BCBA Exam prep
You've worked with your client for two months, although the insurance company that you work with has not
reimbursed you. Instead of paying you, they ask for progress notes that you may have recorded on the dates of
service. The progress notes include the client's name, address, the dates of service, the client's disability and
the target behaviors and interventions. What should be your response to the insurance company? Answer- I
will release these records to you with the client address and disability redacted.
Gina loves her animals and loves to pet them. She spends time with her dog in the
backyard and time with her cat inside the house. Whenever she sees her dog, she
pets him. Whenever she sees her cat, she pets her. Gina pets both of her animals
about an equal amount. One day, Gina's dog barks at her and Gina begins to pet
it less. Later, she begins to pet her cat more frequently. This is an example of Answer- Behavioral Contrast
Behavioral contrast is when a change to one component of a mixed schedule has an
effect on the rate of responding on the other schedule. -The key to knowing if behaviors are
operating under the matching law is when there is a concurrent schedule in place - that is, if Gina
were in a room with her dog and cat at the same time and she were choosing which animal to
pet, the increase in one behavior would predict a decrease in the other. -The lawfulness of
behavior means that behavior can be explained through the behavior-analytic rules that have
been experimentally verified such as reinforcement and punishment. -Determinism is one of the
philosophical assumptions of ABA. This is that behavior is orderly and understood by science,
rather than accidental or random.
,You'd like to show parents how frequently their child's behavior-of-concern is
occurring in temporal locus with who is present, when the behavior occurs, and
general consequences. Which is the BEST way to display this information? Answer- Scatter plot chart
can easily and simply show the frequency of behavior in relation to
time periods, activities, etc. and to some of the subsequent consequences of behavior.
You'd like to know just how often Carson interrupts his teacher or "blurts out" in
general because Mr. Johnson tells you that Carson does this "all day long," and he
"never stops." After the first 5 minutes of observation, you notice that the target
behaviors occur in about 5 second bursts, separated by 30 seconds or more. You
switch your measurement system from total duration to Answer- partial interval recording, 15-second
intervals
This is the BEST answer in the sense that the greatest percentage of behavioral
occurrences will be recorded. The other answers will likely miss more behavior occurrences.
You'd like to implement NCR, as well as DRA on a fixed-ratio schedule, and mostto-least prompting for a client
that slaps his own face and screams in order to
receive attention. Which of the following is the BEST experimental design to
choose for comparing NCR to DRA? Answer- ABCBC
This design allows a behavior analyst to demonstrate the effectiveness of treatments
without returning to a baseline condition in which withdrawal of an effective intervention for "face
slapping" may be unethical. It also allows an analyst to compare one intervention at a time.
You track the occurrence of Pam's argumentative behavior over the first six
,months of school, and find that it happens almost daily with Mr. Archer; Pam is
kicked out of class. Pam has argued with Ms. Lana once and walked out of class.
With Mr. Cyril, other students object to Pam's arguing, and Pam usually stops. In
Mrs. Isaac's class, Pam has attempted arguing twice, but Mrs. Isaac ignores Pam
and she stops. The MOST likely functions are Answer- direct escape and socially-mediated escape
Both direct and socially-mediated escape are suggested. The others are either not
indicated or the answers do not include two correct answers.
You are given a client who apparently, "barks like a dog on top of his desk" for up
to 5 minutes at a time during class, and also at home. When you go to observe at
school, you decide to use __________ to measure the behavior over an entire onehour class period. Answer-
total duration
Total duration makes the most sense, because it is continuous (MTS and whole
interval would "miss" some of the behavior's occurrence). Also, it can be reasonably assumed
that the socially valid goal would be to reduce the target behavior to zero. An IRT intervention
would lead to longer periods between behavior, but not work to reduce the occurrence to zero.
Xeno most obviously gets attention from staff and peers alike when he makes
noises, taps his fingers or other objects, and occasionally pinches those near him.
You might recommend __________ to decrease this target behavior class. Answer- an abolishing operation for
attention-seeking, DRA, and extinction
An example of this 3-pronged strategy might be to call on Xeno more often (NCR, an
abolishing operation for attention-seeking); teach him to ask to work with a peer (DRA); and to
ignore instances of the target behaviors (extinction).
, Xander often throws objects at his mother and then runs to his room when she
asks him to complete household tasks (escape function), but does not engage in
the same behavior with his grandmother at her house. Instead, Xander tells his
grandmother, "I don't like you," and storms off to his room. What might be a good
intervention strategy to begin with at Xander's mother's house? Answer- Offer Xander a reinforcer for saying,
"I don't like you," with his mother before going to his
room.
"I don't like you" would be functionally equivalent replacement behavior that is also
already in Xander's repertoire. This sort of recommendation often meets with resistance because
it is still rude or less-accepted behavior. It is important to remember that the intervention would
not end when this first step is accomplished. Also, the statement "I don't like you" is better than
objects being thrown.
X enjoys playing outside, pleasing others, and she is motivated and able to keep
up with academic expectations. X has met her goals, and has, therefore,
demonstrated readiness to be included in the general education classroom.
Everyone tells you that Mrs. Mallory, the teacher for X's grade, is not a good "fit"
for X. Which environmental variable might help you decide whether this is true or
not? Answer- Mrs. Mallory's average rate of verbal praise is ten per hour.
Knowing the rate of praise might be useful information. The other answers involve
speculation about what MAY be used as reinforcement, or false statements (e.g. "I don't teach
behavior" is a false statement, because you are always teaching something).
Which would be the LEAST effective way to improve procedural fidelity Answer- leave a copy of the plan on
You've worked with your client for two months, although the insurance company that you work with has not
reimbursed you. Instead of paying you, they ask for progress notes that you may have recorded on the dates of
service. The progress notes include the client's name, address, the dates of service, the client's disability and
the target behaviors and interventions. What should be your response to the insurance company? Answer- I
will release these records to you with the client address and disability redacted.
Gina loves her animals and loves to pet them. She spends time with her dog in the
backyard and time with her cat inside the house. Whenever she sees her dog, she
pets him. Whenever she sees her cat, she pets her. Gina pets both of her animals
about an equal amount. One day, Gina's dog barks at her and Gina begins to pet
it less. Later, she begins to pet her cat more frequently. This is an example of Answer- Behavioral Contrast
Behavioral contrast is when a change to one component of a mixed schedule has an
effect on the rate of responding on the other schedule. -The key to knowing if behaviors are
operating under the matching law is when there is a concurrent schedule in place - that is, if Gina
were in a room with her dog and cat at the same time and she were choosing which animal to
pet, the increase in one behavior would predict a decrease in the other. -The lawfulness of
behavior means that behavior can be explained through the behavior-analytic rules that have
been experimentally verified such as reinforcement and punishment. -Determinism is one of the
philosophical assumptions of ABA. This is that behavior is orderly and understood by science,
rather than accidental or random.
,You'd like to show parents how frequently their child's behavior-of-concern is
occurring in temporal locus with who is present, when the behavior occurs, and
general consequences. Which is the BEST way to display this information? Answer- Scatter plot chart
can easily and simply show the frequency of behavior in relation to
time periods, activities, etc. and to some of the subsequent consequences of behavior.
You'd like to know just how often Carson interrupts his teacher or "blurts out" in
general because Mr. Johnson tells you that Carson does this "all day long," and he
"never stops." After the first 5 minutes of observation, you notice that the target
behaviors occur in about 5 second bursts, separated by 30 seconds or more. You
switch your measurement system from total duration to Answer- partial interval recording, 15-second
intervals
This is the BEST answer in the sense that the greatest percentage of behavioral
occurrences will be recorded. The other answers will likely miss more behavior occurrences.
You'd like to implement NCR, as well as DRA on a fixed-ratio schedule, and mostto-least prompting for a client
that slaps his own face and screams in order to
receive attention. Which of the following is the BEST experimental design to
choose for comparing NCR to DRA? Answer- ABCBC
This design allows a behavior analyst to demonstrate the effectiveness of treatments
without returning to a baseline condition in which withdrawal of an effective intervention for "face
slapping" may be unethical. It also allows an analyst to compare one intervention at a time.
You track the occurrence of Pam's argumentative behavior over the first six
,months of school, and find that it happens almost daily with Mr. Archer; Pam is
kicked out of class. Pam has argued with Ms. Lana once and walked out of class.
With Mr. Cyril, other students object to Pam's arguing, and Pam usually stops. In
Mrs. Isaac's class, Pam has attempted arguing twice, but Mrs. Isaac ignores Pam
and she stops. The MOST likely functions are Answer- direct escape and socially-mediated escape
Both direct and socially-mediated escape are suggested. The others are either not
indicated or the answers do not include two correct answers.
You are given a client who apparently, "barks like a dog on top of his desk" for up
to 5 minutes at a time during class, and also at home. When you go to observe at
school, you decide to use __________ to measure the behavior over an entire onehour class period. Answer-
total duration
Total duration makes the most sense, because it is continuous (MTS and whole
interval would "miss" some of the behavior's occurrence). Also, it can be reasonably assumed
that the socially valid goal would be to reduce the target behavior to zero. An IRT intervention
would lead to longer periods between behavior, but not work to reduce the occurrence to zero.
Xeno most obviously gets attention from staff and peers alike when he makes
noises, taps his fingers or other objects, and occasionally pinches those near him.
You might recommend __________ to decrease this target behavior class. Answer- an abolishing operation for
attention-seeking, DRA, and extinction
An example of this 3-pronged strategy might be to call on Xeno more often (NCR, an
abolishing operation for attention-seeking); teach him to ask to work with a peer (DRA); and to
ignore instances of the target behaviors (extinction).
, Xander often throws objects at his mother and then runs to his room when she
asks him to complete household tasks (escape function), but does not engage in
the same behavior with his grandmother at her house. Instead, Xander tells his
grandmother, "I don't like you," and storms off to his room. What might be a good
intervention strategy to begin with at Xander's mother's house? Answer- Offer Xander a reinforcer for saying,
"I don't like you," with his mother before going to his
room.
"I don't like you" would be functionally equivalent replacement behavior that is also
already in Xander's repertoire. This sort of recommendation often meets with resistance because
it is still rude or less-accepted behavior. It is important to remember that the intervention would
not end when this first step is accomplished. Also, the statement "I don't like you" is better than
objects being thrown.
X enjoys playing outside, pleasing others, and she is motivated and able to keep
up with academic expectations. X has met her goals, and has, therefore,
demonstrated readiness to be included in the general education classroom.
Everyone tells you that Mrs. Mallory, the teacher for X's grade, is not a good "fit"
for X. Which environmental variable might help you decide whether this is true or
not? Answer- Mrs. Mallory's average rate of verbal praise is ten per hour.
Knowing the rate of praise might be useful information. The other answers involve
speculation about what MAY be used as reinforcement, or false statements (e.g. "I don't teach
behavior" is a false statement, because you are always teaching something).
Which would be the LEAST effective way to improve procedural fidelity Answer- leave a copy of the plan on
