ABA Discrete Trial & Naturalistic Teaching 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In DTT, what is the primary purpose of the inter-trial interval (ITI)?
- To punish incorrect responses
- To allow a brief pause between trials, reducing satiation and improving discrimination (Correct answer)
- To measure the latency of responding
- To signal the start of a new reinforcement schedule
Correct answer: To allow a brief pause between trials, reducing satiation and improving discrimination
The ITI is a brief pause between trials that helps prevent satiation, reduces trial blending, and improves the learner's ability to discriminate discrete trials.
Question 2: Which of the following best describes 'massed practice' in the context of DTT?
- Presenting many different targets across a single session
- Repeating the same SD-response-reinforcer sequence multiple times consecutively (Correct answer)
- Mixing maintenance and acquisition trials randomly
- Running trials only during natural routines
Correct answer: Repeating the same SD-response-reinforcer sequence multiple times consecutively
Massed practice involves repeatedly running the same trial sequence back-to-back, which can accelerate initial skill acquisition for a target behavior.
Question 3: In naturalistic teaching, 'following the child's lead' primarily means:
- Allowing the child to avoid all demands
- Using the child's current interest or activity to embed learning opportunities (Correct answer)
- Providing reinforcement regardless of response quality
- Letting the child choose the reinforcement schedule
Correct answer: Using the child's current interest or activity to embed learning opportunities
Following the child's lead in naturalistic teaching means embedding instructional targets within activities or objects the child is already engaged with to increase motivation.
Question 4: What distinguishes an 'incidental teaching' episode from a standard DTT trial?
- Incidental teaching uses a fixed ratio schedule; DTT does not
- Incidental teaching is initiated by the learner's interest; DTT is initiated by the instructor (Correct answer)
- Incidental teaching always uses errorless learning prompting
- DTT requires natural reinforcers while incidental teaching uses arbitrary ones
Correct answer: Incidental teaching is initiated by the learner's interest; DTT is initiated by the instructor
Incidental teaching episodes are triggered by the learner approaching or showing interest in something, whereas DTT trials are initiated by the therapist presenting an SD.
Question 5: A therapist consistently delivers praise 2–3 seconds after the correct response in DTT. This delay is most likely to:
- Have no effect on learning
- Increase the strength of the stimulus-response association
- Weaken the contingency between the response and reinforcement (Correct answer)
- Eliminate the need for prompting
Correct answer: Weaken the contingency between the response and reinforcement
Delaying reinforcement beyond 1–2 seconds after a response weakens the contingency, making it harder for the learner to associate the specific response with the consequence.
Question 6: Which component of the DTT structure is responsible for evoking the target behavior?
- Consequence
- Prompt
- Discriminative stimulus (SD) (Correct answer)
- Inter-trial interval
Correct answer: Discriminative stimulus (SD)
The discriminative stimulus (SD) is the antecedent cue that signals to the learner that reinforcement is available for a specific response.
Question 7: Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT) is classified as a naturalistic developmental behavioral intervention primarily because it:
- Uses massed trials with arbitrary reinforcers
- Targets pivotal areas like motivation and self-management within natural contexts (Correct answer)
- Relies exclusively on negative reinforcement
- Is delivered only in clinical settings by licensed BCBAs
Correct answer: Targets pivotal areas like motivation and self-management within natural contexts
PRT targets pivotal areas (motivation, self-initiation, self-management) using natural reinforcers and child-led activities, making it a naturalistic developmental behavioral approach.
ABA Discrete Trial & Naturalistic Teaching 2
In DTT, what is the primary purpose of the inter-trial interval (ITI)?