ABA Cheat Sheet 2026

The 30 highest-yield ABA facts, distilled from real exam questions. Print it, save it as a PDF, or study it here — free, no sign-up.

1. What is the defining feature of total task chaining? → The learner attempts every step of the chain during each teaching session
2. The Verbal Behavior Milestones Assessment and Placement Program (VB-MAPP) is primarily used to: → Assess and track language and learning milestones in children with autism
3. Which of the following is a natural community of reinforcement that can help maintain a skill? → Peer attention and social interaction maintaining conversation skills in school
4. What would you call the list of all the activities that you can do at this time? → Behavioral repertoire
5. Which of the following is an example of response blocking? → A therapist physically prevents a child from hitting by intercepting their arm
6. What type of behavior describes behavior that can only be observed by the individual performing it? → Covert behavior
7. Which of the following is an example of an intraverbal? → Answering 'Dogs' when asked 'Name an animal'
8. A BCBA providing supervision to an RBT must ensure that the supervision meets what minimum percentage of the RBT's work hours per month? → 5%
9. What is an example of manipulating a classroom setting to prevent distraction from the window? → Context Variable
10. What do behavior analysts focus on? → The issue that has to be addressed is the problematic behavior.
11. An echoic is a verbal operant that: → Repeats the verbal stimulus of a speaker with point-to-point correspondence
12. A child fills in the missing word when a therapist sings a familiar song and pauses. This BEST demonstrates which verbal operant? → Intraverbal
13. Which prompting strategy involves providing the least intrusive prompt first and increasing only if needed? → Least-to-most prompting
14. According to Skinner's analysis of verbal behavior, a mand is a verbal operant that: → Specifies its own reinforcer and is maintained by that specific reinforcement
15. A behavior that is maintained by automatic (sensory) reinforcement is MOST difficult to treat because: → The reinforcer is intrinsic and cannot always be identified or withheld
16. What is 'tact extension'? → Applying a tact to a novel stimulus that shares properties with the trained stimulus
17. Generalization across settings is BEST promoted by: → Training across multiple environments from the start
18. A conflict of interest in ABA practice refers to: → A situation where personal or financial interests could compromise professional judgment
19. Booster sessions are used in maintenance programming to: → Briefly re-expose learners to training conditions when performance has declined
20. Which ethical principle requires BCBAs to only practice within their areas of competence? → Beneficence and non-maleficence
21. What does prompting involve providing to elicit a target behavior? → Antecedents
22. Language that talks about one's own behavior or mental events is called: → Autoclitic behavior
23. Which graph type is most commonly used to display continuous behavioral data over time in ABA? → Simple line graph
24. Which of the following is the MOST appropriate first step when problem behavior suddenly increases? → Conduct an ABC analysis to identify antecedents and consequences
25. Which IOA method divides the number of agreements by the total number of agreements plus disagreements and multiplies by 100? → Total count IOA
26. Setting events in an FBA differ from immediate antecedents because setting events: → Occur earlier in time and alter the effectiveness of later antecedents and reinforcers
27. What is the minimum acceptable IOA percentage recommended in ABA research? → 80%
28. In an ABAB reversal design, which of the following statements is true? → All of the above
29. The BACB prohibits behavior analysts from engaging in which of the following? → Dual relationships that might impair professional judgment or harm clients
30. A tact is a verbal operant that is primarily under the control of: → A non-verbal antecedent stimulus in the environment