SPCE 609 CERTIFICATION SCRIPT 2026
QUESTIONS WITH SOLUTIONS GRADED A+
◍ stimulus (delta).
Answer: a stimulus that signals the non-availability of reinforcement
◍ negative reinforcement - avoidance (SRA-); negative reinforcement - escape
(SRE-).
Answer: Lighting a citronella candle to prevent bug bites is an example of
______, while applying anti-itch cream to reduce the irritation of a bug bite
is an example of ______.
◍ four functions of behavior.
Answer: SEAT sensory/automatic, escape, attention, tangible
◍ celeration.
Answer: The change in rate of responding over time.
◍ Public behavior is determined but private behavior is outside the domain of
science.
Answer: There are two beliefs that guide the science of behavior analysis.
Which of the following in NOT one of these beliefs?
◍ determinism.
Answer: The assumption that the universe is lawful and orderly and that
phenomena do not occur accidentally
◍ trend.
Answer: In the below figure, there is a clear ______________ change after
the intervention was introduced
◍ spontaneous recovery.
Answer: Imagine that Mary Cover Jones worked with her client, Peter, for
one session. By the end of the session, Dr. Cover Jones presents the furry
, animal and Peter shows no fear. Two days later, Peter returns to the
therapist’s office, encounters the rabbit, and experiences a moderately strong
fear response. This increase in conditioned responding following the
passage of time since the last session is known as…
◍ falsifiable.
Answer: It is important that a scientific hypotheses is specific enough to be
proven wrong. A scientific hypothesis is not ___________________ if it
cannot be proven wrong,
◍ explanatory fiction.
Answer: a fictitious or hypothetical variable that often takes the form of
another name for the observed phenomenon it claims to explain and
contributes nothing to a functional account or understanding of the
phenomenon
◍ Establishing operation (EO).
Answer: The book discusses two kinds of motivating operations (MOs). One
of them temporarily increases the value of a reinforcer and increases
behaviors that produce that reinforcer. Which MO is this describing?
◍ generalized conditioned reinforcer.
Answer: When a conditioned reinforcer signals a delay reduction to more
than one backup reinforcer it is referred to as a
________________________________.
◍ operant behavior.
Answer: Behavior that is selected, maintained, and brought under stimulus
control as a function of its consequences
◍ biological; environmental.
Answer: What are the two broad categories of functional variables in
behavior analysis?
◍ interobserver agreement (IOA).
Answer: represents the extent to which two observers report the same values
after measuring the same events
, ◍ positive reinforcement.
Answer: The parents consulted with the behavior analyst because their child
threw tantrums at bedtime. This typically went on for hours, which meant
that the child was not getting enough sleep (nor were the parents). The
parents said they had been using timeout - when the child tantrums in bed,
they remove the child from the bed and bring him to the living room where
he has to sit quietly in a timeout chair for 30 minutes while the parents (and
the child) watch TV. Despite their good intentions, the tantruming
continues. The behavior analyst explained to the parents that timeout only
works if it is a timeout from...
◍ functional response class.
Answer: A group of responses which share the same function.
◍ operant conditioning.
Answer: the process by which operant learning occurs; consequences result
in an increased or decreased frequency of the same type of behavior under
similar future conditions
◍ automatic.
Answer: A consequence that is directly produced by the response - it is not
provided by someone else - and which increases the behavior above a
no-reinforcer baseline is called a(n) ______________ reinforcer.
◍ self-control.
Answer: A(n) __________________ choice is made when the individual
chooses the larger-later reward and foregoes the smaller-sooner reward.
◍ generalized punisher.
Answer: A conditioned punisher which has been associated with a number
of other punishers. Example: The word 'no'.
◍ antecedent.
Answer: An environmental condition or stimulus change existing or
occurring prior to a behavior of interest.
QUESTIONS WITH SOLUTIONS GRADED A+
◍ stimulus (delta).
Answer: a stimulus that signals the non-availability of reinforcement
◍ negative reinforcement - avoidance (SRA-); negative reinforcement - escape
(SRE-).
Answer: Lighting a citronella candle to prevent bug bites is an example of
______, while applying anti-itch cream to reduce the irritation of a bug bite
is an example of ______.
◍ four functions of behavior.
Answer: SEAT sensory/automatic, escape, attention, tangible
◍ celeration.
Answer: The change in rate of responding over time.
◍ Public behavior is determined but private behavior is outside the domain of
science.
Answer: There are two beliefs that guide the science of behavior analysis.
Which of the following in NOT one of these beliefs?
◍ determinism.
Answer: The assumption that the universe is lawful and orderly and that
phenomena do not occur accidentally
◍ trend.
Answer: In the below figure, there is a clear ______________ change after
the intervention was introduced
◍ spontaneous recovery.
Answer: Imagine that Mary Cover Jones worked with her client, Peter, for
one session. By the end of the session, Dr. Cover Jones presents the furry
, animal and Peter shows no fear. Two days later, Peter returns to the
therapist’s office, encounters the rabbit, and experiences a moderately strong
fear response. This increase in conditioned responding following the
passage of time since the last session is known as…
◍ falsifiable.
Answer: It is important that a scientific hypotheses is specific enough to be
proven wrong. A scientific hypothesis is not ___________________ if it
cannot be proven wrong,
◍ explanatory fiction.
Answer: a fictitious or hypothetical variable that often takes the form of
another name for the observed phenomenon it claims to explain and
contributes nothing to a functional account or understanding of the
phenomenon
◍ Establishing operation (EO).
Answer: The book discusses two kinds of motivating operations (MOs). One
of them temporarily increases the value of a reinforcer and increases
behaviors that produce that reinforcer. Which MO is this describing?
◍ generalized conditioned reinforcer.
Answer: When a conditioned reinforcer signals a delay reduction to more
than one backup reinforcer it is referred to as a
________________________________.
◍ operant behavior.
Answer: Behavior that is selected, maintained, and brought under stimulus
control as a function of its consequences
◍ biological; environmental.
Answer: What are the two broad categories of functional variables in
behavior analysis?
◍ interobserver agreement (IOA).
Answer: represents the extent to which two observers report the same values
after measuring the same events
, ◍ positive reinforcement.
Answer: The parents consulted with the behavior analyst because their child
threw tantrums at bedtime. This typically went on for hours, which meant
that the child was not getting enough sleep (nor were the parents). The
parents said they had been using timeout - when the child tantrums in bed,
they remove the child from the bed and bring him to the living room where
he has to sit quietly in a timeout chair for 30 minutes while the parents (and
the child) watch TV. Despite their good intentions, the tantruming
continues. The behavior analyst explained to the parents that timeout only
works if it is a timeout from...
◍ functional response class.
Answer: A group of responses which share the same function.
◍ operant conditioning.
Answer: the process by which operant learning occurs; consequences result
in an increased or decreased frequency of the same type of behavior under
similar future conditions
◍ automatic.
Answer: A consequence that is directly produced by the response - it is not
provided by someone else - and which increases the behavior above a
no-reinforcer baseline is called a(n) ______________ reinforcer.
◍ self-control.
Answer: A(n) __________________ choice is made when the individual
chooses the larger-later reward and foregoes the smaller-sooner reward.
◍ generalized punisher.
Answer: A conditioned punisher which has been associated with a number
of other punishers. Example: The word 'no'.
◍ antecedent.
Answer: An environmental condition or stimulus change existing or
occurring prior to a behavior of interest.
