability concerns whether the measurement itself is dependable, such as agreement between observers, not how the plotted data behave.

Correct answer: Trend

Trend is correct because data that start low and climb steadily session after session show a consistent direction within the phase, which is what trend describes. Level is the typical value of the data in a phase, which does not capture the steady climb. Immediacy describes how quickly behavior changes after a phase change, a comparison between adjacent phases rather than a pattern within one phase. Stability describes data that hold at one level with little variation, which a steady climb does not do.

Correct answer: Immediacy of effect

Immediacy of effect is correct because it describes how quickly the data change once the phase line is crossed, and a drop from a baseline mean near 10 to a treatment mean near 2 within the first session is a strong, immediate effect. Consistency of effect concerns whether similar changes recur across repeated phase changes, which one transition cannot show. Stability of baseline describes how steady the data were before treatment, not the speed of change at the phase line. Trend of baseline describes the direction of the data before treatment began, not the shift that followed.

Correct answer: A credible effect, because the conditions produced distinct levels

A credible effect, because the conditions produced distinct levels is correct: when the data ranges of adjacent phases barely overlap, the two conditions produced clearly different levels of behavior, which strengthens the case that the treatment changed the behavior. A weak effect, because the two phases show essentially equal levels contradicts the graph, since minimal overlap means the levels clearly differ. A floor effect, because the treatment data rest below baseline misreads a treatment reduction as a measurement limit; a floor effect occurs only when data cannot go any lower. A sequence effect, because the intervention phase followed baseline is wrong because coming second in the design does not explain a clear separation between the phases.

Correct answer: A derived measure that divides a count by the trials scored

A derived measure that divides a count by the trials scored is correct because 75 percent is calculated from two counts, 12 correct responses divided by 16 opportunities and multiplied by 100, rather than being observed directly. A rate measure that divides a count by the observation time describes rate, which uses time rather than opportunities as the denominator. A raw measure that records a count as the responses happen describes a raw count, the number 12 itself, before it is converted. A sampled measure that records a count at the interval ends describes discontinuous time sampling, whereas this percentage comes from every opportunity the learner had.

Correct answer: Percentage can hit a ceiling that obscures further change

Once a percentage reaches 100 it has nowhere left to go, so a learner who keeps improving, for example by responding faster or more fluently, earns the same score week after week because the measure has topped out: "Percentage can hit a ceiling that obscures further change." "Percentage can involve a small base that magnifies shifts" is a real limitation, but it describes large swings produced by a few opportunities, and these data did not move at all. "Percentage can reach a floor that masks ongoing decline" describes the bottom of the scale, not scores stuck at 100 percent. "Percentage can produce a skewed mean that distorts totals" applies when percentages from sessions of unequal size are averaged together, which is not what happened here.

Correct answer: Rate, because it shows how rapidly responses occur, capturing speed

Fluency combines accuracy with speed, and only a measure that includes time can show speed, so the answer is "Rate, because it shows how rapidly responses occur, capturing speed." "Rate, because it shows how long behavior lasts, capturing endurance" picks the right measure for the wrong reason: how long a response lasts is duration, not rate. "Percentage, because it shows how many trials succeed, capturing accuracy" describes what percentage does well, but accuracy alone cannot show whether responding is getting faster. "Percentage, because it shows how errors decline, capturing skill mastery" has the same gap: percentage has no time base, so two learners with identical percentages can differ greatly in fluency.

Correct answer: Latency and duration

The delay from the prompt to the start of the task is latency, and the length of time the learner then stays engaged is duration, so "Latency and duration" captures both. "Fluency and duration" gets the engagement measure right but uses fluency, a blend of accuracy and speed across many responses, for the delay before a single start. "Latency and interresponse time" gets the onset right, but interresponse time is the time between two successive responses, not how long an episode of engagement lasts. "Fluency and interresponse time" makes both errors.

Correct answer: Keeps the phases distinct so trends are read separately

Data points are not connected across a phase change line because each condition should be judged on its own; joining them would suggest a trend running from one condition into the next. That is why the convention "Keeps the phases distinct so trends are read separately." "Flags the missed sessions so absences are shown clearly" describes a break used when no data were collected, not one placed at every change of condition. "Signals the scale break so outliers are read accurately" confuses a break in the data path with a break in the axis scale, which is drawn on the axis itself. "Marks the calendar gap so delays are plotted accurately" describes a break in the time axis for a long gap between sessions, which is also unrelated to a change of condition.

Correct answer: Trend

A change in the direction the data are heading, here from worsening to improving, is a change in "Trend." "Level" describes the average height of the data on the vertical axis, not the direction in which they are heading. "Variability" describes how widely the data points scatter around the data path. "Consistency" describes whether data patterns are similar across similar phases, such as two baselines, rather than the direction of one data path.

Correct answer: The condition labels naming the separate phases

On a single-case graph the manipulated variable appears as the conditions themselves, such as baseline and intervention, so the element that represents it is "The condition labels naming the separate phases." "The session numbers lining the horizontal scale" mark the passage of time, not the manipulation, even though group-design graphs often place the independent variable on that axis. "The transition counts lining the vertical scale" show the dependent variable, the number of safe transitions per day. "The plotted symbols filling the separate phases" are the measured values of that same dependent variable.

Correct answer: Event recording

Counting each discrete response as it happens across the whole observation is "Event recording", a continuous method that yields a complete count rather than an estimate. "Partial-interval recording" scores an interval if the behavior occurs at any point within it, so it estimates occurrence and tends to overestimate it. "Time sampling" is the general family of methods that sample behavior during intervals or at set moments instead of recording each instance. "Momentary time sampling" notes only whether the behavior is occurring at the end of each interval, so it also gives an estimate rather than a full account.

Correct answer: It scores each interval for occurrence instead of tallying single responses

When responses come too fast to count one by one, an interval method lets the observer simply mark whether the behavior occurred in each interval: "It scores each interval for occurrence instead of tallying single responses." "It examines each interval for exact totals instead of estimating frequency" reverses the trade-off, because interval data are estimates, not exact counts. "It measures each interval for speed instead of counting individual episodes" is wrong because an interval record says nothing about how fast responses occurred within an interval. "It clocks each interval for burst durations instead of documenting presence" describes duration recording, whereas an interval method records presence or absence without timing each burst.

Correct answer: Reporting rate rather than a simple count or a percentage

Correct words per minute and errors per minute are counts divided by observation time, which is the definition of rate, so this is "Reporting rate rather than a simple count or a percentage." "Reporting accuracy rather than a speed score or a latency" is tempting because both correct and error responses are tracked, but accuracy would be a percentage correct with no time base. "Reporting celeration rather than a mean level or a median" describes how rate changes across days or weeks, which these per-minute figures could be charted to show but do not themselves express. "Reporting interresponse time rather than a sum or a ratio" would mean timing the gaps between successive words, not dividing a count by time.

Correct answer: Frequency, duration, latency

How often the learner requests help is frequency, how long each help-seeking episode lasts is duration, and how quickly the learner starts after the prompt is latency, giving "Frequency, duration, latency" in that order. "Frequency, duration, fluency" ends with fluency, which combines accuracy and speed across many responses but does not measure the delay between a prompt and the start of responding. "Frequency, interresponse time, latency" puts interresponse time, the time between two successive responses, in place of episode length. "Frequency, interresponse time, fluency" makes both of those errors.

Correct answer: Partial interval ran higher, since it credits isolated responses

Partial-interval recording scores an interval as soon as the behavior occurs at any moment within it, so brief, intermittent responding fills many intervals and the estimate runs high: "Partial interval ran higher, since it credits isolated responses." "Whole interval ran higher, since it counts momentary occurrences" reverses the two methods, because whole interval recording does not credit momentary occurrences. "Partial interval ran higher, since it demands sustained behavior" names the right method with the wrong rule; sustained behavior is what whole interval recording requires. "Whole interval ran higher, since it requires unbroken engagement" states the whole interval rule correctly but draws the wrong conclusion: requiring the behavior throughout an interval makes the estimate lower, not higher.

Correct answer: The behavior is too frequent to tally individually

Tight clusters of many responses within a second come faster than an observer can register them in real time, so the problem is that "The behavior is too frequent to tally individually." "The behavior is too continuous to separate cleanly" would apply to behavior without clear starts and stops, but this behavior is described as discrete. "The behavior is too prolonged to quantify sensibly" fits long episodes, such as extended tantrums, where duration is the better measure, and these responses are extremely brief. "The behavior is too changeable to define precisely" points to a definition problem, which is solved with a clear operational definition rather than by abandoning a count.

Correct answer: Level

Saying where the data sit on the vertical axis, on average, is a statement about "Level", which is usually summarized by the mean or median of a phase. "Trend" describes the direction of the data path, not its average height. "Variability" describes how widely the data points scatter around the data path. "Consistency" describes whether data patterns are similar across similar phases, not where one phase sits relative to another.

Correct answer: Dependent variable

The variable that is measured and expected to change because of the intervention is the "Dependent variable"; its value depends on what the experimenter manipulates. The "Independent variable" is the intervention itself, which the experimenter deliberately changes. A "Control variable" is a factor deliberately held constant so it cannot affect the result, and a "Confounding variable" is an uncontrolled factor that changes along with the intervention, so neither is the measured outcome.

Correct answer: Independent variable

The token system is what the analyst introduces and controls, so it is the "Independent variable". The disruptive behavior being recorded is the "Dependent variable". A "Confounding variable" would be some other change that coincided with the token system and could also explain a drop in disruption. An "Intervening variable" is a process assumed to link a cause to its effect, not the intervention the analyst manipulates.

Correct answer: Extraneous variables

Any influence other than praise that could have raised on-task behavior must be held constant or ruled out, so the answer is "Extraneous variables". "Dependent variables" are the measured outcomes, here on-task behavior, which the study is trying to change rather than rule out. "Independent variables" are the conditions the experimenter manipulates, here the praise procedure itself. "Intervening variables" are presumed links between a cause and its effect, not rival influences that need to be controlled.

Correct answer: Completion rises and falls repeatedly as self-monitoring is added and removed

A functional relationship is shown when behavior changes reliably each time the intervention is applied or removed, so the strongest evidence is "Completion rises and falls repeatedly as self-monitoring is added and removed." "Completion climbs and holds steady as self-monitoring is begun and maintained" is a single change from baseline to treatment with no replication, which something else could have caused. "Completion increases and holds steady as self-monitoring is faded and dropped" shows maintenance, and behavior that does not return toward baseline when the intervention is removed does not demonstrate control. "Completion rises and peaks as self-monitoring is added and assignments shrink" confounds the intervention with a second change, so the gain cannot be credited to self-monitoring.

Correct answer: The extent to which the intervention itself produced the behavior change

Internal validity asks whether the experiment shows that the independent variable, rather than some extraneous factor, caused the change in the dependent variable: "The extent to which the intervention itself produced the behavior change." "The extent to which the findings generalize beyond the original learners" defines external validity. "The extent to which the observers independently score the sessions alike" describes interobserver agreement, a measurement concern. "The extent to which the consumers judge the treatment targets acceptable" describes social validity.

Correct answer: It adds a clear confound that rivals the treatment

Starting a medication partway through the intervention phase means a second variable changed at about the same time as the treatment, so "It adds a clear confound that rivals the treatment": the medication offers a rival explanation, and the gain can no longer be credited to the intervention alone. "It reflects a maturation effect that drives the gains" misnames the problem, because maturation is gradual change within the person over time, not a new external factor. "It poses a generality problem that limits the results" describes external validity, which concerns other people and settings rather than what caused this change. "It introduces a measurement flaw that skews the graph" is also wrong, because nothing about the medication changes how the behavior is recorded.

Correct answer: History

An outside event that coincides with the study and could account for the change is the threat called "History". "Maturation" refers to changes within the participant that come with the passage of time, such as growth or development. "Regression" refers to extreme scores drifting back toward the average on later measurement. "Selection" refers to differences between groups that existed before treatment began, not to an event that happens during the study.

Correct answer: Maturation

Wondering whether the child simply grew out of tantrums with age is a question about "Maturation", changes within the participant that come with growth and development over time. "History" would be an outside event during the study, such as a new classroom or a family change, rather than development. "Regression" refers to unusually extreme scores drifting back toward the average on later measurement. "Reactivity" refers to behavior changing because the participant knows it is being observed or measured.

Correct answer: Generalize beyond the specific conditions of the study

External validity concerns how far findings extend beyond the participants, settings, behaviors, and times in which they were obtained, that is, how far the results "Generalize beyond the specific conditions of the study." Results that "Stem from the true effect of the independent variable" describe internal validity. Results that "Mirror the simultaneous records of the second observer" describe interobserver agreement. Results that "Meet the stated priorities of the treatment recipients" describe social validity.

Correct answer: External validity

Asking whether a treatment shown to work for one client in a clinic would also work for other clients in school and home settings is a question of "External validity", the generality of a finding. "Internal validity" asks whether the treatment, rather than something else, caused the change for the original client. "Social validity" asks whether consumers find the goals, procedures, and outcomes acceptable and important. "Content validity" is a property of a measurement instrument, namely whether it samples the full domain it is meant to cover.

Correct answer: By replicating observed effects in new participants, settings, or target behaviors

Single-subject research builds generality through replication, showing the same functional relation again under varied conditions: "By replicating observed effects in new participants, settings, or target behaviors." "By recruiting broader samples in randomized treatment, placebo, or waitlist groups" describes group experimental designs, which rely on large samples rather than replication within and across individuals. "By measuring caregiver satisfaction in local schools, homes, or outpatient clinics" assesses social validity. "By producing dramatic changes in measured frequency, duration, or response latency" speaks to the size of an effect, but even a large effect in one participant does not show that it will hold for others.

Correct answer: Baseline logic

The three-part reasoning of prediction, verification, and replication used to demonstrate experimental control in single-case designs is called "Baseline logic". "Visual inspection" is the practice of judging graphed data by eye for changes in level, trend, and variability; it is how the data from each phase are evaluated, not the prediction-verification-replication reasoning itself. "Philosophic doubt" is the scientific attitude of continually questioning the truthfulness of what is regarded as fact. "Matching law" describes how the relative rate of responding on concurrent alternatives matches the relative rate of reinforcement they produce.

Correct answer: The expectation that responding would continue unchanged if conditions held steady

In baseline logic, prediction is the anticipated course of responding if nothing about the conditions changes, projected from stable baseline data: "The expectation that responding would continue unchanged if conditions held steady." "The demonstration that responding would revert toward baseline if treatment halted" describes verification. "The demonstration that responding would change again if intervention resumed later" describes replication. "The expectation that responding would rise sharply if instruction started promptly" is a hope about treatment outcome, not the baseline prediction against which a treatment effect is judged.

Correct answer: Provides a clear basis for projecting performance and detecting treatment effects

Stable baseline data with little variability and no strong trend let the analyst predict what responding would do without intervention, so a change after the intervention starts stands out; the baseline "Provides a clear basis for projecting performance and detecting treatment effects." It does not do what "Delivers a direct check for confirming accuracy and validating observer agreement" claims, because stable data can still be inaccurate and agreement has to be assessed separately. "Supplies a solid rationale for prioritizing target behaviors and justifying goals" concerns social validity, which stability does not establish. "Gives a standalone test for establishing control and proving functional relations" overstates it, since control requires verification and replication, not a baseline alone.

Correct answer: Introducing and withdrawing the treatment across phases

A reversal design shows control when behavior changes each time the intervention is put in place and taken away, which means "Introducing and withdrawing the treatment across phases." "Staggering and sequencing the procedures across baselines" describes a multiple baseline design. "Alternating and comparing the treatments across occasions" describes an alternating treatments design. "Increasing and readjusting the criterion across subphases" describes a changing criterion design.

Correct answer: To verify the prediction by showing responding comes back near baseline levels

Returning to the A condition tests the prediction made from the first baseline: if the intervention was responsible, responding should move back toward its baseline level once the intervention is withdrawn, so the purpose is "To verify the prediction by showing responding comes back near baseline levels." "To assess the durability by showing responding persists once support concludes" describes a maintenance check, and behavior that held steady here would weaken rather than support the demonstration. "To replicate the effect by showing responding recovers once treatment resumes" is the job of the second B phase, not the second A phase. "To establish the baseline by showing responding reaches reliably stable levels" is the purpose of the first A phase.

Correct answer: Treatment removal would endanger the learner and create ethical concerns

With severe self-injury, a return to baseline would deliberately allow dangerous behavior to reappear, so the strongest reason to choose another design is that "Treatment removal would endanger the learner and create ethical concerns." "Treatment gains would persist beyond withdrawal and prevent the reversal" describes irreversible behavior, but self-injury maintained by reinforcement usually does return when treatment is withdrawn. "Carryover effects would contaminate the return phase and obscure control" is a general interpretive risk, not the decisive concern with dangerous behavior. "Repeated phase changes would lengthen the evaluation and inflate budgets" is a practical cost that could not outweigh client safety.

Correct answer: Introducing interventions across tiers at staggered times

A multiple baseline design shows control when each tier, whether a behavior, a setting, or a participant, changes only after the intervention reaches it, which requires "Introducing interventions across tiers at staggered times." "Withdrawing treatment across phases at successive moments" describes a reversal design. "Alternating conditions across sessions at brief intervals" describes an alternating treatments design. "Tightening criteria across subphases at preset increments" describes a changing criterion design.

Correct answer: Each behavior changes once its intervention begins, while untreated ones hold steady

Control is shown when change appears in each behavior right after the intervention is applied to it, and not before, while the behaviors still in baseline stay unchanged: "Each behavior changes once its intervention begins, while untreated ones hold steady." "Each behavior improves when another behavior is treated, before its own intervention" shows that the behaviors are not independent, which weakens rather than demonstrates control. "Each behavior reverts once its treatment stops, while remaining skills stay improved" describes the logic of a reversal design, not a multiple baseline. "Each behavior improves steadily during baseline, before its own treatment begins" shows improvement before treatment, so the change cannot be credited to the intervention.

Correct answer: Multiple baseline across behaviors

Three independent self-care skills taught to one learner, with control shown without ever removing the intervention, is the classic case for "Multiple baseline across behaviors", which staggers the intervention across the three skills. "Multiple probe across participants" would stagger the intervention across different learners, but the targets here are three different skills. "Changing criterion design" shifts the performance standard for a single behavior in steps rather than demonstrating control over several independent skills. "Multielement design", also called the alternating treatments design, compares two or more interventions by alternating them rapidly, which shows which intervention works better, not whether one intervention controls three separate skills.

Correct answer: Functionally independent, so treating one leaves the rest unchanged

If treating one tier also changes an untreated tier, the staggered pattern that demonstrates control is lost, so the tiers should be "Functionally independent, so treating one leaves the rest unchanged." "Fully reversible, so stopping treatment restores the baseline level" is a requirement of reversal designs, and a multiple baseline is often chosen precisely when withdrawal is unwanted or impossible. "Randomly ordered, so sequencing the tiers minimizes researcher bias" is not required, since tiers are usually introduced in a planned order once their baselines are stable. "Closely interrelated, so improving the target spreads gains broadly" describes the opposite of what the design needs, because spreading effects would make untreated tiers change too early.

Correct answer: Switching conditions rapidly and contrasting the respective data paths

An alternating treatments design presents two or more conditions in rapid alternation and shows control when their data paths separate consistently, which means "Switching conditions rapidly and contrasting the respective data paths." "Staggering treatment onsets gradually and watching the untreated tiers" describes a multiple baseline design. "Pausing intervention periodically and measuring the return toward baseline" describes a reversal design. "Raising criteria stepwise and confirming the corresponding response levels" describes a changing criterion design.

Correct answer: Alternating treatments design

The fastest way to compare two interventions for the same learner is to alternate them rapidly and compare the resulting data paths, which is the "Alternating treatments design". "Delayed multiple baseline design" evaluates one intervention whose tiers start at different times, so it is slow and does not compare two strategies head to head. "Changing criterion design" evaluates one intervention whose performance standard is shifted in steps. "Partial withdrawal design" removes parts of a treatment package to test maintenance, not to compare two prompting strategies.

Correct answer: Effects from one condition alter responding in competing conditions

Multiple treatment interference means that, because the conditions alternate closely, the effects of one condition can carry over and influence responding under the other, as in "Effects from one condition alter responding in competing conditions," which makes the comparison less clean. "Bias from expectant observers skews scoring in preferred treatments" describes observer bias, a measurement problem in any design. "Errors from frequent switching erode fidelity in treatment delivery" describes a treatment integrity problem rather than an effect of one treatment on another. "Findings from single learners resist generalizing in novel settings" is a question of external validity.

Correct answer: The behavior closely follows each new criterion as it is changed in stages

A changing criterion design shows experimental control when the behavior closely follows each new criterion as it is changed in stages: every time the criterion moves, responding shifts to the new level and stays near it, which makes the criterion the likely cause of the change. The behavior reaches the final criterion level once the last phase is over describes only the end point; reaching the terminal goal could reflect practice or maturation and says nothing about whether each step controlled responding. The behavior improves at a regular rate whatever criterion is now in force is evidence against control, because responding is not following the criterion. The behavior goes back to its baseline level once the criterion is removed is the logic of a reversal (withdrawal) design, not of the changing criterion design.

Correct answer: Changing criterion design

A changing criterion design fits this case: the coach reinforces meeting a lap goal and raises the goal in successive phases, and control is shown when the runner's laps track each new goal. An alternating treatments design rapidly alternates two or more interventions to compare their effects, which is not the question here. A reversal or withdrawal design requires withdrawing treatment from a reversible behavior to show control, and nothing in this plan calls for removing the intervention. A multiple baseline design staggers one intervention across behaviors, settings, or people rather than stepping one behavior toward graduated goals.

Correct answer: Briefly reverses the direction of the criterion or varies the step sizes, and behavior follows

Experimental control in a changing criterion design is strengthened when the experimenter briefly reverses the direction of the criterion or varies the step sizes, and behavior follows: responding that tracks an unexpected change, including a return to an earlier criterion, is hard to explain by anything but the criterion. Keeps each criterion step the same size so that phases remain comparable, and behavior follows describes a weaker form of the design, because equal, predictable steps can be mimicked by a steady trend. Sets each new criterion at the level that responding has already reached, and behavior follows lets the criterion chase the behavior, so it shows nothing about what the criterion controls. Raises the next criterion as soon as responding appears to climb rapidly, and behavior follows changes the criterion before responding is stable, which confounds the criterion change with a trend already under way.

Correct answer: Each participant is measured many times across conditions and acts as their own control

Single-subject designs compare one individual's behavior across baseline and intervention conditions, so each participant is measured many times across conditions and acts as their own control. Each participant is randomly assigned to either the treatment group or the control group describes a between-groups experiment. Each participant is chosen at random from the population so that the findings generalize describes random sampling in group research, which aims to generalize from a sample to a population rather than to show control within each individual. Each participant is matched with a comparable peer receiving no services in this study describes a matched-pairs group comparison, in which the comparison is another person rather than the participant's own baseline.

Correct answer: It lets the analyst see behavior changes across conditions and judge experimental control over time

Continuous measurement matters because it lets the analyst see behavior changes across conditions and judge experimental control over time: the level, trend, and variability of each phase can be compared with the last, and replications within the design show whether behavior changes only when the independent variable does. It lets the analyst pool data across participants to test the experimental effects for significance describes group-design statistics, which single-subject designs do not rely on. It lets the analyst confirm that both observers agree on responses within each experimental session describes interobserver agreement, a check on measurement quality that needs a second observer rather than repeated measurement. It lets the analyst predict that experimental effects will generalize to other settings and clients is a claim about generality, which comes from replication across settings and participants, not from measuring often.

Correct answer: Running direct and systematic replications with more participants and new conditions

Generality in single-subject research is built by running direct and systematic replications with more participants and new conditions: direct replications repeat the procedure with new participants, and systematic replications vary settings, behaviors, or procedures to show how far the effect extends. Checking interobserver and procedural reliability for each session and each observer improves confidence in the measurement and in treatment integrity, not the breadth of the findings. Repeating the baseline and treatment phases with the same participant and setting strengthens internal validity for this one person but says nothing about other people. Applying inferential and descriptive statistics to the data from that participant does not turn one person into a sample; statistics on a single case cannot show that the effect holds for others.

Correct answer: Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts

The Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts, in effect since January 1, 2022, sets out the enforceable standards of conduct for BCBAs, BCaBAs, and applicants. The Professional and Ethical Compliance Code for Behavior Analysts was the earlier code; the 2022 code replaced it, so it no longer governs conduct. The BCBA Handbook describes eligibility, examination, and certification-maintenance requirements rather than standards of professional conduct. The RBT Handbook covers the requirements for registered behavior technician certification; RBTs follow their own RBT Ethics Code.

Correct answer: Obtaining informed consent

Explaining the proposed assessment, its risks and benefits, the alternatives, and the right to withdraw, and then securing written permission, is obtaining informed consent. Signing a service agreement is a separate requirement that sets out each party's responsibilities, the scope of services, and fees; it does not by itself make the caregiver's decision an informed one. Requesting client assent seeks the agreement of a client who cannot legally consent, whereas here the caregiver is the one giving permission. Weighing risks and benefits is part of the analyst's own planning, but it is an analysis, not the act of securing permission to proceed.

Correct answer: Make a report of the suspected abuse to the child protective services agency

Unexplained bruising with a shifting explanation is reasonable suspicion, and mandated reporters must act on suspicion, not proof, so the analyst should make a report of the suspected abuse to the child protective services agency. Tell a manager about the bruises and let the organization decide about filing leaves the legal duty undischarged; in most jurisdictions a mandated reporter must make the report personally, and telling a manager does not replace it. Refer the family to a pediatrician who can examine the bruising before acting delays protection and treats a reporting duty as a medical question. Collect additional details at the next session and then decide about a report waits for a certainty the law does not require and may leave the child at risk in the meantime.

Correct answer: Maintaining confidentiality

Keeping records secured and disclosing them only to authorized parties or as the law requires is maintaining confidentiality. Retaining client documentation concerns keeping records for the required period and disposing of them properly, not limiting who may see them. Preserving treatment integrity means implementing procedures as they were designed. Obtaining informed consent secures permission for services or for a particular disclosure, but the ongoing protection of client information described here is confidentiality.

Correct answer: Stay within the scope of competence by referring the case or by getting supervised training first

The Code requires behavior analysts to practice only within the scope of their competence and to take on a new area, such as pediatric feeding, only after appropriate training, supervised experience, or consultation; otherwise they refer. So the analyst should stay within the scope of competence by referring the case or by getting supervised training first. Accept the case after informing the parents in writing that the analyst lacks training in feeding substitutes disclosure for competence; the family's agreement does not make the analyst qualified. Accept the case and complete a pediatric feeding training course while the treatment continues gets the order wrong, because competence has to come before the client is treated, not alongside it. Take the case but complete a functional assessment before judging whether more training is needed overlooks that assessment is professional practice too, and assessing a feeding disorder needs the same specialized competence.

Correct answer: Multiple relationship that is to be avoided as it could impair professional judgment

A business partnership with a current client's parent is a multiple relationship that is to be avoided as it could impair professional judgment; the Code directs behavior analysts to avoid multiple relationships because they invite conflicts of interest, exploitation, and a loss of objectivity. Boundary crossing that is acceptable provided it does not alter services or outcomes borrows a distinction from other professions; the BACB Code does not allow a business partnership with a client's parent on the condition that services go well. Dual role that is permissible after the parent has provided written informed consent treats consent as a cure, but the parent's agreement cannot remove the risk the relationship creates. Private matter that is outside the Code because their business involves no treatment ignores that the Code covers relationships with clients and stakeholders, and a client's parent is a stakeholder.

Correct answer: Assent

Seeking a child's willing agreement, at the child's level of understanding, alongside the guardian's legal permission is obtaining assent. Consent is the legally valid permission that only the guardian can give for a minor, so it describes what the guardian provided, not the child's agreement. Compliance means following an instruction; a child can comply without agreeing, whereas assent asks whether the child is willing to take part. Permission is what the legal guardian granted here, and the child's own agreement is a separate thing, called assent.

Correct answer: Be accurate, truthful, and free from deceptive or exaggerated claims

The Code's standards for public statements require marketing to be accurate, truthful, and free from deceptive or exaggerated claims about services, credentials, and outcomes. Feature testimonials, ratings, and photos sent in by current clients conflicts with the Code's rules on testimonials: analysts do not solicit testimonials from current clients for advertising, because clients still receiving services may feel obliged to comply, and unsolicited testimonials from current clients are not used or shared either. Be reviewed, approved, and registered by the BACB before publication describes a step that does not exist; the BACB does not pre-approve advertising, and responsibility for accuracy stays with the analyst. Put behavioral, dietary, and yoga services under the BACB credential breaks the Code's rule on advertising nonbehavioral services, which must be clearly distinguished from behavioral services and carry a disclaimer that they are not covered by the BACB credential.

Correct answer: Try to resolve the conflict so that the welfare of the client takes priority

When an employer's demand conflicts with the Code, the analyst's first step is to try to resolve the conflict so that the welfare of the client takes priority, for example by showing management the assessment results and advocating for the level of service the client needs. Report the employer to the BACB before discussing the client with a director skips the attempt at resolution, and a budget dispute with an employer is not, by itself, a matter for the BACB. Agree to lower the hours as instructed and write this into the client record puts the budget ahead of the client, and documenting the order does not protect the client. Ask the client and family to pay privately for hours that the agency cuts shifts the cost of the employer's decision onto the family instead of addressing the conflict with the employer.

Correct answer: Obtain informed consent from the client or guardian for the talk and the clips

Using a client's case and session video in a public presentation requires the analyst to obtain informed consent from the client or guardian for the talk and the clips, because consent to treatment does not extend to teaching or public dissemination. Use the case and clips without approval, since the audience will be professionals assumes that a professional audience removes the need for permission, but sharing a client's case and recordings with any audience requires consent from the client or guardian. Rely on the past treatment consent, since the clips have now been made anonymous stretches consent beyond the purpose it was given for. Inform the family after the presentation that the clips were shown to an audience gets the order wrong; consent has to be obtained before the clips are used, not reported afterward.

Correct answer: Report the fraudulent claims to the BACB or to another relevant oversight body

Billing for sessions that never occurred is a serious violation, and once an informal attempt has failed the analyst should report the fraudulent claims to the BACB or to another relevant oversight body, such as the funder or a licensing board. Urge the colleague to self-report the fraud to the BACB before acting further offers another informal chance after informal resolution has already failed and leaves the analyst's own obligation unmet. Tell the affected families about the problem so that they can file complaints shifts the analyst's duty onto clients and may disclose information they should not receive. Document the concern in the file and wait until the affected families complain lets the false billing continue.

Correct answer: Report the suspicion to the designated authorities without waiting for proof of harm

Mandated reporting laws require a person in a mandated role who reasonably suspects abuse or neglect to report the suspicion to the designated authorities without waiting for proof of harm; investigating is the protective agency's job, not the reporter's. Gather enough evidence to establish the abuse before reporting it to the authorities delays protection and oversteps the reporter's role. Pass the suspicion to the clinical director, who afterward decides whether to report does not meet a personal duty to report; in most jurisdictions telling a supervisor is not a substitute. Wait until the child discloses the abuse directly to the analyst before intervening sets a threshold the law does not require, and many children never disclose.

Correct answer: The gift could pose conflicts of interest or an exploitative multiple relationship

The Code limits gifts because exchanging them can invite conflicts of interest and multiple relationships, so the governing consideration is whether the gift could pose conflicts of interest or an exploitative multiple relationship; under the 2022 Code a gift worth more than ten US dollars is declined for that reason. Whether the gift being declined would offend the caregivers and undermine the relationship is a real concern to handle tactfully, but it does not decide whether the gift may be accepted. Whether the gift is promptly disclosed to the clinical supervisor and carefully documented treats paperwork as permission; disclosure does not remove the conflict. Whether the gift is distributed among treatment team colleagues instead of the clinician changes who benefits, not whether the gift creates a conflict.

Correct answer: Plan the transition and provide referrals to ensure continuity of care

Ending services because a client is moving calls for the analyst to plan the transition and provide referrals to ensure continuity of care, as the Code's standards on discontinuing and transitioning services require. Forward the complete client record to the new provider once one is selected skips the authorization needed before records are released. Close the case after the last session once the outstanding fees are settled ends services abruptly, with no transition plan. Let the family request the records and choose a new provider for themselves leaves the family to manage a transition the analyst is responsible for supporting.

Correct answer: Report the data and the outcomes accurately and truthfully, even if this affects funding

The Code requires accurate and truthful reporting, so the analyst should report the data and the outcomes accurately and truthfully, even if this affects funding; a summary written to keep authorization is still a record that others rely on. Report the strongest week of data, since it represents what the client is accomplishing presents an unrepresentative sample as typical performance, which misleads the funder. Report the progress on goals already mastered and leave out objectives still in baseline omits unfavorable information and gives a false picture of overall progress. Report the gains honestly, but describe the remaining goals as more urgent than measured misrepresents the client's needs to keep funding, which is as inaccurate as inflating the gains.

Correct answer: Decline to give the opinion or first gain the competence that the procedure requires

Behavior analysts give professional opinions only within their competence, so the analyst should decline to give the opinion or first gain the competence that the procedure requires. Give the opinion and refer any further questions about the procedure to a specialist still offers an unqualified professional judgment first; the referral should replace the opinion, not follow it. Give the opinion by drawing on key principles of behavior that explain the procedure assumes that general principles are enough to evaluate a specialized procedure, which is the misconception the competence standard guards against. Review what has been published on this procedure and then give the opinion requested treats a quick reading as competence; competence comes from appropriate training and supervised experience, not from a literature review done for the occasion.

Correct answer: Obtain updated informed consent for the full scope of the program as revised

Informed consent has to match what is actually being provided, so a substantially expanded plan calls for the analyst to obtain updated informed consent for the full scope of the program as revised. Send the family a summary of the changes and treat ongoing attendance as consent relies on passive agreement; continuing to attend is not informed consent to a new plan. Treat the funder authorization of the added hours as consent for the whole plan confuses a payer's approval with the family's permission. Keep the original consent and then document each of the changes as an attachment leaves the family without the chance to agree to services that now differ substantially from what they approved.

Correct answer: Avoid the dual role since treatment and forensic evaluation together can impair objectivity

Serving as both treating provider and forensic evaluator for the same client is a conflicting multiple relationship, so the analyst should avoid the dual role since treatment and forensic evaluation together can impair objectivity. Accept the dual role and disclose the existing therapeutic relationship in forensic reports is honest about the conflict but does not remove it; the evaluation would still be shaped by the treating relationship. Accept both roles provided the guardians and the court authorize this forensic arrangement treats consent as a cure for a conflict that compromises the impartial opinion the court needs. Undertake the forensic evaluation and urge the court to appoint an independent co-evaluator keeps the analyst in both roles and only adds a check on a compromised opinion.

Correct answer: Which person holds the legal authority to give consent to these services

Valid consent for a minor's services must come from whoever has legal decision-making authority, so before proceeding the analyst should determine which person holds the legal authority to give consent to these services, for example by reviewing the custody order. Which parent the child mostly lives with during the academic school year describes physical custody, which does not by itself establish who can consent to treatment. Which parent first contacted the agency and then signed the consent form says nothing about whether that parent had the authority to sign it. Which person is listed as the primary policyholder on the insurance plan identifies who pays, not who holds legal authority over the child's care.

Correct answer: Protected by technical safeguards such as device encryption and access controls

Electronic records must be protected by technical safeguards such as device encryption and access controls, because a laptop can be lost, stolen, or used by others. Saved under file labels that display client initials rather than full legal names reduces identification only slightly and leaves the contents unprotected. Backed up to a personal cloud storage account so records survive computer failure guards against data loss but moves client information into an account outside the organization's security controls. Deleted from the computer once each session summary has been printed and archived may breach record-retention requirements and simply moves the confidentiality problem onto paper.

Correct answer: Based on the full disclosure of risks as well as of benefits and alternatives

Informed consent must be based on the full disclosure of risks as well as of benefits and alternatives; a family told only about benefits cannot make an informed decision. Based on the expected benefits, so the family is not unsettled by side effects withholds exactly the information consent depends on, however kindly meant. Based on the benefits and costs that the funder has listed for this procedure substitutes a payer's summary for disclosure to the family. Based on the benefits that other parents have seen when the procedure was used relies on other families' impressions instead of telling this family about the procedure's risks, benefits, and alternatives.

Correct answer: Decline, because romantic involvement so soon after discharge risks exploitation

The Code bars romantic or sexual relationships with former clients for at least two years after the professional relationship ends, so the analyst should decline, because romantic involvement so soon after discharge risks exploitation. Accept, because the professional relationship formally ended at their final session ignores the power difference and influence that outlast discharge. Decline for now, but suggest waiting six months after services end before dating sets a waiting period far shorter than the Code's two years. Accept, since this invitation came voluntarily from an autonomous adult client ignores that the two-year rule applies even when the former client freely initiates contact.

Correct answer: Written up promptly and accurate enough to support the continuity and review of care

Documentation should be written up promptly and accurate enough to support the continuity and review of care, so that another professional, a funder, or an auditor can see what was done and why. Phrased in general terms so that the notes protect the privacy of household members handles privacy the wrong way; confidentiality is protected by limiting access, not by recording too little to be useful. Limited to the session data sheets, since narrative notes add little to the record leaves out the context, changes, and decisions that continuity of care depends on. Reviewed and approved by the caregivers before any entries go into the client record is not a documentation standard and would delay records that should be completed promptly.

Correct answer: Acting for the welfare of the client, which could mean changing or stopping the procedure

The analyst's primary commitment is acting for the welfare of the client, which could mean changing or stopping the procedure when the data suggest it no longer helps or may be causing harm. Continuing the procedure as it is written, since change would upset the client and family puts consistency ahead of possible harm; a procedure that may be hurting the client is changed or stopped even if the change is disruptive. Following the procedure up to the planned review, so that the client data stay comparable puts tidy data ahead of the client's welfare. Keeping the procedure in place, unless the funder authorizes an update in the client plan lets the funding source decide a question of client welfare that is the analyst's responsibility.

Correct answer: Address the bias and offer culturally responsive care with consultation if needed

The Code expects behavior analysts to recognize personal biases that could affect their work, take steps to resolve them, and provide culturally responsive services, so the analyst should address the bias and offer culturally responsive care with consultation if needed. Rely on objective measurement and assume the bias cannot alter clinical decisions overlooks how bias shapes which data are collected and how they are interpreted. Disclose the bias and ask whether the caregivers still prefer continued services shifts the analyst's responsibility onto the family instead of addressing the bias. Set the bias aside and assign interventionists who share the cultural background hands the problem to other staff instead of addressing the analyst's own bias, which still shapes the analyst's decisions.

Correct answer: Check the Ethics Code and seek consultation or guidance before decisions are made

When unsure whether a planned action complies, the proactive response is to check the Ethics Code and seek consultation or guidance before decisions are made. Proceed with the plan provided that the Ethics Code does not expressly prohibit it treats the absence of an explicit rule as permission, although the Code's core principles apply to situations its standards do not list. Follow the agency policy guide since it takes priority over the Ethics Code itself reverses the relationship; an agency policy does not override a certificant's ethical obligations. Carry out the plan and consult the Ethics Code if complaints are lodged afterwards waits for a problem instead of preventing one.

Correct answer: The platform and the environment keep the client data safe from unauthorized access

Telehealth confidentiality depends on both the technology and the physical setting, so the analyst must ensure that the platform and the environment keep the client data safe from unauthorized access. The sessions are recorded and archived so that comprehensive visit records are kept creates more sensitive material to protect and does nothing to secure the session itself. The family signs consent forms that explain the online platform before each session documents agreement but does not protect information from unauthorized access. The analyst chooses a free consumer video application the family already knows well puts convenience ahead of security; consumer apps may lack the encryption and safeguards that client information requires.

Correct answer: An individualized assessment and intervention plan based on the needs of each client

Ethical practice requires an individualized assessment and intervention plan based on the needs of each client, because the same behavior can serve different functions for different students. A shared plan for each diagnosis so that similar students receive identical services still assigns treatment by label rather than by an assessment of each student. A plan with extensive research support adopted and applied as a school-wide standard relies on evidence but ignores whether that plan fits each student's assessed needs. The least restrictive plan available so that students are treated in identical ways applies one plan to everyone, which is the one-size-fits-all approach the school proposed.

Correct answer: A duty that can extend to vulnerable adults and call for reports to the authorities

In many jurisdictions mandated-reporting laws also protect vulnerable or dependent adults, so the analyst's reporting duty is best described as a duty that can extend to vulnerable adults and call for reports to the authorities, such as adult protective services. A duty that applies to suspected abuse of children but does not protect the elderly misstates the law in those jurisdictions. A duty that starts once there is concrete proof of financial abuse by the caregiver sets a threshold the reporting laws do not require; reasonable suspicion is enough. A duty that is met by alerting other relatives and letting the family handle it replaces the legal report with an informal step that may not protect the client and could alert the person exploiting them.

Correct answer: Decline to share the information and explain that it is kept confidential

Without authorization from the client or legal guardian, the analyst should decline to share the information and explain that it is kept confidential. Give a brief update, since relatives are within the family support system assumes that a family tie creates a right to information, which it does not. Share the information since the relative and the client share their home mistakes living together for authorization; sharing a home does not give a relative a right to the client's information. Have the relative sign a release form that addresses the progress summary gets the authorization from the wrong person; only the client or legal guardian can authorize release of the client's information.

Correct answer: The analyst should obtain consent for this study as the research review committee requires

Research use of client data carries its own consent and oversight requirements, so the analyst should obtain consent for this study as the research review committee requires; the Code also expects that committee to approve the research before it begins. The analyst may rely on treatment consent for research because the data came from services overlooks that consent to treatment does not extend to research. The analyst should seek consent for publication once the research is submitted to a journal gets the timing wrong; consent, or a review committee's decision, is needed before the data are used for research, not only at publication. The analyst may use the de-identified data for research when the employer has given consent substitutes the employer for the client or guardian, whose consent the research use requires.

Correct answer: Obtain support and reduce caseload or arrange coverage to protect clients

The Ethics Code asks behavior analysts to stay alert to personal challenges, such as a health problem, that could interfere with their work and to act so that clients are not harmed; here that means to "Obtain support and reduce caseload or arrange coverage to protect clients." "Continue services and monitor progress or complaints daily to detect harm" waits for harm to appear instead of preventing it. "Seek therapy and keep caseload or schedule unchanged to ensure continuity" addresses the analyst's own health but leaves clients exposed to the impaired work that is already happening. "Record symptoms and track absences or delays daily to document impairment" produces paperwork without any step that protects clients.

Correct answer: Amend the authorship to reflect the actual contributions

Authorship and other publication credit must accurately reflect each person's relative contribution, so the analyst should "Amend the authorship to reflect the actual contributions," for example through the journal's correction process. "Thank the colleague in an acknowledgment footnote instead" is the tempting alternative, but an acknowledgment suits minor help, not designing and conducting most of the study. "Leave the byline unchanged and credit the colleague later" lets an inaccurate record stand, and credit in some future paper does not correct this one. "Ask the journal editor to decide who deserves authorship" hands off a responsibility that belongs to the authors, who know who actually did the work.

Correct answer: Return it unsigned and bill for properly provided services

Behavior analysts must not certify inaccurate claims, and billing has to reflect services that were actually and appropriately delivered, so the right step is to "Return it unsigned and bill for properly provided services." "Approve it and add closer supervision for future sessions" improves later sessions but still certifies hours that were not appropriately delivered. "Submit it but charge the individual's hours at a lower rate" still bills for unsupervised work by an uncertified person; a lower rate does not make the claim accurate. "Delay it until the individual completes their certification" fails because a credential earned later does not make past unsupervised hours billable.

Correct answer: Stop the procedure and revise the overall program accordingly

Consent is voluntary and can be withdrawn at any point, so once the parent withdraws it for this procedure the analyst should "Stop the procedure and revise the overall program accordingly," discussing alternatives with the family. "Continue the procedure and revisit consent at the next review" keeps using a procedure the parent no longer agrees to. "Fade the procedure slowly and monitor for an extinction burst" lets a clinical rationale override the parent's decision; possible side effects are handled within the revised program, not by continuing the procedure. "Obtain a signed withdrawal form and then end the procedure" makes the family's right depend on paperwork; the withdrawal can be documented afterward, but it takes effect when the parent gives it.

Correct answer: Protecting the rights and welfare of service recipients

Checking that a planned intervention respects the client's rights and dignity is a direct expression of "Protecting the rights and welfare of service recipients," that is, of clients, whose welfare comes first under the Code's principle of benefiting others. "Protecting the rights and privacy of study participants" is the research duty owed to people taking part in a study, not to a client receiving an intervention. "Protecting the rights and dignity of practicum trainees" belongs to supervision and training relationships. "Protecting the rights and credit of research coauthors" concerns accurate publication credit, which has no bearing on screening a treatment plan.

Correct answer: Accept the case after training, consultation, or supervision and disclose the limitation

When no qualified alternative exists, the defensible path is to "Accept the case after training, consultation, or supervision and disclose the limitation," building competence with help from professionals who are competent in the area and telling the family about the limitation so that their consent is informed. "Take on the case and rely on general principles, earlier treatment plans, or online guides" practices outside competence on general knowledge alone. "Refer the parents to books, websites, or online support forums and then close the case" leaves the client without services when no other qualified provider is available. "Begin the case after reading or watching webinars and keep the limitation from the parents" replaces expert support with unsupervised self-study and withholds information the family needs.

Correct answer: Retain the records as mandated and destroy expired files securely

Records must be kept for the period that laws, regulations, funders, and the Code require and then disposed of in a way that protects confidentiality, so the analyst should "Retain the records as mandated and destroy expired files securely." "Shred the records securely as soon as the services formally end" uses a secure method but ignores the retention period. "Delete the digital records and recycle the paper copies right away" ignores retention and also exposes the paper records, because recycling is not secure destruction. "Return the original records to the family at the close of services" gives away records the analyst is required to keep; a family may request copies, but the originals stay in the analyst's control until the retention period ends.

Correct answer: Creates a conflict of interest that can bias clinical judgment

A payment for referrals "Creates a conflict of interest that can bias clinical judgment": the analyst gains a financial reason to send clients to one provider whether or not that provider best meets their needs, and referral decisions must rest on the client's needs. "Breaches confidentiality rules that protect client records" confuses the fee with the separate question of what information may be shared during a referral. "Exceeds the value of gifts that analysts can accept from others" treats the fee as a gift; the gift limit concerns small gifts from clients and others served, while the problem here is the financial incentive itself. "Counts as billing for a service that the client did not receive" misreads the arrangement, since the fee comes from the other provider rather than from a bill to the client.

Correct answer: Least restrictive procedure likely to be effective

Insisting that less restrictive, evidence-based options be considered before any restrictive one applies the principle of using the "Least restrictive procedure likely to be effective": the least intrusive option that can still reach the behavior-change goal. "Least restrictive procedure able to be run by staff" keeps the restrictiveness rule but replaces effectiveness with staff convenience. "Most effective procedure, however restrictive it is" reflects a reading of the right to effective treatment that skips the step of trying less restrictive options first. "Most validated procedure, however restrictive it is" ranks options by research support alone and sets aside restrictiveness, which is exactly what the analyst's rule protects.

Correct answer: Keep the identifying details private, since disclosure requires valid consent

Confidentiality does not lapse because a case is in the news, so the analyst should "Keep the identifying details private, since disclosure requires valid consent"; a public statement about a client needs the client's or guardian's authorization. "Share the facts already in the press, since public information needs no consent" is wrong because repeating or confirming reported facts still discloses confidential information and lends it the analyst's authority. "Confirm the existing treatment relationship, since the intake consent covers it" is wrong because confirming that someone is a client is itself a disclosure, and consent to treatment does not cover media comment. "Describe the case but omit names, since anonymity makes consent unnecessary" fails because a case that is already in the news stays identifiable without a name.

Correct answer: Resolve the multiple relationship and transfer services if objectivity suffers

A friendship with the family that predates the case and now shapes clinical decisions is a multiple relationship that impairs objectivity, so the analyst should "Resolve the multiple relationship and transfer services if objectivity suffers," ending the dual role where possible and arranging a transition to another provider when the conflict cannot be managed. "Disclose the multiple relationship and continue services if the family consents" treats the family's permission as a cure, but consent does not restore the analyst's objectivity. "Document the close relationship and proceed with the current treatment plan" records the problem without resolving it. "Build rapport through the close relationship and keep the current behavior plan" turns the very relationship that is biasing decisions into a clinical tool.

Correct answer: Use a trained interpreter so the guardian understands the plan

Consent is valid only when the guardian understands what is proposed, so the information has to be given in a language and manner the guardian can follow; with a language barrier that means to "Use a trained interpreter so the guardian understands the plan." "Use plain English wording so the guardian can follow the plan" simplifies the content but leaves the language barrier in place. "Rely on a bilingual family member so the guardian follows the plan" depends on an untrained interpreter whose accuracy and neutrality cannot be confirmed. "Rely on the signed consent form so the guardian can begin the plan" treats a signature as proof of understanding, which is exactly what is in doubt.

Correct answer: Stop or modify the procedure right away to prevent further harm

Client welfare comes first, so when a supervisee's procedure may be harming a client the supervising analyst's foremost duty is to "Stop or modify the procedure right away to prevent further harm," and only then to handle training and follow-up. "Retrain the supervisee on the procedure at the next meeting" is a sensible later step, but waiting lets the harm continue. "Gather more data or consult peers before changing the procedure" delays protection while the client may be in distress. "Report the supervisee and the procedure to the board for review" might be warranted later, but a report does nothing to stop the harm happening now.

Correct answer: Report serious violations in good faith and avoid untrue or retaliatory claims

The reporting duty has two halves: "Report serious violations in good faith and avoid untrue or retaliatory claims," because false or retaliatory complaints misuse the process and harm the people they target. "Report serious violations to a supervisor or manager and let leadership decide" hands the analyst's own obligation to an employer who may never act on it. "Report serious violations once the evidence would stand up in a formal hearing" sets a standard of proof that reporting does not require; an honest, reasonable belief based on the available facts is enough. "Report serious violations right away, even before the facts have been verified" confuses speed with good faith, since a report should rest on information the reporter has reason to believe is accurate.

Correct answer: Confidentiality is limited, so credible threats can require disclosure

"Confidentiality is limited, so credible threats can require disclosure": a parent's stated intent to seriously harm a child brings duty-to-protect and mandated-reporting obligations into play, and the analyst should explain those limits rather than promise secrecy. "Confidentiality is absolute for parents, so a disclosure breaks trust" overstates confidentiality, which never shields a credible threat to a child. "Confidentiality holds until harm actually occurs, so disclosure can wait" defeats the purpose of protection, which is to prevent the harm. "Confidentiality covers parents, so disclosure needs their signed consent" is wrong because a legally required report to protect a child does not depend on the parent's permission.

Correct answer: Acting in the best interest of the client

Choosing goals for their value to the client and stakeholders, rather than for staff convenience, reflects the commitment to "Acting in the best interest of the client." "Guarding records of the client from disclosure" is the confidentiality duty, which governs records rather than goal selection. "Securing informed consent from the client" is required before treatment, but consent alone does not make a goal beneficial. "Using the best evidence in treating the client" concerns how procedures are chosen once goals are set, not which goals serve the client.

Correct answer: Issue a correction or retraction to the published article

When a published error changes a conclusion, integrity requires correcting the record itself: "Issue a correction or retraction to the published article," usually by contacting the journal. "Present the corrected findings at the upcoming conference" reaches only that audience and leaves the article unchanged. "Mention the error briefly in a later paper on the topic" buries the fix where most readers of the original will never see it. "Email the corrected data to colleagues or readers who ask" corrects only private copies while the published version keeps misleading others.

Correct answer: Confirm a valid authorization or legal basis for the disclosure

Before any records leave the analyst's control, the analyst must "Confirm a valid authorization or legal basis for the disclosure," such as the client's signed release or a court order. "Release the full file, since the attorney speaks for the client" is wrong because an attorney's request is not itself an authorization. "Provide a summary or excerpt instead of the complete record" still discloses confidential information without any authorization. "Accept the verbal consent of the client and release the records" skips the documented, signed authorization that a release of records to a third party requires.

Correct answer: Cut the caseload to a manageable size for effective service

Behavior analysts take on only the clients they have the time and resources to serve competently, so the responsible step is to "Cut the caseload to a manageable size for effective service," transitioning clients with appropriate planning. "Shorten each session to keep everyone on the caseload enrolled" spreads services so thin that no client receives adequate care. "Shift part of the caseload to a technician with less oversight" stretches supervision below what quality care requires. "Ask the funder to reduce hours for each client on the caseload" cuts treatment below clinical need to fit the analyst's capacity.

Correct answer: The planned services, responsibilities, fees, and rights to question or withdraw

A service agreement supports informed consent by spelling out the substance of the arrangement: "The planned services, responsibilities, fees, and rights to question or withdraw." "The analyst's credentials, specialties, experiences, and office or email contact" describes the provider but omits the terms the family is agreeing to. "The target skills, data sheets, mastery criteria, and links to graphs or reports" belongs in the treatment plan and progress reports rather than the agreement. "The office calendar, cancellation policy, contact person, and parking or transit" covers logistics while leaving out the services, fees, and rights that consent depends on.

Correct answer: Identify the antecedents and consequences that control the behavior

A functional behavior assessment exists to "Identify the antecedents and consequences that control the behavior," so that treatment can target the variables that evoke and maintain it. "Record the rate and intensity levels that characterize the behavior" describes measurement, which an assessment uses but which does not reveal why the behavior occurs. "Rank the items and games that can reinforce new desired behavior" is the purpose of a preference assessment. "Pick the punisher and schedule that will reduce the target behavior" skips the question of function and jumps to a consequence, whereas an assessment of function points toward function-based, usually reinforcement-based, treatment.

Correct answer: Demonstrates the functional relation by manipulating antecedents and consequences

Only a functional analysis "Demonstrates the functional relation by manipulating antecedents and consequences": it arranges test and control conditions and shows that the behavior changes when the suspected variable changes. "Estimates the functional relation from caregiver interviews and rating scale scores" describes indirect assessment, which yields hypotheses from informants. "Infers the functional relation by observing antecedents and consequences in context" describes descriptive assessment, which records events without changing them and so shows correlation, not cause. "Calculates the functional relation from conditional probabilities and base rates" is a descriptive-analysis technique that summarizes observed sequences but still involves no experimental control.

Correct answer: The antecedent, then the behavior, then the consequence

ABC recording follows the order in which events happen: "The antecedent, then the behavior, then the consequence," that is, what happened just before, the behavior itself, and what happened just after. "The behavior, then the antecedent, then the consequence" is the common mix-up of starting with the behavior because it is what prompted the observation. "The behavior, then the consequence, then the antecedent" puts the triggering event last, after the outcome. "The consequence, then the behavior, then the antecedent" reverses the sequence entirely, so the record could no longer show which events come before the behavior and which follow it.

Correct answer: Chosen items are set aside and the rest are presented again

In a multiple-stimulus-without-replacement assessment, "Chosen items are set aside and the rest are presented again," so each round offers fewer items and the order of selection yields a rank order of preference. "Chosen items are returned and the whole array stays available" describes the with-replacement format, in which a highly preferred item can keep being chosen. "Items are offered in pairs and the preferred item is recorded" describes the paired-stimulus format. "Items are offered one at a time and the approach is recorded" describes the single-stimulus format.

Correct answer: Rely on informant reports gathered in interviews and rating scales

Indirect functional assessment methods "Rely on informant reports gathered in interviews and rating scales," such as questionnaires completed by caregivers or teachers, rather than on direct observation. "Rely on direct observation of the behavior in its everyday setting" defines descriptive assessment. "Rely on test and control conditions that manipulate consequences" defines a functional analysis. "Rely on real-time counts of each occurrence of the target behavior" describes continuous measurement, which records how often a behavior occurs but not why.

Correct answer: Recording antecedents and consequences live in the classroom

A descriptive functional assessment observes behavior directly in the natural environment without changing anything, as in "Recording antecedents and consequences live in the classroom." "Asking the teacher to rate likely functions on a checklist" is an indirect method that depends on the informant's impressions. "Alternating attention and play conditions in the clinic room" manipulates conditions, which makes it a functional analysis. "Asking the parents about likely triggers during an interview" is also indirect, because it relies on report rather than observation.

Correct answer: Attention, demand, alone, and play

The standard functional analysis described by Iwata and colleagues arranges "Attention, demand, alone, and play" conditions: three test conditions for social positive reinforcement, escape, and automatic reinforcement, compared with a play condition, with free access to toys and no demands, that serves as the control. "Attention, escape, tangibles, and alone" lists test conditions only, with a tangible condition added in later work and no play condition to serve as the control. "Automatic, escape, social, and tangible" lists kinds of function rather than the conditions arranged to test them. "Positive, negative, social, and sensory" names types of reinforcement, not experimental conditions.

Correct answer: Negative reinforcement through removal of work demands

Behavior that is elevated only in the demand condition, where it produces a break from difficult tasks, is most likely maintained by "Negative reinforcement through removal of work demands," that is, by escape. "Positive reinforcement through access to social attention" would show elevated responding in the attention condition. "Positive reinforcement through access to preferred items" would show up in a tangible condition. "Automatic reinforcement through stimulation of the senses" would keep the behavior high in the alone condition, where no one delivers any consequence.

Correct answer: Setting event, an establishing operation that alters the value of the maintaining reinforcer

Poor sleep works in the background, changing how reinforcing the maintaining consequence is on that day, so it is best treated as a "Setting event, an establishing operation that alters the value of the maintaining reinforcer." "Discriminative stimulus, an antecedent that signals the current availability of reinforcement" is wrong because poor sleep does not signal that reinforcement is available; it changes how much the reinforcer matters. "Abolishing operation, a motivating operation that lowers the value of a maintaining reinforcer" gets the direction wrong, since an abolishing operation would make the behavior less likely, not more. "Unconditioned stimulus, an antecedent that elicits the problem behavior as an unlearned reflex" describes respondent behavior, not an operant problem behavior assessed for its function.

Correct answer: Which consequence, when altered, raises or lowers the behavior?

Only experimental manipulation can show cause, so a functional analysis answers "Which consequence, when altered, raises or lowers the behavior?" "Which consequence, when observed, usually follows the behavior?" is the question a descriptive assessment answers; it reveals a correlation that may or may not be functional. "Which events, according to parents, often precede the behavior?" is answered by indirect assessment such as an interview. "Which times or places, according to logs, produce the behavior?" is answered by a scatterplot or a record review, which locates when and where the behavior happens without showing why.

Correct answer: Presenting all items two at a time and covering each possible pair

A paired-stimulus assessment is conducted by "Presenting all items two at a time and covering each possible pair," recording which item the learner selects on each trial so that every item is compared with every other and a preference hierarchy emerges. "Presenting all items together and removing each one once chosen" is the multiple-stimulus-without-replacement format. "Presenting all items one at a time and noting approach to each one" is the single-stimulus format. "Presenting all items together and timing free engagement with each" is a free-operant assessment, which measures how long the learner engages with each freely available item.

Correct answer: Direct preference assessment with repeated choice trials

To learn which leisure items are likely to work as reinforcers for a learner who cannot report preferences, the team should run a "Direct preference assessment with repeated choice trials," which samples the learner's actual selections. "Functional assessment of problem behavior in the classroom" identifies why problem behavior occurs, not which items will reinforce new skills. "Curriculum-based assessment of skill levels in the program" identifies what to teach, not what will motivate learning. "Indirect preference assessment with a caregiver survey" can suggest candidate items, but caregiver reports often fail to match what a learner actually chooses, so it is a weaker basis than direct testing.

Correct answer: Drawn from memory, so it can miss the controlling variables

Interviews and rating scales depend on what informants remember and believe, so the information is "Drawn from memory, so it can miss the controlling variables"; it yields hypotheses that still need confirmation. "Gathered by observers, so it can change the behavior itself" describes reactivity, a limitation of direct observation, which indirect methods do not involve. "Produced by evoking the behavior, so it can endanger people" is a limitation of a functional analysis, not of interviews or scales. "Drawn from many sessions, so it can delay the intervention" also describes a functional analysis; indirect methods are quick to complete.

Correct answer: A functional analysis

Arranging conditions in which screaming sometimes produces attention and sometimes does not manipulates the suspected consequence to test the hypothesis, which makes the step "A functional analysis." "A structural analysis" manipulates antecedent conditions rather than the consequences that follow behavior. "A sequential analysis" is a descriptive method that examines how often events follow one another in observation data, without manipulating anything. "A parametric analysis" compares different values of an independent variable, such as several reinforcement rates, rather than testing whether a consequence maintains the behavior.

Correct answer: Indirect, descriptive, and functional analysis data that agree

The strongest basis comes from "Indirect, descriptive, and functional analysis data that agree," because converging results from different kinds of evidence, including an experimental test, give the most confidence in a function. "Interview, questionnaire, and rating checklist data that agree" are all indirect sources, so they share the same reliance on informant report. "Classroom, hallway, and playground descriptive data that agree" show consistent correlations across settings but never test cause. "Parent, teacher, and therapist behavior rating data that agree" add informants rather than methods, so the agreement may still reflect shared impressions instead of the actual controlling variables.

Correct answer: Approach or engagement when items are presented singly

In a single-stimulus assessment the analyst measures "Approach or engagement when items are presented singly," which suits learners who do not yet choose between items. "Selection when both items are offered at the same time" is the measure in a paired-stimulus assessment. "Selection when chosen items are removed from the array" is the measure in a multiple-stimulus-without-replacement assessment. "Contact or engagement when items are freely available" is the measure in a free-operant assessment, where all items are accessible together.

Correct answer: Automatic reinforcement produced by the act itself

Elevated responding in the alone condition, where no one delivers any consequence, points to "Automatic reinforcement produced by the act itself." "Social reinforcement in the form of caregiver attention" would raise responding in the attention condition, not when the learner is alone. "Social reinforcement in the form of escape from demands" would show up in the demand condition. "Tangible reinforcement delivered by the classroom staff" also requires another person, so it cannot operate in the alone condition.

Correct answer: Flag possible health or historical factors and use them to plan the evaluation

A records review lets the analyst flag possible health or historical factors and use them to plan the evaluation: an ear infection, a medication change, poor sleep or an earlier intervention that failed can each point to variables worth testing and shape which observations and conditions come next. Records are indirect information, so the analyst cannot establish social or automatic functions and use them to shape the intervention; function has to be tested through direct and experimental assessment. Nor can the analyst compute baseline rates or typical durations and use them to set the criteria, because baseline requires direct, repeated measurement of an operationally defined behavior rather than summaries written by others. To diagnose medical or psychiatric disorders and use them to direct the treatment falls outside a behavior analyst's scope; a possible medical problem is referred to a physician.

Correct answer: Runs in a far shorter period but still tests the likely maintaining variables

The brief functional analysis runs in a far shorter period but still tests the likely maintaining variables: one or two short sessions per condition, often followed by a contingency reversal, can be completed in about 90 minutes, which suits dangerous behavior and limited access to the client. A format that ends each session at the first response but still tests the standard conditions is the latency-based functional analysis, not the brief one. A format that embeds brief trials in daily routines but still tests the standard conditions is the trial-based functional analysis. A format that uses a milder precursor response but still tests the same maintaining variables is the precursor functional analysis; the brief analysis measures the problem behavior itself.

Correct answer: Descriptive ABC assessment during group work

Descriptive ABC assessment during group work has an observer record what happens just before and just after each elopement while the class runs as usual, so it checks the reported antecedent through direct observation without changing anything. A trial-based functional analysis during group work also takes place in the classroom, but it deliberately arranges test and control segments, so it alters the conditions. A staff interview about elopement during group work is an indirect method; it collects the teacher's report again rather than observing the behavior. A brief FA with escape sessions during group work manipulates demands and their removal, which makes it experimental rather than descriptive.

Correct answer: It finds correlations but does not manipulate the variables to show causation

It finds correlations but does not manipulate the variables to show causation is the limitation: a descriptive assessment can show that attention usually follows an outburst, but only an experimental analysis can show that attention is what maintains it. The description it asks parents to remember events but does not observe the behavior directly fits an indirect assessment; descriptive assessment is direct observation. The claim it documents antecedents but does not capture the consequences of behavior is inaccurate, because ABC and narrative recording log consequences as well as antecedents. The claim it brings the learner into a clinic room but does not sample natural routines describes the analog setting of a functional analysis; descriptive assessment takes place in the natural environment.

Correct answer: Momentarily raise the value of the test reinforcer, making the behavior more likely

A motivating operation arranged in a test condition is there to momentarily raise the value of the test reinforcer, making the behavior more likely; withholding attention before and during the attention condition, for example, is an establishing operation that makes attention more valuable and evokes behavior that has produced attention before. To signal the current availability of the test reinforcer, making the behavior more likely, is the role of a discriminative stimulus, which works through a history of differential reinforcement rather than by changing the reinforcer's value. To deliver the planned consequence of the target response, making the behavior more likely, describes the reinforcement contingency programmed in the condition, not the motivating operation. To act as the eliciting stimulus of a reflexive response, making the behavior more likely, describes respondent elicitation by a conditioned or unconditioned stimulus, whereas motivating operations evoke operant behavior.

Correct answer: Repeatedly evoking dangerous aggression can raise safety and feasibility concerns

Repeatedly evoking dangerous aggression can raise safety and feasibility concerns: every test condition is built to evoke the behavior, and with severe, low-rate aggression that means risk to the learner and staff plus long sessions waiting for rare responses, so narrowing the hypotheses with less intrusive methods first is sensible. The other statements are false. Interviews and ABC records can confirm the function of aggression without testing is wrong because indirect and descriptive data only suggest a function; confirming it requires experimental manipulation. Descriptive records can reveal the causes of aggression more clearly than testing is wrong because descriptive data are correlational. Rating scales on aggression can give more reliable data than direct observation is wrong because informant ratings often show poor reliability and poor agreement with functional analysis results.

Correct answer: Is offered the full array together, while the analyst records time engaged

In a free-operant preference assessment the learner is offered the full array together, while the analyst records time engaged with each item; access to the items is continuous and simultaneous, and nothing is withdrawn or re-presented, so there is little demand to choose and little problem behavior linked to taking items away. A learner who is offered two items per trial, while the analyst records the one selected, is in a paired-stimulus assessment. A learner who is offered a shrinking array, while the analyst records the order of picks, is in a multiple-stimulus-without-replacement assessment. A learner who is offered a single stimulus per trial, while the analyst records approach, is in a single-stimulus assessment.

Correct answer: Multiply controlled by several reinforcers

Responding that is elevated in several test conditions at once points to behavior that is multiply controlled by several reinforcers, such as attention and escape, so treatment may need to address each function. Behavior maintained by social attention from adults would be elevated mainly in the attention condition. Behavior reinforced by escape from academic demands would be elevated mainly in the demand condition. Behavior elicited reflexively by antecedent stimuli is respondent behavior, and the conditions of a functional analysis test operant consequences, not reflexes.

Correct answer: Field notes show demands precede screaming and breaks follow, suggesting escape

Field notes show demands precede screaming and breaks follow, suggesting escape is ABC data collection at work: the observer records the antecedent, the behavior and the consequence of each episode and builds a hypothesis from the pattern. Teacher ratings show screaming tied to demands and seatwork, suggesting escape comes from a rating scale, an indirect method based on informant report. Test sessions show more screaming when breaks follow demands, suggesting escape describes a functional analysis, which manipulates the contingency rather than recording natural ABC sequences. Weekly tallies show more screaming on days with more demands, suggesting escape is frequency data summarized by day; it does not record what immediately precedes or follows each episode.

Correct answer: Keep it out of reach beforehand, then hand it over whenever the behavior occurs

With the specific item in mind, keep it out of reach beforehand, then hand it over whenever the behavior occurs is correct: restricting access establishes the item's value, and delivering it contingent on the behavior tests whether access to the item is the reinforcer. Permit ample play with it first, then hand it over whenever the behavior occurs builds in pre-session satiation, an abolishing operation that can hide a real tangible function. Keep it out of reach beforehand, then give praise each time the behavior occurs delivers attention instead of the item, so it tests an attention function. Permit ample play with it first, then give praise each time the behavior occurs combines both errors.

Correct answer: Knowing the maintaining variables lets the team pick more effective and durable plans

An FBA comes first because knowing the maintaining variables lets the team pick more effective and durable plans: a function-based intervention can stop delivering the reinforcer that maintains the behavior and deliver it for a replacement response instead. The idea that knowing the topography lets the team pick a separate consequence for each form confuses what the behavior looks like with why it occurs; one function can produce many forms, and one form can serve different functions. The idea that knowing the diagnosis lets the team pick the treatment package approved for it is wrong because an FBA does not produce a diagnosis, and a diagnosis does not reveal function. Knowing the preferred items lets the team pick more powerful and enduring reinforcers describes the purpose of a preference assessment, not an FBA.

Correct answer: Descriptive functional assessment

Systematically observing and recording naturally occurring antecedents and consequences without changing them is descriptive functional assessment. Indirect functional assessment gathers information from informants through interviews, checklists or rating scales rather than direct observation. Experimental functional analysis manipulates antecedents and consequences across test and control conditions, which the analyst here does not do. Latency-based functional analysis is also experimental; it measures the time to the first response in each manipulated condition.

Correct answer: A functional assessment

A functional assessment is designed to identify the variables that maintain a specific problem behavior. A preference assessment identifies items a learner is likely to choose, which points to potential reinforcers. A reinforcer assessment tests whether those items actually increase responding when delivered contingently, so it also concerns reinforcers rather than function. A curriculum assessment measures skills against a curriculum or developmental sequence to set teaching targets.

Correct answer: Interests can change, so periodic rechecks keep the reinforcer list current

Interests can change, so periodic rechecks keep the reinforcer list current: satiation, deprivation, new experiences and development all shift preferences, and an item that topped the list last month may no longer function as a reinforcer. Exposure can raise value, so repeated access leaves the top items more potent gets the effect backward, because frequent access tends to produce satiation and lower an item's value. One session cannot rank items, so several sessions are needed to set an order is false; a single paired-stimulus or multiple-stimulus administration yields a ranking. Observers need practice, so repeated trials keep interobserver agreement high confuses observer training and measurement reliability with the reason preferences are reassessed.

Correct answer: Free attention and toys are provided without demands, so problem behavior is seldom reinforced

In the play condition free attention and toys are provided without demands, so problem behavior is seldom reinforced; the motivating operations for social reinforcement are kept weak, which makes it the comparison for every test condition. Adult attention is withheld except briefly after each response, so attention is the reinforcer describes the attention test condition. Task instructions are presented and withdrawn after each response, so escape is the reinforcer describes the demand, or escape, test condition. A learner sits alone without toys or people, so whatever reinforcement occurs is automatic describes the alone condition, the test for an automatic function.

Correct answer: An indirect functional assessment

Asking a caregiver structured questions about when, where and with what consequences the behavior occurs is an indirect functional assessment, because the information comes from an informant rather than from watching the behavior. A descriptive functional assessment would require the analyst to observe and record the behavior directly as it occurs. An experimental functional analysis would require manipulating conditions to test function. A latency-based functional analysis is an experimental variant that measures how quickly the behavior begins in each test condition.

Correct answer: Demonstrate which consequences maintain the behavior

A functional analysis aims to demonstrate which consequences maintain the behavior: by turning test and control conditions on and off, it shows a cause-and-effect relation rather than a correlation. To describe which natural events go along with the behavior is the outcome of a descriptive assessment, which is correlational. To gather caregiver hypotheses about causes of the behavior is the outcome of an indirect assessment. To rank the play items that compete best with the behavior is the outcome of a competing stimulus assessment, often run after a functional analysis points to automatic reinforcement.

Correct answer: A correlational hypothesis about function that needs experimental testing

Descriptive data are correlational, so attention that usually follows the behavior is a correlational hypothesis about function that needs experimental testing; attention may simply be the most common consequence in that setting. Treating the observation as a demonstrated functional relation that justifies attention-based treatment overstates descriptive data, since nothing was manipulated. Calling it a finding about attention alone that excludes escape and tangible functions is also wrong, because a descriptive assessment cannot rule out other or multiple functions. Seeing it as a clear treatment target that calls for starting planned ignoring at once skips the verification step, and extinction of the wrong consequence can be ineffective or make the behavior worse.

Correct answer: Comparing an alone condition that lacks social events against an enriched play condition

Comparing an alone condition that lacks social events against an enriched play condition is the most informative arrangement: if the hand movements persist when no social consequences are available and drop when competing stimulation is present, the pattern supports automatic reinforcement. Comparing an attention condition that adds reprimands against an enriched play condition tests social positive reinforcement by attention. Comparing a demand condition that allows short breaks against an enriched play condition tests escape. Comparing a tangible condition that gives back toys against an enriched play condition tests access to tangible items. None of those three removes social consequences, so none isolates an automatic function.

Correct answer: The FBA identifies the function, which guides the choice of treatment

The FBA identifies the function, which guides the choice of treatment: the behavior intervention plan uses the identified function to select antecedent changes, replacement behaviors and consequences that fit the maintaining variables. The FBA records the topography, which sets a consequence for each form is wrong because plans are built on function, not on what each response looks like. The FBA ranks the reinforcers, which become consequences of the plan describes a preference assessment rather than an FBA. The FBA supplies a diagnosis, which selects a standard therapy package is wrong because an FBA does not diagnose, and plans are individualized rather than chosen by label.

Correct answer: Embed brief test and control trials in the usual daily routines

A trial-based functional analysis would embed brief test and control trials in the usual daily routines: each trial pairs a short control segment with a short test segment inside ordinary classroom activities, which keeps the analysis practical in a school. To run extended test and control sessions in the analog clinic room describes a standard analog functional analysis. To end each session at the first instance of the problem behavior describes a latency-based functional analysis. To run a single session per condition, then reverse the contingency describes a brief functional analysis.

Correct answer: Use an indirect approach such as caregiver interviews or rating scales

With little time and a need for a low-intrusiveness first step, the team should use an indirect approach such as caregiver interviews or rating scales; these generate hypotheses quickly and help decide whether direct assessment is needed. To use an experimental approach such as analog or latency-based analysis is more intrusive and time-consuming and belongs later, once hypotheses exist. To use a descriptive approach such as ABC recording or scatterplot charts is already direct observation, which is the step the team has not yet decided on. To use a treatment-first approach such as extinction or response blocking skips assessment altogether and risks treating the wrong function.

Correct answer: Is functioning as a positive reinforcer for the target skill

Consistent selection suggests a likely reinforcer, and the increase in the target skill when access is contingent confirms it: the item is functioning as a positive reinforcer for the target skill. An item that is functioning as a discriminative stimulus for the target skill would signal, before the response, that reinforcement is available; it would not follow the response. An item that is functioning as an establishing operation for the target skill would change the value of some other consequence rather than serve as the consequence itself. An item that is functioning as an unconditioned stimulus for the target skill would elicit reflexive responding, which is respondent behavior rather than operant skill acquisition.

Correct answer: A descriptive assessment records natural events as they occur, while a functional analysis manipulates variables to show function

The accurate distinction is that a descriptive assessment records natural events as they occur, while a functional analysis manipulates variables to show function. The statement that a descriptive assessment records natural events as they occur, while a functional analysis watches the behavior in daily routines, gets the functional analysis wrong, since it is experimental rather than observational. The statement that a descriptive assessment arranges test and control conditions, while a functional analysis manipulates variables to show function, gets the descriptive assessment wrong, since it changes nothing in the environment. The statement that a descriptive assessment arranges test and control conditions, while a functional analysis watches the behavior in daily routines, reverses the two methods.

Correct answer: Stimulus preference assessment

A stimulus preference assessment most directly supports choosing backup reinforcers, because it identifies the items and activities the learner is most likely to work for. A competing stimulus assessment looks for items that reduce problem behavior when they are freely available, which is a different question. An adaptive behavior assessment measures everyday living skills. A functional behavior assessment identifies why a problem behavior occurs, not which items should back up the tokens.

Correct answer: Contingent on problem behavior, while withholding it otherwise

In the attention condition the analyst delivers attention contingent on problem behavior, while withholding it otherwise: withholding attention creates the establishing operation, and brief attention after each response tests whether attention reinforces the behavior. Attention on a fixed-time schedule, while ignoring each problem behavior, is how the play (control) condition schedules attention, or noncontingent reinforcement with extinction as a treatment; it is not the attention test. Attention on each polite verbal request, while simply ignoring problem behavior, is functional communication training, a form of differential reinforcement of alternative behavior. Attention contingent on problem behavior, while also giving it freely otherwise, removes the motivating operation, so the condition could miss a real attention function.

Correct answer: Interview, ABC, and functional analysis results each point to escape

Interview, ABC, and functional analysis results each point to escape is the best example of integration, because indirect, descriptive and experimental methods converge on the same hypothesis and the functional analysis supplies experimental confirmation. Parent, teacher, and school counselor ratings each point to escape uses several informants but only one indirect method. Classroom, corridor, and playground ABC records each point to escape repeats one descriptive method across settings. Clinic, home, and school functional analyses each point to escape replicates one experimental method across settings; that is strong evidence, but it does not integrate different kinds of FBA data.

Correct answer: Ensure that the observers can capture occurrences reliably

A clear operational definition is written first to ensure that the observers can capture occurrences reliably: observable, measurable terms let different observers record the same events consistently, which makes the assessment data trustworthy. A definition cannot ensure that the function can be judged from the form alone, because function is identified from antecedents and consequences, not from topography. To ensure that the family can confirm its social importance is a social validity check, which is a separate step. To ensure that the team can rank target behaviors by severity is part of selecting and prioritizing targets rather than the purpose of a definition.

Correct answer: Is the only method that experimentally demonstrates function

A functional analysis is called the gold standard because it is the only method that experimentally demonstrates function: by manipulating antecedents and consequences across test and control conditions, it shows which variables maintain the behavior. Saying it is the only method that measures behavior in the natural routine is wrong, since descriptive assessment observes the natural routine and analog functional analyses often do not. Saying it is the only method that includes interviews with caregivers is wrong, since interviews belong to indirect assessment. Saying it is the only method that produces a ranked list of preferred toys is wrong, since that is the product of a preference assessment.

Correct answer: Reinforcement must be shown by an increase in responding when it is delivered contingently

Preference predicts but does not prove reinforcing value. Reinforcement must be shown by an increase in responding when it is delivered contingently, so the item is tested by delivering it after a target response and checking whether that response increases. The idea that reinforcement must be shown by how readily the learner approaches it in free play sessions describes a preference measure, not a reinforcement test. The idea that reinforcement must be shown by the learner listing it as a favorite item during an interview relies on verbal report, which may not match what actually changes behavior. The idea that reinforcement must be shown by how consistently it is selected when offered with other items is again preference data, the very evidence that does not guarantee reinforcement.

Correct answer: Without consequence data, the maintaining function cannot be inferred reliably

ABC recording infers function partly from what follows each episode, so without consequence data, the maintaining function cannot be inferred reliably; antecedents alone may suggest a trigger but say nothing about the reinforcer. The claim that without consequence data, the antecedent records cannot be checked for agreement is false, because interobserver agreement can be calculated on any column that two observers record. The claim that without consequence data, the topography of responding cannot be determined is false, because the behavior column already describes topography. The claim that without consequence data, the baseline rate of the behavior cannot be calculated is false, because the recorded episodes can still be counted over the observation time.

Correct answer: Experimental functional analysis

An experimental functional analysis is the right choice: the behavior is frequent and not dangerous, so test and control conditions can be run safely, and only experimental manipulation identifies function conclusively. An extended descriptive assessment collects more naturalistic data but remains correlational. A structured indirect assessment relies on informant report and is the least conclusive of the options. A conditional probability analysis summarizes descriptive data statistically, but the probabilities still describe correlations rather than demonstrate control.

Correct answer: A rating scale suggests escape, so the analyst then runs a functional analysis

An indirect assessment informs a more rigorous one when a rating scale suggests escape, so the analyst then runs a functional analysis, typically one that tests a demand condition against a control. When a rating scale suggests escape, so the analyst writes the plan from it alone, the indirect assessment replaces further assessment instead of informing it. When a rating scale suggests escape, so the analyst gathers more ratings for a plan, the analyst only adds more indirect data. When an experimental test suggests escape, so the analyst then gives a rating scale, the order is reversed: the rigorous assessment comes first and the indirect one adds little.

Correct answer: Choose candidates from caregiver report, then verify them systematically

The best practice is to choose candidates from caregiver report, then verify them systematically: caregiver suggestions are a useful starting pool, and a structured preference assessment shows which items the learner actually selects. To choose candidates from caregiver report, then use top picks as reinforcers skips that verification and rests on the caregiver's assumption. To choose candidates from a standard list, then use favorites as reinforcers assumes that what most learners like will work for this learner. To choose candidates from items the learner requests, then rely on them alone treats requests as proof of value without testing them.

Correct answer: Maintained by automatic reinforcement, so a richer environment reduces it

Self-injury that does not differ across the attention, escape and tangible conditions but drops sharply when rich sensory stimulation is available is best described as maintained by automatic reinforcement, so a richer environment reduces it; the stimulation-rich condition supplies competing sensory input. Behavior maintained by social attention, so frequent noncontingent praise reduces it would have been elevated in the attention condition. Behavior maintained by escape from academic demands, so withdrawing tasks reduces it would have been elevated in the demand condition. Behavior maintained by access to tangibles, so teaching a mand for them reduces it would have been elevated in the tangible condition, and mand training treats a tangible function that these data do not show. None of the social conditions stood out, which points away from a social function.

Correct answer: Antecedents in ABC data can include immediate triggers and value-altering events

Antecedents in ABC data can include immediate triggers and value-altering events: besides the instruction or demand that just occurred, a careful observer notes setting events and motivating operations, such as missed sleep or a long wait, that change how valuable a consequence is. The claim that antecedents in ABC data can include discriminative stimuli but not setting events is wrong, since setting events and motivating operations belong in the antecedent record. The claim that antecedents in ABC data can include immediate events but not earlier conditions is wrong for the same reason, because a setting event can occur well before the behavior. The claim that antecedents in ABC data can include triggers, and setting events are consequences, confuses the columns; setting events come before the behavior, and a consequence is what follows it.

Correct answer: Differentially reinforcing successive approximations of the terminal behavior

Shaping develops a new behavior by differentially reinforcing successive approximations of the terminal behavior: each closer approximation is reinforced while earlier forms are placed on extinction. Reinforcing each guided instance of the full behavior while fading prompts is prompt fading, which transfers stimulus control for a response the learner can already perform. Reinforcing each step of a behavior chain in order until the chain is learned describes chaining. Modeling the terminal behavior and then reinforcing accurate imitations of it describes modeling and imitation training.

Correct answer: Shaping

Shaping is the differential reinforcement of successive approximations: the therapist reinforces any vocalization, then only sounds like 'ba,' then only 'ball,' raising the criterion each time and no longer reinforcing the earlier forms. Fading gradually changes an antecedent stimulus, such as a prompt, while the response requirement stays the same. Modeling demonstrates the target behavior for the learner to imitate; it is a prompt given before the response, not a criterion for reinforcement. Chaining links a sequence of different responses into one complex behavior instead of refining a single response toward its final form.

Correct answer: Move reinforcement to a closer approximation of the terminal behavior

Once the learner reliably meets the current criterion, the analyst should "Move reinforcement to a closer approximation of the terminal behavior," reinforcing the new, closer form and no longer reinforcing the old one so that progress continues. To "Keep reinforcing the current approximation for several more sessions" over-strengthens that step and makes the next shift harder. To "Skip ahead from this approximation to reinforce the terminal behavior" makes the step too large, so the learner contacts too little reinforcement and responding can break down. To "Probe the current approximation for generalization in a novel setting" spends effort on an intermediate form that is meant to be replaced; generalization is programmed for the terminal behavior.

Correct answer: Alter a dimension of an existing behavior by shifting its reinforcement criterion

Shaping is not limited to new topographies; it can also "Alter a dimension of an existing behavior by shifting its reinforcement criterion," here by reinforcing seatwork only when it lasts a little longer than the current duration criterion. To "Link each behavior in a sequence to the next one by reinforcing the completed chain" describes chaining, which joins different responses rather than lengthening one. To "Place a behavior under natural stimulus control by gradually fading teacher prompts" describes prompt fading, a transfer of stimulus control that leaves the response requirement unchanged. To "Build persistence in a behavior by gradually thinning its reinforcement schedule" describes schedule thinning, which makes reinforcement of responses that meet a fixed criterion more intermittent rather than raising the criterion each response must meet.

Correct answer: Responding may break down as an earlier approximation goes unreinforced

When the criterion moves before the current approximation is solid, the old form is no longer reinforced while the new form is not yet occurring, so "Responding may break down as an earlier approximation goes unreinforced" and the analyst may have to drop back a step. "Responding may stall at an approximation that is too strongly established" is the risk of the opposite error, staying too long at one step. "Responding may jump from this approximation to the terminal behavior" is the hope behind rushing, but a step that is too large usually leaves the learner with no reinforced response at all. "Responding may fade through satiation as each approximation is reinforced" gets the problem backward: advancing too fast makes reinforcement scarcer, not more frequent.

Correct answer: Splitting a complex skill into an ordered list of teachable steps

A task analysis means "Splitting a complex skill into an ordered list of teachable steps"; that list is what a chaining procedure then teaches and what progress is measured against. "Linking the parts of a complex skill so each one cues the next one" describes chaining, the teaching procedure that uses a task analysis, not the analysis itself. "Building a complex skill by reinforcing ever closer approximations" describes shaping, which changes one response gradually instead of listing separate steps. "Ranking reinforcers by preference before teaching a complex skill" describes a preference assessment, which identifies what to deliver as reinforcement rather than what to teach.

Correct answer: Develop a task analysis that lists the steps in their natural order

Chaining teaches a skill step by step, so the analyst must first "Develop a task analysis that lists the steps in their natural order"; without that list there is nothing to chain, prompt or measure. "Conduct a preference assessment that ranks the reinforcers on offer" helps any teaching program, but it does not tell the analyst what the chain contains. "Choose a prompting strategy that suits each part of the routine" depends on already knowing the parts, so it follows the task analysis. "Set a mastery criterion that defines the finished handwashing skill" also comes later, because the criterion is applied to the steps the task analysis identifies.

Correct answer: Linking responses so each completed step sets the occasion for the next

Chaining is "Linking responses so each completed step sets the occasion for the next": the stimulus change produced by one response serves as the discriminative stimulus for the following one, until the whole sequence is performed. "Reinforcing successive approximations until the target behavior emerges" defines shaping, which refines a single response rather than linking several. "Breaking a complex skill down into small steps that can each be taught" defines a task analysis, the assessment that comes before chaining. "Pairing a neutral stimulus with another that already elicits a response" defines respondent conditioning, which changes what elicits a reflex rather than linking operant steps.

Correct answer: A reinforcer for the prior step and a discriminative stimulus for the next step

In a behavior chain the stimulus change produced by each step acts as "A reinforcer for the prior step and a discriminative stimulus for the next step": it is a conditioned reinforcer for the response that produced it and it signals that the next response can now be reinforced. "A discriminative stimulus for the prior step and a reinforcer for the next step" reverses the two functions; a stimulus cannot set the occasion for a response that has already occurred or reinforce one that has not happened yet. "A reinforcer for the prior step and a conditioned stimulus for the next step" treats the link as respondent, but the next step is an operant that is occasioned, not elicited. "A conditioned stimulus for the prior step and a reinforcer for the next step" makes both errors at once.

Correct answer: Teaching the first step to criterion and then adding later steps one by one

Forward chaining means "Teaching the first step to criterion and then adding later steps one by one," following the order of the task analysis until the whole chain is performed. "Teaching the final step to mastery and then adding earlier steps one by one" describes backward chaining. "Training the whole chain on each trial and prompting each step where needed" describes total-task chaining, in which every step is practiced in every session. "Training the chain from its last step and skipping links already learned" describes backward chaining with leaps ahead, a variation of backward chaining rather than forward chaining.

Correct answer: Is taught the last step first while the trainer completes the earlier ones

Backward chaining is distinguished by the order of instruction: the learner "Is taught the last step first while the trainer completes the earlier ones," so every training trial ends with the learner finishing the chain. "Learns the opening step first while the instructor finishes the later ones" describes forward chaining, the procedure the stem contrasts it with. "Attempts each step of the chain on each trial with prompts given as needed" describes total-task chaining. "Masters each step in isolation before the steps are linked into a chain" fits neither method, because in both the steps are practiced as parts of the chain as soon as they are introduced.

Correct answer: Contacts the terminal reinforcer by completing the chain on each trial

Because the trainer completes the earlier steps and the learner performs the last one, a learner in backward chaining "Contacts the terminal reinforcer by completing the chain on each trial" from the first session onward. "Rehearses the chain from beginning to end during each training session" is the advantage usually claimed for total-task chaining. "Learns the steps of the chain in the exact order they are carried out" describes forward chaining, which teaches the first step first. "Requires less help from the trainer in the early stages of the chain" has it backward: early in backward chaining the trainer carries out most of the chain.

Correct answer: Having the learner attempt each step on each trial with prompts added as needed

Total-task presentation means "Having the learner attempt each step on each trial with prompts added as needed," so the whole chain is practiced in every session and assistance is faded step by step. "Having the learner master the first step before each later step is added in turn" describes forward chaining. "Having the learner master the final step while the trainer does the earlier ones" describes backward chaining. "Having the learner begin at the final step and then skip links already mastered" describes backward chaining with leaps ahead, in which probes let training pass over steps the learner can already perform.

Correct answer: Forward chaining

Teaching the first step to mastery, then adding the second, and continuing in the order the steps naturally occur is Forward chaining. Backward chaining would begin with the last step of shoe-tying while the trainer completed the earlier ones. Response shaping reinforces successive approximations of a single response rather than adding new steps to a sequence. Stimulus shaping gradually changes the form of an antecedent stimulus, such as the outline of a picture or letter, rather than building a sequence of responses.

Correct answer: Supplementary antecedent stimuli that raise the likelihood of a correct response

Prompts are "Supplementary antecedent stimuli that raise the likelihood of a correct response"; they are added to the instruction so the response occurs and can be reinforced, and they are faded later. "Natural antecedent stimuli that signal the reinforcement of a correct response" describes discriminative stimuli, the natural cues to which control should eventually transfer, not the added help. "Consequent stimuli that make the response they follow more frequent in the future" defines reinforcers, and "Consequent stimuli that make the response they follow less frequent in the future" defines punishers; prompts come before the response, not after it.

Correct answer: Transfer stimulus control away from the prompt to the natural discriminative stimulus

Prompt fading is a transfer-of-stimulus-control procedure: its goal is to "Transfer stimulus control away from the prompt to the natural discriminative stimulus," so the learner responds correctly without assistance. "Move the learner from contrived reinforcers toward natural reinforcers in the setting" is the aim of thinning and naturalizing reinforcement, which concerns consequences rather than prompts. "Extend correct responding beyond the teaching setting to new people and materials" describes generalization, which is programmed with other tactics. "Prevent errors so that the new discrimination is learned with very little frustration" is a benefit of careful fading, as in errorless learning, but it is not the end point; a learner can make few errors and still depend on the prompt.

Correct answer: Starts with the least intrusive prompt and adds help after the learner fails to respond correctly

A least-to-most system "Starts with the least intrusive prompt and adds help after the learner fails to respond correctly," so on every trial the learner first has a chance to respond with minimal assistance. "Starts with the most intrusive prompt and removes help as the learner begins to respond correctly" describes most-to-least prompting. "Gives the controlling prompt after a fixed delay so the learner has a chance to respond correctly" describes constant time delay. "Varies the force of a physical prompt moment to moment as the learner begins to respond correctly" describes graduated guidance.

Correct answer: Response prompt

A gestural cue such as pointing toward the correct picture is a Response prompt: like verbal instructions, modeling and physical guidance, it is directed at the learner's behavior rather than built into the task materials. A Positional prompt places the correct item closer to the learner or in a more favorable location, which changes the stimulus array itself. A Redundancy prompt pairs the correct item with an added dimension, such as a color or size cue, so it also alters the materials. A Verbal prompt uses spoken words, and the teacher in this example says nothing.

Correct answer: Prompt dependence from an incomplete transfer of stimulus control

Correct responding that appears only when the instructor's hand drifts toward the answer shows "Prompt dependence from an incomplete transfer of stimulus control": the inadvertent cue, not the instruction or the materials, is controlling the response. "Ratio strain from reinforcement schedules being thinned too quickly" would produce pausing or a general drop in responding, not accuracy tied to a cue. "Low motivation from a reinforcer that has temporarily lost its value" would also lower responding whether or not the hand moved. "Position bias from cues linked to where the answer is usually placed" would make the learner choose a location, again regardless of the instructor's movement.

Correct answer: Reinforcing one response class while placing another on extinction

Every differential reinforcement procedure involves "Reinforcing one response class while placing another on extinction": reinforcement follows one class of responding and is withheld from another, which is what makes it differential. "Delivering a reinforcer by the clock rather than after behavior" describes noncontingent reinforcement, which is not differential at all. "Removing access to reinforcement for a set period after misbehavior" describes time-out, a punishment procedure. "Reinforcing steadily closer approximations to the terminal behavior" describes shaping, which uses differential reinforcement but is not a feature that DRO, DRA, DRI and DRL share.

Correct answer: Reinforcing a replacement behavior while placing the problem behavior on extinction

DRA works by "Reinforcing a replacement behavior while placing the problem behavior on extinction," so the learner has a reinforced way to behave while the problem behavior no longer pays off. "Delivering reinforcement when the problem behavior has been absent for a set interval" describes differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO). "Reinforcing the problem behavior when the behavior stays below a set rate in sessions" describes differential reinforcement of low rates (DRL). "Delivering a reinforcer that maintains the problem behavior on fixed-time schedules" describes noncontingent reinforcement, which does not depend on any response.

Correct answer: The absence of the problem behavior over a whole set interval

In DRO, reinforcement is contingent on "The absence of the problem behavior over a whole set interval"; if the behavior occurs, the reinforcer is withheld and the interval typically resets. "A specific replacement behavior occurring during the set interval" is the contingency in differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA). "The problem behavior occurring at or below a set rate per interval" is the contingency in differential reinforcement of low rates (DRL), which still allows some responding. "The mere passage of a set interval of time independent of behavior" describes noncontingent reinforcement on a fixed-time schedule, which has no response requirement at all.

Correct answer: DRO

Reinforcement delivered at the end of each interval only if no calling-out occurred is DRO, differential reinforcement of other behavior: the contingency is the absence of the target behavior. DRA, differential reinforcement of alternative behavior, would reinforce a specific replacement such as hand-raising. DRL, differential reinforcement of low rates, would reinforce calling-out that stays at or below a set rate rather than requiring none. NCR, noncontingent reinforcement, delivers the reinforcer on a time schedule whether or not calling-out occurs.

Correct answer: DRO reinforces intervals free of the problem behavior, while DRA reinforces a specific alternative behavior

The two procedures differ in what earns reinforcement: "DRO reinforces intervals free of the problem behavior, while DRA reinforces a specific alternative behavior." In both, the problem behavior itself is placed on extinction. "DRO reinforces a specific alternative behavior, while DRA reinforces intervals free of the problem behavior" reverses the two definitions. "DRO reinforces intervals free of the problem behavior, while DRA reinforces a lower rate of the problem behavior" describes DRA as if it were differential reinforcement of low rates (DRL). "DRO reinforces a lower rate of the problem behavior, while DRA reinforces intervals free of the problem behavior" combines both errors.

Correct answer: Teaches and strengthens a functional replacement used to get attention

DRA is favored here because it "Teaches and strengthens a functional replacement used to get attention," such as asking for attention appropriately, so the child keeps access to attention through an acceptable response. "Gives attention at the end of a set interval that is free of screaming" describes DRO, which teaches no replacement behavior. "Gives attention on a fixed-time schedule and lowers the urge to scream" describes noncontingent reinforcement, which works by reducing motivation rather than by building a new behavior. "Lets attention follow screaming because a replacement is being taught" is a common error: DRA still requires withholding attention for screaming, or the problem behavior keeps paying off.

Correct answer: Is impossible to carry out while the problem behavior also occurs

DRI is the special case of DRA in which the reinforced behavior "Is impossible to carry out while the problem behavior also occurs," such as keeping hands in pockets instead of hitting. "Is maintained by the very same reinforcer as the problem behavior" describes functional equivalence, which is desirable in any replacement behavior but is not what makes a procedure DRI. "Is whatever the learner does while the problem behavior is absent" describes the logic of DRO. "Is simpler for the learner to carry out than the problem behavior" describes low response effort, another useful selection criterion that does not define DRI.

Correct answer: Reduce a behavior to an acceptable rate instead of eliminating it

DRL fits behaviors that are acceptable in moderation but occur too often, so its goal is to "Reduce a behavior to an acceptable rate instead of eliminating it." To "Suppress a dangerous behavior as quickly as the circumstances allow" calls for faster, more complete reduction procedures, since DRL still reinforces some occurrences of the behavior. To "Replace a problem behavior with a functional communication response" is the aim of functional communication training, a form of DRA. To "Bring a frequent behavior under the control of a specific signal" is a stimulus control goal, not a change in rate.

Correct answer: DRL

Reinforcing hand-raising only when it occurs three or fewer times per period is DRL, differential reinforcement of low rates: the behavior is acceptable, just too frequent, so the teacher lowers its rate instead of removing it. DRO would reinforce periods with no hand-raising at all. DRI would reinforce a behavior that cannot occur at the same time as hand-raising. DRA would reinforce a different, alternative behavior rather than limiting how often the student raises her hand.

Correct answer: Withholding the reinforcer that previously maintained the response

Extinction is implemented by "Withholding the reinforcer that previously maintained the response," so the behavior no longer produces the consequence that maintained it. "Removing an earned reinforcer after each occurrence of the response" describes response cost, a negative punishment procedure. "Delivering the maintaining reinforcer on a fixed-time schedule" describes noncontingent reinforcement, which keeps delivering the reinforcer but breaks its link to the response. "Giving the reinforcer on a schedule so rich that it loses its value" describes satiation, an abolishing operation, rather than extinction.

Correct answer: Stops producing escape during instructional tasks

Extinction must match the function: for escape-maintained behavior, the analyst ensures the behavior "Stops producing escape during instructional tasks," so the demand stays in place instead of being removed or delayed. "Stops producing social attention like reprimands" is extinction for attention-maintained behavior. "Stops producing access to preferred tangible items" is extinction for behavior maintained by tangibles. "Stops producing its automatic sensory consequences" is sensory extinction for automatically reinforced behavior. None of these three would remove the negative reinforcement that is actually maintaining this behavior.

Correct answer: A temporary increase in the strength of behavior when extinction begins

An extinction burst is "A temporary increase in the strength of behavior when extinction begins," such as more frequent, more intense or longer responding soon after reinforcement stops. "A gradual decline in the strength of behavior when extinction continues" describes the extinction process itself, which usually follows the burst. "The return of a behavior after extinction when a later session starts" is spontaneous recovery. "The return of a past behavior when its replacement is put on extinction" is resurgence.

Correct answer: Extinction burst

Whining that grows louder and more frequent when attention is first withheld, before it declines, is an extinction burst, a common early effect of extinction. Spontaneous recovery is the reappearance of an extinguished behavior later, after time has passed, not an increase at the start. Behavioral contrast is a change in behavior in one setting or schedule component when reinforcement changes in another, and only one situation is involved here. Negative punishment removes a stimulus and is defined by a decrease in the behavior, so it cannot explain an increase.

Correct answer: Keep withholding attention consistently through the temporary increase

During an extinction burst the parent should "Keep withholding attention consistently through the temporary increase"; giving in at that point reinforces a louder, longer version of the behavior. "Give the child brief attention at the peak so the behavior does not grow" does exactly that and teaches the child that escalation pays off. "Start by withholding attention in some instances so the shift is gradual" places the behavior on intermittent reinforcement, which makes it more persistent. "Calmly explain to the child the reasons that attention is being withheld" delivers attention right after the behavior, which can itself maintain it.

Correct answer: Spontaneous recovery

A previously extinguished behavior that briefly reappears at the start of a later session, without any new reinforcement, shows spontaneous recovery. An extinction burst is an increase that occurs when extinction is first put in place, not days after the behavior has declined. Response maintenance is the continued performance of a behavior after the intervention that produced it has ended, not the return of a behavior that extinction had reduced. A resurgence effect is the return of a previously reinforced behavior when a more recently reinforced alternative is placed on extinction, and no alternative behavior was extinguished here.

Correct answer: Learners earn generalized conditioned reinforcers to trade for backup reinforcers

A token economy is a system in which "Learners earn generalized conditioned reinforcers to trade for backup reinforcers": tokens are delivered for target behavior and later exchanged for items or activities. "Learners advance through ranked levels that unlock extra classroom privileges" describes a level system. "Learners sign a written contract that spells out a target behavior and its reward" describes a behavior contract. "Learners earn a shared group reward when the whole group meets a preset criterion" describes an interdependent group contingency.

Correct answer: Backup reinforcers

The items or activities that tokens can be exchanged for are called backup reinforcers, and the variety of backups is what gives tokens their generalized value. Token reinforcers are the tokens themselves, the generalized conditioned reinforcers earned for target behavior. Natural reinforcers occur as an ordinary result of behavior in the everyday environment, whereas a token economy is a contrived system. Primary reinforcers are unlearned, such as food; some backups may be primary, but the term for whatever tokens are exchanged for is backup reinforcers.

Correct answer: Are paired with and exchangeable for many different backup reinforcers

Tokens become generalized conditioned reinforcers because they "Are paired with and exchangeable for many different backup reinforcers," so their value does not depend on any single motivating operation. "Are paired with backup reinforcers taken from a single narrow category" would make them ordinary conditioned reinforcers that lose value when that category is satiated. "Are delivered quickly and consistently following each correct response" describes prompt, consistent delivery, which makes reinforcement effective but does not make a reinforcer generalized. "Are delivered on thin schedules that make behavior resist extinction" describes an effect of intermittent reinforcement on persistence, not how tokens acquire their value.

Correct answer: Pair the tokens with strong backup reinforcers in frequent and immediate exchanges

For a learner who does not yet value tokens, the first step is to "Pair the tokens with strong backup reinforcers in frequent and immediate exchanges," so the tokens acquire conditioned reinforcing value before the system is stretched. "Set a high exchange price so the tokens will seem valuable from the very first day" delays the first exchange, so the tokens may never gain value. "Post the rules for earning and spending the tokens where the learner will see them" is a useful part of the system, but it cannot make tokens reinforcing. "Thin the delivery of the tokens right away so responding becomes more persistent" belongs later, after the tokens are already working as reinforcers.

Correct answer: A written document that links target behaviors to consequences, accepted by the parties involved

A contingency contract is a written document that links target behaviors to consequences, accepted by the parties involved: it states what the learner will do, what reward follows and when, and each party signs it. A written document that sets out a function-based support plan, followed by the whole staff team, describes a behavior intervention plan. A written document that explains a proposed treatment plan, signed by the client or the guardian, describes informed consent. A written document that reduces complicated skills to teachable steps, kept by the instructor, describes a task analysis.

Correct answer: A suspected neurological cause of the behavior

A contingency contract does not need a suspected neurological cause of the behavior; it deals with observable behavior and the consequences arranged for it, not with inferred internal causes. A measurable definition of the target behavior belongs in the task side of the contract. A precise amount of the reward to be delivered and a planned delivery time of the earned reward belong in the reward side, so that both parties know exactly what will be delivered and when.

Correct answer: Continues to occur once the formal intervention fades out or stops

Maintenance means the behavior continues to occur once the formal intervention fades out or stops, so programming for it arranges conditions that keep the behavior going over time. A behavior that occurs with new people or in settings that were missing from training shows stimulus generalization. A behavior that spreads to untrained responses that are similar in form or function shows response generalization. A behavior that reaches the mastery criterion during acquisition for accuracy or rate has been learned, which comes before maintenance can be tested.

Correct answer: Teach the greeting with multiple exemplars, varying the trainers, sites, and materials

To spread the greeting across many people and settings, teach the greeting with multiple exemplars, varying the trainers, sites, and materials, so it comes under the control of the whole range of people and places where it should occur. Choosing to thin the reinforcement for the greeting, moving from continuous to intermittent praise, is schedule thinning, a maintenance tactic: it helps the greeting last, not spread. Choosing to fade the prompts for the greeting, moving from hand-over-hand guidance to independence, transfers control away from prompts, but the greeting can still be tied to one trainer in one room. Choosing to practice the greeting with timed drills, increasing speed, accuracy, and endurance, builds fluency, which does not by itself program generalization to new people and places.

Correct answer: Includes stimulus features of the natural setting in training so they later evoke the behavior

In programming common stimuli, the behavior analyst includes stimulus features of the natural setting in training so they later evoke the behavior: the stimuli shared by the training and generalization settings carry stimulus control from one to the other. A tactic that varies noncritical features of lessons in each new session so control over the behavior broadens is training loosely. One that makes reinforcement less predictable to the learner so the behavior persists through extinction uses indiscriminable contingencies. One that teaches verbal rules the learner carries from training to new places so they prompt the behavior is mediated generalization.

Correct answer: Maintenance of the behavior once the formal intervention scales down

Thinning from continuous to intermittent reinforcement promotes maintenance of the behavior once the formal intervention scales down, because behavior with a history of intermittent reinforcement keeps going when reinforcers become rare. Generalization of the behavior to new settings and unfamiliar people is programmed with tactics such as multiple exemplars and common stimuli, not by thinning. Faster acquisition of the behavior in the earliest teaching sessions comes from dense, continuous reinforcement, the starting point that thinning moves away from. Fluency of the behavior through timed practice with instant feedback is built with rate-based practice, not with a leaner schedule.

Correct answer: Generalization and maintenance of the taught behavior

When teachers, parents, and peers respond to the learner's requests, everyday consequences keep strengthening the skill outside training, so recruiting the natural community supports generalization and maintenance of the taught behavior. Acquisition and fluency of the taught behavior in training are built through direct teaching, before natural reinforcers take over. Discrimination and stimulus control of the taught behavior come from differential reinforcement in the presence and absence of a cue. Shaping and topographic refinement of the taught behavior come from reinforcing closer approximations to a form, not from keeping a learned skill going in daily life.

Correct answer: Differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA)

Reinforcing hand-raising while withholding attention for blurting out is differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA): a specific appropriate response produces the same reinforcer the problem behavior used to produce. Differential reinforcement of incompatible behavior (DRI) requires a response that cannot physically occur at the same time as the problem behavior, and a child can raise a hand and still call out. Differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO) reinforces the absence of blurting for an interval, whatever else the child does. Differential reinforcement of low rates of behavior (DRL) reinforces blurting itself when it occurs at or below a set rate.

Correct answer: Differentially reinforces closer approximations rather than adding antecedent prompts

Shaping differentially reinforces closer approximations rather than adding antecedent prompts: consequences gradually change the response, whereas prompting adds help before the response to evoke it. A procedure that reinforces each step of a task analysis in sequence rather than refining one response is chaining. One that fades antecedent stimuli gradually rather than changing the form of the response itself is stimulus fading. A trainer who withholds reinforcement until the whole skill appears rather than prompting early tries is not shaping, because shaping reinforces each closer approximation long before the whole skill appears.

Correct answer: Set it slightly shorter than the mean baseline interresponse time, so the learner earns reinforcement

For the first DRO interval, set it slightly shorter than the mean baseline interresponse time, so the learner earns reinforcement: the interval sits just under the average time between problem behaviors at baseline and is lengthened in steps once the learner succeeds. If you set it far longer than the learner now goes between problem behaviors, so the target remains ambitious, reinforcement is rarely earned and DRO fails at the start. If you set it to match the longest stretch staff can observe in one sitting, so the record stays accurate, the interval reflects staff convenience instead of the learner's baseline. If you set it equal to the full duration of the session, so the first problem behavior forfeits reinforcement, a learner who now misbehaves several times a session will almost never earn it.

Correct answer: The learner lacks an acceptable way to obtain the reinforcer, and bursts or aggression become more likely

With extinction alone, the learner lacks an acceptable way to obtain the reinforcer, and bursts or aggression become more likely, which is why extinction is usually paired with reinforcement for a replacement response. The pattern in which the learner receives an aversive event right after the response, and escape or avoidance become more likely, describes positive punishment, not extinction. The pattern in which the learner receives the reinforcer on a fixed-time schedule, and satiation or habituation become more likely, describes noncontingent reinforcement. The pattern in which the learner is removed to a quiet corner away from instruction, and escape or task refusal become more likely, describes exclusionary time-out.

Correct answer: Delay backup exchanges so long that the tokens remain weak conditioned reinforcers

Prices that are too high early on delay backup exchanges so long that the tokens remain weak conditioned reinforcers: tokens gain their value by being paired with backups, and rare exchanges give too few pairings. Prices that are too low allow backup trades so often that learners satiate on the items their tokens buy, which is the opposite problem. High prices do not make the tokens so scarce that the reinforcing value of each token rises for learners; a token that is rarely paired with backups has little value at all. Nor do they thin the schedule for tokens so early that natural reinforcers take over the behavior; a token system is faded toward natural reinforcers only after the tokens are working.

Correct answer: Chaining with prompt fading, transferring stimulus control to the natural task cues

Fading a physical prompt on one step while the rest of the chain stays intact is chaining with prompt fading, transferring stimulus control to the natural task cues instead of the trainer's help. Shaping with gradual reinforcement, rewarding each closer approximation to the skill, changes the form of a response, but here the response stays the same and only the prompt changes. Errorless discrimination training, with gradual changes made to the target stimulus, alters the antecedent stimulus itself, which is stimulus fading rather than fading a response prompt. Video modeling with a verbal prompt, directing the learner to the actions on display, teaches by demonstration and imitation and plays no part in the procedure described.

Correct answer: Differential reinforcement of incompatible behavior (DRI)

Reinforcing in-seat behavior, which cannot occur at the same time as being out of the seat, is differential reinforcement of incompatible behavior (DRI). Differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO) would deliver reinforcement for any interval without out-of-seat behavior, whatever the child did instead. Differential reinforcement of low rates of responding (DRL) reinforces the problem behavior itself when it stays at or below a set rate. Differential reinforcement of diminishing rates (DRD) reinforces progressively lower counts of the problem behavior, not a specific incompatible response.

Correct answer: Backward chaining, since the learner completes the final step and reaches the reinforcer each trial

The learner's frustration at not finishing favors backward chaining, since the learner completes the final step and reaches the reinforcer each trial: the trainer completes the earlier steps, and the learner always finishes the task. Forward chaining, since the learner completes the final step and reaches the reinforcer each trial, gets forward chaining wrong, because in forward chaining the learner starts with the first step and does not finish the task on early trials. Backward chaining, since the learner masters the first step fully before the later steps are taught, gets backward chaining wrong, because it teaches the last step first. Forward chaining, since the learner masters the first step fully before the later steps are trained, describes forward chaining correctly, but that order is exactly what keeps this learner from finishing the task.

Correct answer: Earned tokens are taken back whenever a specified problem behavior occurs

In a response-cost component, earned tokens are taken back whenever a specified problem behavior occurs, so the loss of tokens works as negative punishment. A system in which bonus tokens are given anytime the learner shows a replacement behavior is differential reinforcement delivered with tokens. A system in which tokens are exchanged on a fixed schedule for backup items drawn from a menu describes the exchange part of every token economy. A system in which tokens are counted toward a new level that unlocks added backup reinforcers is a level system.

Correct answer: Makes many errors and benefits from errorless support early in skill acquisition

Most-to-least prompting suits a learner who makes many errors and benefits from errorless support early in skill acquisition, because starting with full help keeps errors rare while the help is faded. A learner who performs most steps independently and needs some assistance with just the hardest is better served by least-to-most prompting. A learner who waits reliably for prompts and can calmly tolerate short delays before most steps is a good candidate for time delay. A learner who resists physical contact and pulls away from hand-over-hand guidance in lessons is a poor fit for a strategy that begins with the most intrusive, physical prompts.

Correct answer: Makes the replacement more efficient than the problem behavior, so the learner is more likely to choose it

Matching the reinforcer and lowering the effort makes the replacement more efficient than the problem behavior, so the learner is more likely to choose it, as the matching law predicts. A change that removes the need for extinction of the problem behavior, so staff can attend to it more freely than before, is not what matching achieves; leaving the problem behavior reinforced weakens DRA. A procedure that gives the same reinforcer on a fixed-time schedule, so the problem behavior loses its motivating operation, is noncontingent reinforcement. One that builds behavioral momentum with easy staff requests first, so that the problem behavior is less frequent, is a high-probability request sequence, an antecedent tactic.

Correct answer: An unreliable strategy, since generalization should be programmed rather than assumed

Train-and-hope is an unreliable strategy, since generalization should be programmed rather than assumed: behavior learned in the clinic often stays in the clinic unless generalization is planned. Calling it an effective strategy, since generalization should follow after the skill is mastered, repeats the very assumption that research on generalization has shown to fail. It is not an example of programming common stimuli, since generalization can be left to the shared setting cues only when they have been built into training, and the practitioner here has made no effort to arrange them. Nor is it an example of sequential modification, since generalization is taught in each setting rather than one under that tactic, while train-and-hope teaches in one setting only.

Correct answer: Extent to which consumers find the goals significant, the procedures acceptable, and the outcomes important

Social validity is the extent to which consumers find the goals significant, the procedures acceptable, and the outcomes important; it is judged by the people the intervention serves. The extent to which staff deliver the steps accurately, the sessions in full, and the overall plan consistently is treatment integrity. The extent to which independent observers find the data accurate, the measures valid, and the recording reliable describes the quality of measurement. The extent to which researchers show the baseline stable, the effect replicated, and the overall change verified describes experimental control, the basis of internal validity.

Correct answer: Social validity

Asking parents and teachers whether a procedure seems reasonable and likely to be used as planned measures its acceptability, one of the three parts of social validity. Internal validity concerns whether the design shows a functional relation between the intervention and the behavior. Treatment integrity is measured by observing whether staff actually carry out the steps as written, not by asking whether they expect to. Treatment intensity refers to the dosage of the intervention, such as how many sessions or hours are delivered.

Correct answer: Significance of goals, acceptability of procedures, and importance of outcomes

Wolf (1978) described social validity in three parts: significance of goals, acceptability of procedures, and importance of outcomes, each judged by the people the intervention serves. Prediction from baseline, verification of effects, and replication of findings are the three steps of baseline logic in single-case designs. Adherence of implementers, quality of delivery, and dosage of teaching sessions are dimensions of treatment integrity. Stability of levels, immediacy of change, and overlap of data across conditions are features examined during visual analysis of graphed data.

Correct answer: Extent to which implementers carry out the intervention as designed and intended

Treatment integrity, also called procedural fidelity, is the extent to which implementers carry out the intervention as designed and intended. The extent to which learners and their families regard the intervention as acceptable is social validity. The extent to which the design rules out confounds and thus shows the observed effect is internal validity. The extent to which the observed effect generalizes to other learners and settings is external validity, or generality.

Correct answer: Describes the function-based prevention, replacement, and response steps for the target behavior

A behavior intervention plan describes the function-based prevention, replacement, and response steps for the target behavior, so that everyone working with the learner follows the same procedures. A document that describes the interviews, direct observations, and hypothesis summarized for the target behavior is a functional behavior assessment report, which comes before the plan. A document that describes the warning signs, de-escalation, and staff roles agreed upon for the target behavior is a crisis or safety plan. A record that describes the antecedents, setting events, and consequences documented for the target behavior is descriptive assessment data, such as an ABC record.

Correct answer: Function of the behavior, as shown by the functional assessment data

Selection should rest on the function of the behavior, as shown by the functional assessment data, because an intervention matched to the maintaining reinforcer is more effective and more durable. Topography of the behavior, as detailed in the written referral form, shows what the behavior looks like, but behaviors that look alike can serve different functions. Frequency of the behavior, as counted in the baseline scoring sheets, is needed to judge progress, not to choose the procedure. Severity of the behavior, as reported by the classroom staff members, helps set priorities and safeguards but does not identify the reinforcer the intervention must address.

Correct answer: Component that establishes a functionally equivalent replacement behavior

Teaching the learner to request attention appropriately is the component that establishes a functionally equivalent replacement behavior: the new response produces the same reinforcer the problem behavior did. The component that withholds caregiver attention after a problem behavior occurs is extinction, the other half of this plan. The component that alters antecedents and setting events to prevent behavior is the prevention, or antecedent, component. The component that protects everyone from injury during severe behavior episodes is the crisis or safety plan.

Correct answer: Achieves the treatment goal while placing the fewest restrictions on the learner

Under the least restrictive alternative principle, when two procedures are equally effective the analyst chooses the one that achieves the treatment goal while placing the fewest restrictions on the learner. A procedure that reaches the goal fastest while putting the smallest burden on the whole team puts speed and convenience ahead of the learner's rights. One that fits the current classroom routines while needing the least added staff training may be easier to adopt, but ease of adoption is not what the principle weighs. One that has the strongest research base while costing the least staff time over the year may be attractive, yet when effectiveness is equal the deciding factor under this principle is restrictiveness.

Correct answer: They are less intrusive and generally preferred on ethical and effectiveness grounds

Reinforcement-based procedures get priority because they are less intrusive and generally preferred on ethical and effectiveness grounds: they teach replacement behavior and carry fewer risks than punishment, which is why they are tried first. The claim that they are faster than punishment, so staff and parents generally see results sooner, is false; punishment often suppresses behavior more quickly. Nor is it true that they do not need consent and are generally adopted promptly by parents and teachers; every behavior-change intervention requires informed consent. The idea that they make functional analysis optional and are generally less demanding of staff time is also false; reinforcement-based procedures work best when they are matched to the behavior's function.

Correct answer: Matches the values, skills, and available resources of the people and setting that will use it

Contextual fit asks whether an intervention matches the values, skills, and available resources of the people and setting that will use it: the teachers, family members, or staff who will carry it out and the routines and resources of that setting; a plan that fits is far more likely to be implemented as written. An intervention that targets the antecedents, consequences, and functions that the local assessment has identified has technical adequacy, a separate question from fit. One that is supported by the research showing it works for similar learners, settings, and target behaviors has an evidence base, also a separate question. One that will produce large, rapid, and lasting changes in the level of the target behavior for the learner is effective, but effectiveness says nothing about whether the setting can sustain it.

Correct answer: Reduced treatment integrity, since the team lacks resources the written steps require

When a plan needs materials and staffing the classroom does not have, the most likely result is reduced treatment integrity, since the team lacks resources the written steps require and cannot carry the plan out as written. Reduced interobserver agreement, since the two observers use different definitions, is a measurement problem with a different cause. An abrupt extinction burst, since the problem behavior no longer yields reinforcement, would follow consistent extinction, which a plan that cannot be delivered does not provide. An abrupt increase in reactivity, since the staff act unnaturally whenever observed, comes from being observed, not from a mismatch between the plan and its setting.

Correct answer: Watch the sessions directly and score the steps on the fidelity checklist

The most direct measure is to watch the sessions directly and score the steps on the fidelity checklist, which records whether each step was carried out as designed. If you ask the paraprofessional to rate their own accuracy once the session ends, you get self-report, which is indirect and often inflated. If you review the graphed learner data and infer accuracy from the overall trend, you confuse the effect of the intervention with how accurately it was delivered. If you give the paraprofessional written quizzes on the steps of the procedure, you measure knowledge of the procedure, not its implementation.

Correct answer: Treatment integrity data, to see whether the procedure in use reflected the design

Before calling an intervention ineffective, check treatment integrity data, to see whether the procedure in use reflected the design; a procedure that was never delivered as planned has not really been tested. Social validity data, to see whether the caregivers rate the original goals highly, bear on acceptability but do not explain a lack of effect. Generalization probe data, to see whether the behavior changed in the new settings, are beside the point when the behavior has not changed even where it was taught. Baseline trend data, to see whether the rate stayed steady before the intervention, were reviewed before treatment began and do not show whether the procedure was delivered.

Correct answer: Asking stakeholders whether the changes are meaningful and satisfying in daily life

The social validity of outcomes is assessed by asking stakeholders whether the changes are meaningful and satisfying in daily life, because only the people affected can judge whether a change matters to them. Computing the percentage of nonoverlapping data points between baseline and treatment estimates the size of the effect. Checking whether the counts two observers saw and logged are equal in each session is interobserver agreement, a check on measurement. Examining the level, trend, and variability of the data across baseline and treatment is visual analysis of the functional relation. None of these three asks whether the people served value the change.

Correct answer: Social validity

Choosing target behaviors that will be naturally reinforced and valued in the learner's everyday environment makes the goals socially significant and the outcomes important to consumers, so it strengthens social validity. Internal validity concerns whether the design demonstrates experimental control. External validity concerns whether the functional relation holds for other learners, settings, or behaviors. Content validity is a measurement concept about whether an assessment samples the full domain it is meant to cover.

Correct answer: Prevent the behavior by adjusting the setting or motivating operations up front

Antecedent strategies are valuable because they prevent the behavior by adjusting the setting or motivating operations up front, so the conditions that evoke it are less likely to arise. Strategies that weaken the behavior by withholding attention or escape whenever an episode occurs are extinction procedures, which act after the behavior. Strategies that replace the behavior with a new communication skill that serves the same function are replacement procedures such as functional communication training. Antecedent strategies do not let a team treat the behavior promptly without first identifying the function it serves; they work best when they are chosen to match that function.

Correct answer: Risk of the behavior causing the learner physical harm

A behavior that causes tissue damage is a priority however rarely it occurs, so the risk of the behavior causing the learner physical harm weighs most heavily. The rate of the behavior compared with the other referrals matters less, because a low rate does not make an injurious behavior minor. The degree of the disruption the behavior causes for peers is a real consideration, but disruption to others ranks below danger to the learner. The ranking of the behavior on a family priority checklist informs social validity, but family priorities do not override the learner's safety.

Correct answer: Makes acceptance, participation, and consistent implementation more probable

Involving the learner and caregivers in choosing goals and procedures makes acceptance, participation, and consistent implementation more probable, which supports both social validity and treatment integrity. The claim that it makes recordkeeping, graphing, and the ongoing data collection unnecessary is false; progress still has to be measured. The idea that collaboration makes technical adequacy, function matching, and research support more probable is also mistaken; those depend on the functional assessment and the analyst's review of the evidence, not on who helped choose the goals. Nor is it true that it makes accurate measurement, observer agreement, and good data collection easier; measurement quality depends on clear definitions, trained observers, and regular agreement checks.

Correct answer: Inspect the graphed results and revise the plan accordingly

Inspect the graphed results and revise the plan accordingly is the right step: a plateau that persists while the plan is being delivered accurately points to the plan itself, so the analyst studies the data to decide which part to change. Retrain the frontline staff and repeat the integrity checks targets implementation, which the high integrity scores already show is not the problem. Continue the current program and extend the observation phase delays a data-based decision that several stalled sessions already call for. Thin the reinforcement schedule and fade the gestural prompts are steps for a skill nearing mastery; applied to a stalled skill they would remove support the learner still needs.