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Skill acquisition in ABA

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RBT Exam PrepPositive and negative reinforcement, dimensions and schedules
Reinforcement
  • A consequence follows behavior
  • The behavior increases
Schedules
  • When reinforcement follows
  • Response counts or time
Reinforcement during a session
  1. Positive: add; behavior increases
  2. Negative: remove; behavior increases
  3. Fixed ratio: set response count
  4. Variable ratio: count varies
  5. Fixed interval: first response after time
 ReinforcementA client requests more often because of what happens after requesting.When it followsYou also need to know when reinforcement follows a response. Reinforcement schedules describe that timing.Adding somethingYou give a client praise after a request. Requests increase. Adding that stimulus increased the behavior.

Lessons in this chapter

9 lessons, about 5 minutes each · 25% of the exam

  1. Positive and negative reinforcement
  2. Token economies and conditioned reinforcers
  3. Discrete trial training (DTT)
  4. Natural environment teaching (NET)
  5. Task analysis and chaining in ABA
  6. Discrimination training in ABA
  7. Prompt hierarchy and prompt fading
  8. Generalization and maintenance in ABA
  9. Shaping in ABA

Built on RBT Test Content Outline · 3rd ed. (Updated 09/2024, © 2023)

ABA terms →

Sample questions

From the class’s practice bank. Pick an answer, then check it.

Question 1

You reward a learner’s first response after a fixed time has passed. Which reinforcement schedule are you using?

  1. Fixed-ratio reinforcement
  2. Variable-ratio reinforcement
  3. Negative reinforcement
  4. Fixed-interval reinforcement
Show the answer

D. Fixed-interval reinforcement. Fixed-interval reinforcement rewards the first response after a fixed time. Time passing alone does not produce the reward.

Question 2

You want neutral praise to become a conditioned reinforcer for a learner. What should you pair it with?

  1. A neutral hand signal
  2. Preferred edible items
  3. A neutral picture card
  4. Other neutral praise
Show the answer

B. Preferred edible items. Pairing neutral praise with preferred edible items can help establish praise as a conditioned reinforcer.

Question 3

During discrete-trial teaching, you give an instruction, the learner responds, and you give the planned consequence. What comes next?

  1. Pause before the next instruction.
  2. Repeat the same instruction immediately.
  3. Repeat the planned consequence immediately.
  4. Give the next instruction immediately.
Show the answer

A. Pause before the next instruction. Pause before the next instruction. Each discrete trial includes a pause after the planned consequence and before the next instruction.

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  • All 43 outline tasks
  • 85 questions, 90 minutes
  • Explains each wrong answer
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