RBT domain C · 25% of the exam

Behavior Acquisition

Teach new skills with reinforcement, DTT, natural-environment teaching, chaining, prompting, shaping, and token systems. A study guide for each of the 11 topics, about 84 minutes of reading.

Start with C.1 Try 8 free questions

scored exam questions: 19
of the RBT exam: 25%
topics to know: 11
practice questions: 165

Topics in this domain

In outline order. Each guide ends with a quick check and a link to practice.

C.1Deliver positive and negative reinforcement well: timing, contingency, schedules, and magnitudeDeliver positive and negative reinforcement so it works: right away, only after the target behavior, on the planned schedule, and in the right amount.8 min read15 practice questions
C.2Build and use conditioned reinforcersLearn how neutral things like praise, tokens, and even you become reinforcers through pairing, how to keep them strong, and how the RBT exam tests it.7 min read15 practice questions
C.3Run discrete-trial teaching (DTT)Run discrete trials step by step: a clear instruction, a prompt when needed, the learner's response, an immediate consequence, and a brief pause.8 min read15 practice questions
C.4Teach in the natural environment: incidental teaching and NETTeach skills during play and daily routines by following the learner's interests, setting up motivation, and using natural reinforcers.7 min read15 practice questions
C.5Teach chains from a task analysis: forward, backward, and total-taskBreak a skill into teachable steps with a task analysis, then teach the chain with forward, backward, or total-task chaining.8 min read15 practice questions
C.6Teach discriminationsTeach learners to respond to the right cue: SDs, S-deltas, differential reinforcement, rotating arrays, and avoiding accidental cues.8 min read15 practice questions
C.7Prompt and fade prompts: errorless, least-to-most, stimulus fading, and time delayKnow the main prompt types, run least-to-most, most-to-least, time delay, and stimulus fading, and fade prompts so new skills become independent.8 min read15 practice questions
C.8Promote generalization across settings, people, and materialsHelp skills show up beyond the teaching table: with new people, in new places, and with new materials, using the strategies written into the plan.7 min read15 practice questions
C.9Tell maintenance procedures apart from acquisition proceduresLearn how acquisition procedures build new skills, how maintenance procedures keep mastered skills strong, and how to tell the two apart in a session.7 min read15 practice questions
C.10Shape new behavior through successive approximationsShape behavior a learner does not yet show by reinforcing closer and closer approximations, and tell shaping apart from chaining and prompt fading.8 min read15 practice questions
C.11Run a token economyLearn the parts of a token economy, how to deliver and exchange tokens so they keep their value, and the token-system traps the RBT exam likes to test.8 min read15 practice questions

Make behavior acquisition automatic.

Reading a guide once won't hold up on exam day. When accounts open, the app schedules the questions and flashcards you miss so they come back right before you'd forget them. Join the waiting list and we'll email you when it's ready.

Join the waiting list Back to the RBT overview