Generalization and Maintenance Flashcards
6 cards from real ABA practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 6 Generalization and Maintenance flashcards as text
Maintenance of behavior is BEST supported by:
Answer: Thinning reinforcement schedules and shifting to naturally occurring reinforcers
Maintenance requires gradually reducing artificial reinforcement and transitioning to the natural reinforcers present in the environment so behavior persists without structured programming.
A child learns to greet adults at school but not at a grocery store. This is an example of:
Answer: Failure to generalize (overly narrow stimulus control)
When a skill only occurs in the specific training environment and not across novel settings, stimulus control is too narrow — generalization across settings has not occurred.
Which of the following BEST describes 'train and hope' as a generalization strategy?
Answer: Teaching behavior in one setting and hoping it generalizes without additional programming
'Train and hope' is a weak strategy where generalization is expected to occur naturally without systematic programming — it is generally ineffective for learners with ASD.
Self-management strategies support maintenance and generalization by:
Answer: Teaching learners to monitor and reinforce their own behavior independently
Self-management trains learners to observe, record, and self-administer consequences for their own behavior, reducing dependence on external agents and supporting long-term maintenance.
What does 'behavioral trap' refer to in generalization programming?
Answer: A naturally occurring contingency that sustains a newly trained behavior without planned intervention
A behavioral trap is a naturally occurring reinforcement contingency that 'traps' a new behavior into the individual's repertoire once it is initiated, maintaining it without further planned intervention.
Teaching a skill to fluency (high accuracy AND speed) is important for maintenance because:
Answer: Fluent skills are more resistant to extinction and are more likely to compete with other behaviors
Fluent performance is more durable, more likely to generalize, and better able to occur in competing or distracting environments, supporting long-term maintenance.