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QABA ABAT practice questions

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Question 1Fundamentals of Applied Behavior Analysis

In applied behavior analysis, behavior is best defined as which of the following?

  1. A person's private thoughts and feelings, whether or not they are expressed
  2. A trait or label describing a person's typical manner of acting
  3. Any action that can be observed and measured Correct answer.
  4. A permanent change in capacity produced by practice

Explanation

Behavior is defined as anything an organism does that is observable and measurable, including private events only when they can be operationalized. Labels and traits are summaries, not behavior, and capacity changes describe learning rather than a response.

Question 2Fundamentals of Applied Behavior Analysis

A single instance of behavior, such as one hand-raise in class, is technically called a:

  1. response Correct answer.
  2. stimulus
  3. response class
  4. operant

Explanation

A response is one specific instance of a behavior, whereas a response class is a group of responses with the same effect on the environment. Stimuli are environmental events, and an operant is behavior selected by its consequences over time.

Question 3Fundamentals of Applied Behavior Analysis

The three-term contingency describes the relation among:

  1. Baseline, intervention, and follow-up
  2. Antecedent, behavior, and consequence Correct answer.
  3. Reinforcer, punisher, and motivating operation
  4. Setting event, establishing operation, and discriminative stimulus

Explanation

The three-term contingency links a discriminative stimulus (antecedent), the response, and the consequence that maintains it. The other sets name procedures, design phases, or motivating variables rather than the core contingency.

Question 4Fundamentals of Applied Behavior Analysis

A consequence that increases the future frequency of the behavior it follows is called:

  1. reinforcement Correct answer.
  2. respondent conditioning
  3. punishment
  4. extinction

Explanation

Reinforcement is defined by its effect: the consequence strengthens or maintains the behavior it follows. Punishment decreases behavior, extinction removes the maintaining reinforcer, and respondent conditioning concerns reflexive rather than operant behavior.

Question 5Fundamentals of Applied Behavior Analysis

A student reports a headache during a quiz and is permitted to stop the quiz; over the next weeks, headache reports during quizzes increase. This outcome illustrates:

  1. positive reinforcement
  2. positive punishment procedure
  3. negative reinforcement Correct answer.
  4. negative punishment

Explanation

Negative reinforcement occurs when a response increases because it terminates or removes an aversive event. Here the quiz is removed contingent on the report and the report increases, which is the defining effect of reinforcement.

Question 6Fundamentals of Applied Behavior Analysis

Discontinuing the reinforcer that previously maintained a response, so the response decreases over time, is called:

  1. response cost
  2. satiation
  3. extinction Correct answer.
  4. time-out from reinforcement

Explanation

Extinction is the procedure of withholding the reinforcer that has maintained a response, which produces a gradual decline in that response. Satiation involves reduced effectiveness of a reinforcer through repeated exposure, and the other two options remove stimuli contingent on behavior.

Question 7Fundamentals of Applied Behavior Analysis

Which statement describes an extinction burst?

  1. The behavior is replaced by a functionally equivalent alternative response
  2. The behavior gradually decreases in rate over several weeks
  3. The behavior reappears after a period of time without the response
  4. The behavior briefly increases in rate, intensity, or variability Correct answer.

Explanation

An extinction burst is a temporary increase in the rate, magnitude, or variability of the response soon after the maintaining reinforcer is withheld. The gradual decline is the overall extinction effect, and reappearance after a break is spontaneous recovery.

Question 8Fundamentals of Applied Behavior Analysis

Gradually removing a prompt across teaching trials as the learner responds correctly is called:

  1. fading Correct answer.
  2. chaining
  3. imitation
  4. shaping

Explanation

Fading is the systematic removal of prompts so that the response comes under control of the natural discriminative stimulus. Shaping reinforces successive approximations, chaining links response components, and imitation is a modeled response form.

Question 9Fundamentals of Applied Behavior Analysis

Reinforcing successive approximations of a target behavior until the full response occurs is called:

  1. discrimination training
  2. chaining
  3. shaping Correct answer.
  4. prompting

Explanation

Shaping reinforces closer and closer versions of a response that is not yet in the learner's repertoire. Chaining combines already-learned components, prompting adds supplementary cues, and discrimination training teaches stimulus control.

Question 10Fundamentals of Applied Behavior Analysis

Teaching a multi-step routine by reinforcing every step from the last step to the first is:

  1. forward chaining
  2. backward chaining Correct answer.
  3. total-task presentation
  4. discrete trial teaching

Explanation

Backward chaining teaches the terminal step first and then adds preceding steps, so the learner always completes the routine. Forward chaining teaches from step one, total-task presentation trials every step each session, and discrete trial teaching is a format rather than a chain order.

Question 11Fundamentals of Applied Behavior Analysis

A stimulus in the presence of which a response has been reinforced, and which therefore sets the occasion for that response, is called:

  1. a discriminative stimulus Correct answer.
  2. a conditioned punisher
  3. an establishing operation (EO)
  4. a conditioned reinforcer

Explanation

A discriminative stimulus signals the availability of reinforcement for a response and thus evokes that response. It differs from a reinforcer, which follows behavior, and from a motivating operation, which alters the value of consequences.

Question 12Fundamentals of Applied Behavior Analysis

A child works faster for food tokens before lunch than after lunch. The food deprivation is best classified as:

  1. a conditioned reinforcer
  2. a discriminative stimulus
  3. an establishing operation Correct answer.
  4. a setting event for escape

Explanation

An establishing operation is a motivating operation that increases the value of a reinforcer and evokes behavior that has produced it. Food deprivation increases the value of food and explains the stronger performance before lunch.

Question 13Fundamentals of Applied Behavior Analysis

A reinforcer is delivered after an average of five responses, with the exact number varying unpredictably across trials. This exemplifies which schedule?

  1. FR
  2. FI
  3. VR Correct answer.
  4. VI

Explanation

A variable ratio schedule delivers reinforcement after an average number of responses, with the requirement varying unpredictably. Fixed ratio delivers after a constant number, and the interval schedules are based on time rather than response count.

Question 14Fundamentals of Applied Behavior Analysis

A learner is reinforced for folding hands in the lap, a response that cannot occur at the same time as hitting. This procedure is best labeled:

  1. noncontingent reinforcement
  2. DRI Correct answer.
  3. differential reinforcement of other behavior
  4. differential reinforcement of low rates

Explanation

Differential reinforcement of incompatible behavior (DRI) reinforces a response that physically cannot co-occur with the target problem behavior. Reinforcement of other behavior allows any alternative response, low-rate schedules reduce rather than eliminate behavior, and noncontingent reinforcement is delivered independent of behavior.

Question 15Fundamentals of Applied Behavior Analysis

An experimenter measures baseline, applies an intervention, withdraws it, and then reapplies it. This is a:

  1. reversal design Correct answer.
  2. multiple baseline design
  3. changing criterion design
  4. alternating treatments design

Explanation

A reversal design demonstrates experimental control by showing that behavior changes when the intervention is introduced and reverses when it is withdrawn. Multiple baseline designs stagger introduction across conditions, alternating treatments compares conditions rapidly, and changing criterion designs use stepwise criteria.

Question 16Fundamentals of Applied Behavior Analysis

A behavior analyst introduces an intervention with three students at three different times while keeping continuous measurement on all three. This design primarily addresses:

  1. sequence effects between adjacent conditions
  2. carryover effects from the reversal phase
  3. the need for a baseline phase
  4. threats to internal validity Correct answer.

Explanation

A multiple baseline design shows that behavior changes only when the intervention is applied to each tier, which demonstrates control without withdrawing treatment. This is useful when reversal is impractical or unethical, and it addresses threats such as maturation or coincidental events.

Question 17Fundamentals of Applied Behavior Analysis

A well-written behavioral definition should be:

  1. a label such as "aggressive" or "unmotivated"
  2. a description of the behavior's presumed cause
  3. a summary of the learner's diagnosis and history
  4. objective, observable, and measurable Correct answer.

Explanation

An operational definition describes what the behavior looks like in observable, measurable terms so independent observers can agree. Labels, diagnoses, and presumed causes are inferences that cannot be recorded directly.

Question 18Fundamentals of Applied Behavior Analysis

A behavior analyst records how long each tantrum lasts from start to finish. This measurement is:

  1. duration recording Correct answer.
  2. partial-interval recording
  3. momentary time sampling
  4. frequency recording

Explanation

Duration recording measures how long a response lasts, which is appropriate when length rather than count is the concern. Frequency recording counts occurrences, and interval methods sample whether behavior occurred during or at the end of intervals.

Question 19Fundamentals of Applied Behavior Analysis

Two observers record 25 and 20 responses for the same session. Using the smaller/larger method, interobserver agreement is:

  1. 125%
  2. 80% Correct answer.
  3. 20%
  4. 25%

Explanation

With the smaller/larger method, agreement equals the smaller count divided by the larger count, multiplied by 100. Dividing 20 by 25 yields 0.80, or 80% agreement.

Question 20Fundamentals of Applied Behavior Analysis

Treatment integrity, or procedural fidelity, refers to the extent to which:

  1. the behavior analyst followed the ethical code for the case
  2. the intervention was implemented as written Correct answer.
  3. the intervention is acceptable to caregivers and staff
  4. the client's behavior changed in the expected direction

Explanation

Treatment integrity measures whether the independent variable was delivered as planned, typically through checklists or direct observation. Client change concerns effectiveness, acceptability concerns social validity, and ethical compliance is a separate professional matter.

Question 21Fundamentals of Applied Behavior Analysis

Asking caregivers whether the goals, procedures, and outcomes were acceptable addresses:

  1. treatment integrity
  2. social validity Correct answer.
  3. internal validity
  4. interobserver agreement

Explanation

Social validity concerns whether the goals are significant, the procedures are acceptable, and the outcomes are meaningful to consumers. Internal validity concerns experimental control, integrity concerns correct implementation, and agreement concerns consistency across observers.

Question 22Fundamentals of Applied Behavior Analysis

The primary purpose of a functional behavior assessment is to:

  1. identify the variables that maintain the behavior Correct answer.
  2. determine a psychiatric diagnosis for the learner
  3. record the frequency of the behavior across settings
  4. select a punishment procedure that is likely to be effective

Explanation

A functional behavior assessment identifies antecedent and consequence variables that occasion and maintain problem behavior so that an effective function-based intervention can be designed. Diagnosis, descriptive counting, and selecting punishers are separate activities or premature steps.

Question 23Fundamentals of Applied Behavior Analysis

A student tantrums only when given difficult worksheets, and tantrums stop once the worksheet is removed. The most likely function is:

  1. attention from the teacher
  2. automatic sensory reinforcement
  3. escape from task demands Correct answer.
  4. access to a tangible item

Explanation

The behavior occurs in the presence of a specific antecedent and is followed by removal of that task, which is a negative reinforcement contingency. Attention, tangible access, and automatic reinforcement would each require different antecedents and consequences.

Question 24Fundamentals of Applied Behavior Analysis

A behavior analyst is asked to address a condition outside her training and experience. Under the Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts, she should:

  1. proceed and learn the procedures while working with the client
  2. decline all cases that involve unfamiliar populations
  3. obtain supervision or refer the client Correct answer.
  4. proceed as long as the caregiver consents to the arrangement

Explanation

The code requires practice within one's scope of competence, with steps such as obtaining supervision, consultation, or referral when a case exceeds that scope. Consent does not substitute for competence, and blanket refusal of unfamiliar populations is not required.

Question 25Fundamentals of Applied Behavior Analysis

The dimension of applied behavior analysis known as "analytic" requires that a behavior change be:

  1. effective enough to produce a clinically meaningful result
  2. shown to be a reliable function of the intervention Correct answer.
  3. described and measured in observable, unambiguous terms
  4. socially significant for the participant and those around them

Explanation

The analytic dimension requires a believable demonstration that the intervention, not other variables, produced the behavior change. Social significance is the applied dimension, observable description is the behavioral dimension, and clinical meaningfulness relates to effectiveness.

Question 26Fundamentals of Applied Behavior Analysis

Respondent behavior is best characterized as behavior that is:

  1. elicited by antecedent stimuli Correct answer.
  2. controlled by a schedule of reinforcement
  3. emitted freely and shaped by consequences
  4. strengthened by intermittent reinforcement

Explanation

Respondent behavior is elicited by antecedent stimuli and is largely involuntary, as in reflexes and conditioned emotional responses. Operant behavior, in contrast, is emitted and shaped by its consequences.

Question 27Fundamentals of Applied Behavior Analysis

Which item is a conditioned reinforcer?

  1. a warm blanket for a cold learner
  2. a token exchangeable for prizes Correct answer.
  3. water delivered to a thirsty learner
  4. food delivered to a hungry learner

Explanation

A conditioned reinforcer acquires its value through pairing with other reinforcers, and a token exchangeable for prizes works exactly that way. Food, water, and warmth are unconditioned reinforcers that require no learning history.

Question 28Fundamentals of Applied Behavior Analysis

Adding an effortful cleanup task contingent on a behavior, after which the behavior decreases, is an example of:

  1. positive punishment Correct answer.
  2. positive reinforcement
  3. negative reinforcement
  4. negative punishment

Explanation

Positive punishment adds a stimulus following the behavior, and the behavior decreases as a result. The added cleanup task is the consequence that suppresses the response.

Question 29Fundamentals of Applied Behavior Analysis

A teacher starts a timer when she gives an instruction and stops it when the student begins to comply. She is measuring:

  1. latency of response Correct answer.
  2. duration per occurrence
  3. frequency of compliance
  4. interresponse time

Explanation

Latency is the elapsed time between the onset of a stimulus or instruction and the start of the response. The timer captures that delay, not the length of the response itself.

Question 30Fundamentals of Applied Behavior Analysis

A learner earns a point for the first correct answer given after each five-minute period ends. Responding under this arrangement typically shows:

  1. an even rate that accelerates very slowly across the whole session
  2. a steady, low rate that is maintained uniformly across the whole session
  3. a pause after reinforcement, then a quickening rate Correct answer.
  4. a steady, high rate with almost no pausing

Explanation

On a fixed-interval schedule only the first response after the interval ends is reinforced, which produces the classic scalloped pattern: a post-reinforcement pause followed by an accelerating rate near the end of the interval.

Question 31Fundamentals of Applied Behavior Analysis

A learner is taught to request a break with one teacher and soon requests a break with every teacher in the building. This outcome is:

  1. stimulus generalization Correct answer.
  2. response generalization
  3. respondent acquisition
  4. stimulus discrimination

Explanation

Stimulus generalization occurs when a response taught in the presence of one stimulus occurs with untrained stimuli that share relevant features, such as new teachers.

Question 32Fundamentals of Applied Behavior Analysis

A teacher gives a sticker at the end of every 10-minute interval in which the student has not shouted out. This procedure is:

  1. differential reinforcement of alternative behavior
  2. differential reinforcement of other behavior Correct answer.
  3. differential reinforcement of low rates
  4. differential reinforcement of incompatible behavior

Explanation

Differential reinforcement of other behavior reinforces the absence of the target response for a set interval and requires no alternative response. Any shouting during the interval would postpone or cancel the reinforcer.

Question 33Fundamentals of Applied Behavior Analysis

A teacher says the target word, and across trials waits longer and longer before saying it so that the learner responds first. This procedure is:

  1. stimulus fading
  2. progressive time delay Correct answer.
  3. most-to-least prompting
  4. backward chaining

Explanation

Progressive time delay gradually lengthens the wait between the natural cue and the prompt across trials, shifting stimulus control to the cue.

Question 34Fundamentals of Applied Behavior Analysis

Reinforcing a skill in the classroom and later finding the learner uses it at home and in the community illustrates which dimension of applied behavior analysis?

  1. technological
  2. generality Correct answer.
  3. effective
  4. conceptually systematic

Explanation

Generality refers to behavior change that persists over time, appears in new settings, or spreads to untrained behaviors. Using the skill at home and in the community is a direct instance.

Question 35Fundamentals of Applied Behavior Analysis

Taking an aspirin to end a headache, if taking aspirin increases in the future, is an example of:

  1. positive punishment
  2. positive reinforcement
  3. negative punishment
  4. negative reinforcement Correct answer.

Explanation

Negative reinforcement is the removal or avoidance of a stimulus contingent on a response, which increases that response. Ending the headache strengthens the behavior of taking aspirin.

Question 36Fundamentals of Applied Behavior Analysis

Before teaching a 12-step hand-washing routine, a behavior analyst lists each step in order. This list is called a:

  1. task analysis Correct answer.
  2. behavioral contract
  3. functional analysis
  4. scatter plot

Explanation

A task analysis breaks a complex skill into smaller, ordered, teachable steps that can then be chained together.

Question 37Fundamentals of Applied Behavior Analysis

An observer scores a 10-second interval only if the student is on task for the entire interval. This is:

  1. momentary time sampling
  2. partial-interval recording
  3. frequency recording
  4. whole-interval recording Correct answer.

Explanation

Whole-interval recording scores the interval only when the behavior occurs throughout its entirety, so it usually underestimates the true amount of behavior.

Question 38Fundamentals of Applied Behavior Analysis

Learners earn points for correct responses and later trade them for access to preferred activities. This system is a:

  1. token economy Correct answer.
  2. time-out procedure
  3. contingency contract
  4. behavioral momentum procedure

Explanation

In a token economy, generalized conditioned reinforcers such as points are earned for target behavior and exchanged for backup reinforcers.

Question 39Fundamentals of Applied Behavior Analysis

In the presence of a green card, pressing a button is reinforced; in the presence of a red card, pressing is never reinforced. The red card functions as a:

  1. motivating operation
  2. conditioned reinforcer
  3. discriminative stimulus for reinforcement
  4. stimulus delta Correct answer.

Explanation

A stimulus delta signals that reinforcement is unavailable for a response, so responding decreases in its presence. Discrimination training establishes control by both the discriminative stimulus and the stimulus delta.

Question 40Fundamentals of Applied Behavior Analysis

A child who has just finished a large snack works less for crackers but keeps working for access to a video. The snack is functioning as:

  1. an abolishing operation for crackers Correct answer.
  2. a conditioned punisher for the video
  3. an establishing operation for the video
  4. a discriminative stimulus for crackers

Explanation

Having just eaten reduces the momentary effectiveness of food as a reinforcer, which is an abolishing operation. The video is unaffected by the snack and continues to reinforce responding.

Question 41Fundamentals of Applied Behavior Analysis

During intervention a teacher also changes the seating arrangement and the time of day. The behavior analyst cannot attribute improvement to the intervention alone because of:

  1. confounding variables Correct answer.
  2. insufficient baseline length
  3. poor interobserver agreement
  4. a lack of treatment integrity data

Explanation

Confounding variables are uncontrolled changes that occur along with the independent variable, so any behavior change cannot be attributed unambiguously to the intervention.

Question 42Fundamentals of Applied Behavior Analysis

A preference assessment shows that a learner selects puzzles most often. To determine whether puzzles will actually increase a behavior, the analyst must:

  1. conduct a functional analysis
  2. conduct a reinforcer assessment Correct answer.
  3. repeat the preference assessment
  4. collect interobserver agreement data

Explanation

A preference assessment only identifies items a learner is likely to approach; a reinforcer assessment tests whether delivering the item contingently actually increases behavior.

Question 43Fundamentals of Applied Behavior Analysis

A student's responding to a green task card increases after reinforcement for responding to a red task card is discontinued. This pattern is:

  1. behavioral contrast Correct answer.
  2. habituation
  3. response generalization
  4. schedule-induced behavior

Explanation

Behavioral contrast is an increase in responding in one component of a multiple schedule when reinforcement in another component is reduced or removed.

Question 44Fundamentals of Applied Behavior Analysis

Before starting services, a behavior analyst must obtain informed consent, which requires that the caregiver:

  1. complete a questionnaire about the learner's history
  2. receive an explanation of procedures and risks Correct answer.
  3. sign a form witnessed by a supervisor
  4. agree to every goal the analyst proposes

Explanation

Informed consent requires that the caregiver be told about goals, procedures, risks, benefits, and alternatives, and that consent be given voluntarily.

Question 45Fundamentals of Applied Behavior Analysis

A student loses one earned point each time he leaves his seat without permission, and the behavior decreases. This is:

  1. extinction
  2. time-out from reinforcement
  3. positive punishment
  4. response cost Correct answer.

Explanation

Response cost is a form of negative punishment in which a specified amount of earned reinforcement is removed contingent on the behavior, producing a decrease.

Question 46Fundamentals of Applied Behavior Analysis

Two learners both hit, but one hits to escape work and the other hits to obtain attention. This difference illustrates that the behaviors differ in:

  1. function Correct answer.
  2. topography
  3. rate
  4. duration

Explanation

Function refers to the consequences that maintain a behavior, whereas topography describes its physical form. The two learners show the same form but different maintaining consequences.

Question 47Fundamentals of Applied Behavior Analysis

In a functional analysis, a therapist provides attention following problem behavior while withholding demands and preferred items. This condition tests for:

  1. automatic reinforcement
  2. attention as reinforcement Correct answer.
  3. escape from demands
  4. access to tangible items

Explanation

In an attention condition the therapist delivers attention contingent on problem behavior while minimizing other consequences, testing whether attention maintains the behavior.

Question 48Fundamentals of Applied Behavior Analysis

A learner watches a peer hang up a coat and then hangs up her own coat. The analyst used:

  1. shaping
  2. modeling Correct answer.
  3. fading
  4. chaining

Explanation

Modeling presents a demonstration of the target response that the learner then imitates. Watching the peer serve as the demonstration is the key feature.

Question 49Fundamentals of Applied Behavior Analysis

A child rocks and hums repeatedly in an empty room with no one present, and the behavior persists. The most likely maintaining consequence is:

  1. attention from adults
  2. access to tangibles
  3. automatic reinforcement Correct answer.
  4. escape from demands

Explanation

When no social consequences are arranged and the behavior persists, reinforcement is likely produced directly by the behavior itself, as with repetitive self-stimulatory movements.

Question 50Fundamentals of Applied Behavior Analysis

To help a learner greet many different people across settings, a behavior analyst teaches the greeting with several adults in several rooms. This strategy is:

  1. multiple exemplar training Correct answer.
  2. backward chaining of the greeting
  3. response cost for incorrect greetings
  4. time-out from social interaction

Explanation

Multiple exemplar training teaches the response across many people, settings, and stimuli so that generalization is programmed rather than merely hoped for.