ABAT Generalization and Maintenance Strategies Flashcards

A behavior technician has successfully taught a child to request 'break' using a vocal mand in the clinic. However, the child rarely uses this mand at home or school. Which generalization programming strategy would MOST directly address this specific failure?

Answer: Introducing a general case analysis to identify the full range of stimulus and response variations

General case analysis (GCA) is the most direct and systematic approach when a skill fails to generalize across settings. GCA requires the practitioner to define the full universe of relevant stimuli and response variations, then sample across that range during instruction. Unlike simply using multiple exemplars (which is a component of GCA but not the full procedure), GCA explicitly maps the instructional universe so that untrained instances are covered. Training loosely and indiscriminable contingencies address other generalization problems (response variability and maintenance, respectively) rather than across-setting transfer.

During maintenance probes conducted 3 months after intervention, a learner's correct responding has dropped from 95% to 60%. The behavior analyst determines that the natural environment is NOT providing sufficient reinforcement to maintain the skill. Which strategy represents the most behavior-analytically rigorous approach to address this?

Answer: Trap the behavior by identifying and engineering contact with naturally maintaining contingencies

When natural reinforcers are insufficient to maintain behavior, 'trapping' — deliberately engineering contact with naturally occurring maintaining contingencies — is the most durable solution. Booster sessions on a fixed schedule and re-implementing the original protocol are reactive and do not solve the underlying environmental problem. Returning to CRF temporarily may rebuild performance but does nothing to address the real contingency gap in the natural environment. Trapping addresses the root cause: ensuring the natural environment eventually sustains the behavior without continued clinical intervention.

A practitioner is programming generalization for a socially complex skill: greeting peers appropriately. She deliberately teaches greetings using stimuli that are SLIGHTLY different each session (different peer photos, varied greeting phrases, different distances). This technique is BEST described as an application of which principle?

Answer: Training loosely

Training loosely refers to intentionally varying non-essential dimensions of the training stimuli across sessions so the learner's behavior comes under the control of the relevant stimulus features rather than incidental ones. Varying peer photos, phrasing, and distance while keeping the core greeting behavior as the target is the hallmark of this technique. Programming common stimuli means replicating generalization setting stimuli in training. Sequential modification means addressing each non-generalized setting individually. Mediated generalization involves teaching a verbal or cognitive mediator that the learner applies across contexts.

A behavior analyst is deciding between two maintenance strategies for a learner who has mastered labeling coins. Option A: provide reinforcement on an FI 5-minute schedule. Option B: provide reinforcement on a VI 5-minute schedule. Which option better supports maintenance and why?

Answer: Option B, because variable schedules produce responding that is more resistant to extinction

Variable schedules of reinforcement produce behavior that is substantially more resistant to extinction than fixed schedules, making them superior for maintenance. On an FI schedule, the post-reinforcement pause is a reliable pattern that, over time, can lead to lower responding and faster extinction when reinforcement is withdrawn entirely. VI schedules eliminate this pause effect and produce steady, persistent responding. The claim that variable schedules always produce higher rates (Option D) is incorrect — FI/FR often produce high rates near the fixed interval/ratio; the critical advantage of variable schedules is resistance to extinction, not necessarily absolute rate.

Which of the following MOST accurately describes the distinction between 'stimulus generalization' and 'response generalization' in the context of ABA programming?

Answer: Stimulus generalization occurs when a trained response appears under untrained stimulus conditions, while response generalization occurs when untrained but functionally similar responses emerge after training

Stimulus generalization refers to the occurrence of a trained response in the presence of stimuli that were not part of training but share relevant features with training stimuli. Response generalization refers to the appearance of untrained responses that are functionally similar (same function or same response class) to the trained response. These are distinct phenomena: one concerns which stimuli occasion the response, the other concerns which responses are in the repertoire after training one member of a response class. Options A and B reverse or misstate these definitions. Option D is an opinion-based overgeneralization — both types can be desirable or problematic depending on context.

A practitioner implements a self-management program to promote generalization of on-task behavior across classroom environments. The learner is taught to use a wristwatch vibration to self-monitor and record whether they were on-task. This approach is BEST classified as which type of generalization strategy?

Answer: Mediated generalization, because the learner uses a verbal or physical mediator that transfers across settings

Mediated generalization involves teaching the learner a 'mediator' — a verbal rule, self-instruction, or physical prompt — that the learner carries into untrained settings, effectively bridging transfer across contexts. Self-management programs are a prime example: the watch, the self-recording, and the self-evaluation criteria all serve as mediators the learner applies independently. Programming common stimuli (Option A) specifically refers to replicating discriminative stimuli from the generalization setting into training — not to a mediating device the learner carries. The watch vibration does not constitute training loosely (varying irrelevant dimensions) or natural contingency trapping.