BCAT Exam Questions And Answers (Verified And
Updated)
Positive reinforcement
Give something that increases behavior
Negative reinforcement
Take something away that increases behavior
Positive punishment
Give something that decreases behavior
Negative punishment
Take something away that decreases behavior
Reinforcer
A stimulus that increases the probability of a desired response
Punisher
A stimulus that decreases the probability of a desired response
Conditioned reinforcer
A learned reinforcer; we are not born seeking these items as reinforcers
Unconditioned reinforcer
Inherently reinforcing for all humans from birth; they do not need to be learned; water, warmth,
oxygen are examples; they are typically required for survival
Extinction
When the reinforcement of a previously reinforced behavior is discontinued and as a result the
frequency of that behavior decreases in the future
Deprivation
Withholding a reinforcer that increases relevant learning and performance; not having access to
something that is highly desirable; often used to increase the value of an item
Satiation
The opposite of deprivation; refers to having too much- if the same reinforcer is used over and over
again it will lose its reinforcing value
Contingency
A type of intervention that is used to increase desirable behaviors or decrease undesirable behaviors;
specifies target behavior, the conditions under which the behavior will occur, and the benefits or
consequences that will come with meeting or failing to meet the target; dependent and/or temporal
relations between operant behavior and its controlling variables
, Motivating operation (MO)
Increase desire for motivation (capture or create motivation prior to the task); more correct response,
less problem behaviors; antecedent situations that change effectiveness of a reinforcer and the
occurrence of behaviors that have been reinforced by those consequences (e.g., establishing
operation, abolishing operation)
Antecedent
Situations that occur immediately before the behavior
Behavior
Includes everything that people do
Consequence
Situation occurring immediately after the behavior
3-term contingency
Antecedent, Behavior, Consequence
Stimulus
Anything that a person can experience through their senses
Discriminative Stimulus (SD)
A type of stimulus that is used consistently to gain a specific response and that increases the
possibility that the desired response will occur
Stimulus control
Occurs when an organism behaves in one way in the presence of a given stimulus and another way in
its absence
Response
A single instance or occurrence of a specific class or type of behavior
Discrete Trial
A small unit of instruction implemented by a teacher who works one on one with a child in a
distraction-free setting
Discrimination Training
Teaching a client to differentiate between responses/stimuli, can take a variety of forms, for example:
identifying colors, labeling objects, and reading words
Discrete Trial Training (DTT)
Deliver SD (instruction) without any extraneous language; Provide appropriate prompts if necessary
(given immediately after SD); Provide appropriate consequences (reinforcement should be provided
for correct responses and an error correction should be provided for incorrect responses); Collect
data; Follow correct format (mass trial, expanded trial, random rotation) and check for mastery
Updated)
Positive reinforcement
Give something that increases behavior
Negative reinforcement
Take something away that increases behavior
Positive punishment
Give something that decreases behavior
Negative punishment
Take something away that decreases behavior
Reinforcer
A stimulus that increases the probability of a desired response
Punisher
A stimulus that decreases the probability of a desired response
Conditioned reinforcer
A learned reinforcer; we are not born seeking these items as reinforcers
Unconditioned reinforcer
Inherently reinforcing for all humans from birth; they do not need to be learned; water, warmth,
oxygen are examples; they are typically required for survival
Extinction
When the reinforcement of a previously reinforced behavior is discontinued and as a result the
frequency of that behavior decreases in the future
Deprivation
Withholding a reinforcer that increases relevant learning and performance; not having access to
something that is highly desirable; often used to increase the value of an item
Satiation
The opposite of deprivation; refers to having too much- if the same reinforcer is used over and over
again it will lose its reinforcing value
Contingency
A type of intervention that is used to increase desirable behaviors or decrease undesirable behaviors;
specifies target behavior, the conditions under which the behavior will occur, and the benefits or
consequences that will come with meeting or failing to meet the target; dependent and/or temporal
relations between operant behavior and its controlling variables
, Motivating operation (MO)
Increase desire for motivation (capture or create motivation prior to the task); more correct response,
less problem behaviors; antecedent situations that change effectiveness of a reinforcer and the
occurrence of behaviors that have been reinforced by those consequences (e.g., establishing
operation, abolishing operation)
Antecedent
Situations that occur immediately before the behavior
Behavior
Includes everything that people do
Consequence
Situation occurring immediately after the behavior
3-term contingency
Antecedent, Behavior, Consequence
Stimulus
Anything that a person can experience through their senses
Discriminative Stimulus (SD)
A type of stimulus that is used consistently to gain a specific response and that increases the
possibility that the desired response will occur
Stimulus control
Occurs when an organism behaves in one way in the presence of a given stimulus and another way in
its absence
Response
A single instance or occurrence of a specific class or type of behavior
Discrete Trial
A small unit of instruction implemented by a teacher who works one on one with a child in a
distraction-free setting
Discrimination Training
Teaching a client to differentiate between responses/stimuli, can take a variety of forms, for example:
identifying colors, labeling objects, and reading words
Discrete Trial Training (DTT)
Deliver SD (instruction) without any extraneous language; Provide appropriate prompts if necessary
(given immediately after SD); Provide appropriate consequences (reinforcement should be provided
for correct responses and an error correction should be provided for incorrect responses); Collect
data; Follow correct format (mass trial, expanded trial, random rotation) and check for mastery
