ABAT Antecedent-Based Interventions 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Priming as an antecedent intervention involves:
- Providing reinforcement after a desired behavior
- Exposing a learner to relevant stimuli or skills before a task or activity (Correct answer)
- Increasing task demands gradually over sessions
- Removing a discriminative stimulus for problem behavior
Correct answer: Exposing a learner to relevant stimuli or skills before a task or activity
Priming pre-exposes the learner to content, materials, or routines before the activity, increasing familiarity and reducing problem behavior.
Question 2: When implementing noncontingent reinforcement (NCR) on a fixed-time (FT) schedule, reinforcement is delivered:
- After each instance of the target behavior
- At the end of every session regardless of behavior
- At set time intervals independent of behavior (Correct answer)
- Only when the learner makes a verbal request
Correct answer: At set time intervals independent of behavior
Fixed-time NCR delivers reinforcement at regular, predetermined intervals regardless of what behavior is occurring at that moment.
Question 3: Offering a learner choices among tasks or activities functions as an antecedent intervention primarily by:
- Increasing escape extinction
- Reducing the aversiveness of demands and decreasing escape-motivated behavior (Correct answer)
- Providing contingent reinforcement for compliance
- Establishing a new schedule of reinforcement
Correct answer: Reducing the aversiveness of demands and decreasing escape-motivated behavior
Choice making reduces the aversive quality of demands by giving the learner some control, thereby weakening the EO for escape behavior.
Question 4: Visual schedules are classified as antecedent-based interventions because they:
- Deliver reinforcement following desired behavior
- Provide advance information about upcoming activities, reducing uncertainty (Correct answer)
- Punish transition-related problem behavior
- Eliminate the need for all verbal prompts permanently
Correct answer: Provide advance information about upcoming activities, reducing uncertainty
Visual schedules serve as antecedent stimuli that reduce uncertainty about upcoming activities, lowering anxiety and transition-related problem behavior.
Question 5: A teacher gives a 5-minute warning before ending a preferred activity. This transition warning is an antecedent strategy because:
- It punishes problem behavior occurring during transitions
- It serves as a stimulus that prepares the learner for an upcoming change, reducing behavioral reactivity (Correct answer)
- It provides contingent reinforcement for completing the transition smoothly
- It removes the preferred activity as a consequence
Correct answer: It serves as a stimulus that prepares the learner for an upcoming change, reducing behavioral reactivity
The warning signal is an antecedent stimulus that allows the learner to prepare for the transition, reducing abrupt changes that trigger problem behavior.
Question 6: Demand fading as an antecedent strategy involves:
- Increasing task demands rapidly to build tolerance quickly
- Beginning with minimal demands and gradually increasing them as compliance improves (Correct answer)
- Removing all demands permanently from the instructional session
- Delivering demands contingent on desired behavior
Correct answer: Beginning with minimal demands and gradually increasing them as compliance improves
Demand fading starts with very low task demands to ensure success and gradually increases demands while maintaining compliance.
Question 7: Interspersal training (interspersing easy tasks among difficult ones) is effective as an antecedent strategy primarily because:
- It increases the density of reinforcement and maintains behavioral momentum (Correct answer)
- It eliminates the need for prompts on difficult tasks
- It reduces the total number of tasks a learner must complete
- It provides extinction for incorrect responses on difficult tasks
Correct answer: It increases the density of reinforcement and maintains behavioral momentum
Interspersing easy (high-p) tasks increases the overall reinforcement rate and builds momentum, making difficult tasks more likely to be attempted.
ABAT Antecedent-Based Interventions 3
Priming as an antecedent intervention involves: