BCBA Concepts and Principles practice questions

Question 1

Zara, age 11, ends hard math work by ripping the page, saying "This is stupid," or leaving her seat, and her aide removes the work after each one. Her BCBA teaches her to hand over a break card, which earns an immediate 2-minute break with far less effort. The aide still removes the work after the other three responses. Within two weeks, ripping, the comment, and seat leaving drop to near zero, although none was targeted directly. Which concept best explains the drop in those three responses?

Accepted Answer

Functional response class, because the easiest way to end math now dominates

Answer

Response generalization, because teaching one request changed responses that were never taught

Answer

Extinction, because the three older responses stopped producing a break from math

Answer

Stimulus control, because the break card now signals when a break is available

Question 2

In a residential program, Jess, an adult, earns tokens she can exchange for many backup items. Under a new plan, staff remove two tokens each time she curses at a peer, and cursing decreases over three weeks. Which statement is most accurate?

Accepted Answer

The plan is negative punishment that removes generalized conditioned reinforcers

Answer

The tokens are generalized conditioned punishers because losing them reduced cursing

Answer

The plan is positive punishment because staff delivered a consequence after cursing

Answer

The tokens are unconditioned punishers because their loss works without training

Question 3

Priya, an RBT, checks her agency's scheduling app for new session assignments. Her supervisor posts updates at unpredictable times, about once every 2 hours on average, and the first check after a post shows the update. Which pattern of checking is Priya most likely to show?

Accepted Answer

A fairly steady, low-to-moderate rate of checking with few long pauses

Answer

A long pause after each update, then checking faster as the 2 hours run out

Answer

A burst of very rapid checks right after each update, then no checks at all

Answer

Checking that gradually stops because most checks find nothing new

Question 4

Sam, a BCBA, wants to know what controls the word "cookie" for Kenji, 5. Across sessions: before snack with cookies in view, Kenji says "cookie" on 9 of 10 opportunities; right after eating several cookies, with cookies in view, 8 of 10; before snack with cookies out of sight, 0 of 10. Which conclusion do these data best support?

Accepted Answer

Mainly tact control: the cookies in view evoke "cookie," and deprivation adds little strength

Answer

A pure mand: food deprivation evokes "cookie," since it occurs most often before snack

Answer

Convergent control: deprivation and the visible cookies add roughly equal strength to "cookie"

Answer

An MO effect: seeing the cookies raises their value, so "cookie" functions as a mand

Question 5

Amara, a BCBA, uses match-to-sample training until Jonah, age 11, reliably relates a photo of the trampoline, the printed word TRAMPOLINE, and the spoken word "jump" as one class. Next, only the photo is repeatedly paired with trampoline time, and it begins to work as a token that maintains Jonah's math work. Later, staff deliver the printed word TRAMPOLINE after correct problems instead, and his correct responding stays high, although the printed word was never paired with trampoline time. Which process best accounts for the printed word’s effect?

Accepted Answer

Transfer of function through the equivalence class

Answer

Stimulus generalization from the photo to the printed word

Answer

Symmetry between the photo and the printed word

Answer

Generalized conditioned reinforcement from many backup reinforcers

Question 6

Farah, a BCBA, analyzes towel folding by Mr. Daniels, an adult in a day program, in two rooms. In both rooms, folding earns praise and a token on a VI 60-s schedule. In Room 2 only, staff also give a token about once a minute regardless of what he is doing. Baseline folding is about 30 towels per 10 minutes in Room 1 and 20 in Room 2. A loud radio is then played in both rooms. Measured against each room's own baseline, which outcome does behavioral momentum theory predict?

Accepted Answer

Folding drops less in Room 2, because more total reinforcement occurs there

Answer

Folding drops less in Room 1, because its higher baseline rate shows the stronger response

Answer

Folding drops less in Room 1, because there every token is earned by folding

Answer

Folding drops by the same proportion in both rooms, because the folding schedule is identical

Question 7

At a day program, Noor, age 10, can hand over a break card or swipe materials off the table; both responses are available at the same time. After treatment, card requests earn a break about 12 times per hour and swiping, which staff cannot always block, earns one about 3 times per hour; about 20% of escape responses are swipes. After staff turnover, requests are honored only about 3 times per hour while swiping still earns about 3. Over several weeks, swipes rise to and stay at about half of escape responses. Which principle best accounts for this?

Accepted Answer

Matching, because swiping now earns a larger share of all break reinforcement

Answer

Resurgence, because swiping returned when reinforcement for card requests dropped

Answer

Behavioral contrast, because responding rose on the alternative whose schedule was unchanged

Answer

Extinction burst, because the card requests lost much of their reinforcement

Question 8

In a group home, Tomas, 15, has never asked for the TV remote; he waits for staff to offer it. On Monday he watches a housemate, Ari, say, "Can I have the remote, please?" during chores, and staff say, "Not now." Tomas does not ask that week. The next Monday he watches Ari ask the same way after dinner and get the remote at once. Two hours later, with Ari in bed, Tomas asks staff in Ari's exact words. No one has prompted him. A staff note says Tomas imitated Ari. Which account best fits?

Accepted Answer

Observational learning, because Tomas asked only after seeing Ari's request reinforced

Answer

Imitation, because Tomas's request matched Ari's words in form

Answer

Generalized imitation, because Tomas copied a request no one had trained

Answer

Direct reinforcement, because getting the remote strengthened Tomas's own asking

BCBA Concepts and Principles practice questions

8 Concepts and Principles questions

Ready for a 20-question BCBA practice test?

BCBA Concepts and Principles practice questions

8 Concepts and Principles questions

Ready for a 20-question BCBA practice test?