ABAT - Applied Behavior Analysis Ethics and Professional Conduct Questions and Answers 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A BCBA is asked to provide expert testimony in a legal case involving a client. What ethical obligation must the BCBA prioritize?
- Advocate solely for the attorney who hired them
- Provide only accurate, objective, and evidence-based information (Correct answer)
- Refuse to testify to protect client confidentiality in all cases
- Present testimony favorable to the referring party to maintain the professional relationship
Correct answer: Provide only accurate, objective, and evidence-based information
When providing expert testimony, behavior analysts must remain objective and present scientifically supported information regardless of who retained them.
Question 2: Which of the following is considered a multiple relationship that a BCBA must avoid?
- Providing services to a client while collaborating with their speech therapist
- Supervising a RBT who is also employed as a paraprofessional at the same school
- Providing ABA services to a family member while also being their personal financial advisor (Correct answer)
- Working with two clients who attend the same school
Correct answer: Providing ABA services to a family member while also being their personal financial advisor
Serving as both an ABA provider and financial advisor to the same family creates a multiple relationship that risks harming client welfare and compromising professional judgment.
Question 3: A behavior analyst is asked to train school staff using a procedure the analyst has not been trained on. What is the ethical response?
- Train the staff using available literature even without personal training
- Decline to train on that procedure and recommend a more qualified trainer (Correct answer)
- Train staff and disclose the limitation only if asked
- Ask a supervisee to conduct the training instead
Correct answer: Decline to train on that procedure and recommend a more qualified trainer
Practicing outside one's scope of competence, including training others on unfamiliar procedures, violates the Ethics Code's competence requirements.
Question 4: When a BCBA disagrees with a decision made by a treatment team that the BCBA believes will harm the client, what is the most appropriate course of action?
- Comply silently to avoid conflict within the team
- Immediately report the team to the BACB
- Clearly document the disagreement and advocate through appropriate channels (Correct answer)
- Unilaterally override the team decision to protect the client
Correct answer: Clearly document the disagreement and advocate through appropriate channels
Behavior analysts must document disagreements with team decisions and advocate through appropriate channels rather than acting unilaterally or staying silent.
Question 5: A BCBA uses social media to post a general case study about a challenging client situation without using the client's name. Is this ethically acceptable?
- Yes, because no name was used
- Yes, if the case study is educational in nature
- No, if there is any reasonable risk the client could be identified (Correct answer)
- No, because behavior analysts are prohibited from using social media professionally
Correct answer: No, if there is any reasonable risk the client could be identified
Confidentiality extends to any information that could reasonably identify a client, not just to their name; behavior analysts must ensure clients cannot be identified.
Question 6: Under the BACB Ethics Code, which situation would most clearly require a behavior analyst to break confidentiality?
- A client discloses they failed a class at school
- A client expresses frustration about a sibling
- A client makes a credible threat to harm another identifiable person (Correct answer)
- A client tells the analyst they dislike their teacher
Correct answer: A client makes a credible threat to harm another identifiable person
A credible threat of harm to an identifiable third party requires breaking confidentiality to fulfill the duty to warn and protect.
Question 7: A BCBA is conducting a functional behavior assessment and notices signs of possible physical abuse on a client. What must the BCBA do?
- Document the observation and include it in the FBA report only
- Discuss the concern with the parents before taking any other action
- Fulfill mandatory reporting obligations and report to the appropriate child protective authority (Correct answer)
- Consult with a supervisor before deciding whether to report
Correct answer: Fulfill mandatory reporting obligations and report to the appropriate child protective authority
Behavior analysts are mandated reporters; suspected abuse must be reported to the appropriate child protective services regardless of other considerations.
ABAT - Applied Behavior Analysis Ethics and Professional Conduct Questions and Answers 5
A BCBA is asked to provide expert testimony in a legal case involving a client.
What ethical obligation must the BCBA prioritize?