ABAT Behavior Reduction Interventions 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A child's tantrum behavior previously maintained by adult attention suddenly increases in intensity and frequency after attention is withheld. This phenomenon is called:
- Spontaneous recovery
- Extinction burst (Correct answer)
- Behavioral contrast
- Response generalization
Correct answer: Extinction burst
An extinction burst is the temporary increase in the frequency, intensity, or duration of a behavior when extinction is first implemented.
Question 2: After extinction has been in place for several weeks and a target behavior has been eliminated, the behavior reappears briefly in the next session without any reinforcement being delivered. This is best described as:
- Extinction burst
- Behavioral momentum
- Spontaneous recovery (Correct answer)
- Resurgence
Correct answer: Spontaneous recovery
Spontaneous recovery is the reappearance of a previously extinguished behavior after a period of rest, without any additional reinforcement.
Question 3: When is planned ignoring (extinction of socially-reinforced behavior) CONTRAINDICATED as a behavior reduction strategy?
- When the behavior is maintained by negative reinforcement
- When the behavior poses a safety risk to the client or others (Correct answer)
- When the client has a history of spontaneous recovery
- When the behavior occurs at low rates
Correct answer: When the behavior poses a safety risk to the client or others
Planned ignoring is contraindicated when the behavior is dangerous, because withholding attention cannot prevent physical harm during an extinction burst.
Question 4: A practitioner implements extinction for self-injurious behavior maintained by automatic (sensory) reinforcement. The appropriate extinction procedure in this case is:
- Planned ignoring
- Time-out from reinforcement
- Sensory extinction (blocking sensory feedback) (Correct answer)
- Response cost
Correct answer: Sensory extinction (blocking sensory feedback)
Sensory extinction involves blocking or masking the sensory consequence that reinforces the behavior, such as using protective equipment to prevent the automatic reinforcement.
Question 5: Which differential reinforcement procedure specifically reinforces the ABSENCE of the target behavior during a defined interval?
- DRA
- DRI
- DRO (Correct answer)
- DRL
Correct answer: DRO
Differential Reinforcement of Other behavior (DRO) delivers reinforcement if the target behavior does not occur during the entire interval.
Question 6: During extinction, an increase in aggressive behavior that was not the original target behavior is observed. This side effect is referred to as:
- Behavioral contrast
- Extinction-induced aggression (Correct answer)
- Motivating operation shift
- Behavioral momentum
Correct answer: Extinction-induced aggression
Extinction-induced aggression is emotional behavior, including aggression, that can emerge as a side effect when a previously reinforced behavior is placed on extinction.
Question 7: A teacher stops calling on a student who shouts out answers (extinction for attention). However, the student's shouting increases during math but decreases during reading. This is an example of:
- Spontaneous recovery
- Overgeneralization
- Behavioral contrast (Correct answer)
- Extinction burst
Correct answer: Behavioral contrast
Behavioral contrast occurs when behavior decreases in one context where extinction is applied but increases in another context where the contingency has not changed.
ABAT Behavior Reduction Interventions 2
A child's tantrum behavior previously maintained by adult attention suddenly increases in intensity and frequency after attention is withheld.
This phenomenon is called: